A few days ago, a lovely purple iris bloom appeared in my garden.  The iris was a gift from my father’s garden.  He shared it with me a few years ago, but this is the first time it has bloomed.  I couldn’t help but smile when I found the bloom!  It stirred memories of time spent in the garden with my dad and let me know that Spring has arrived here in Central Texas.  Our roads are lined with wildflowers such as Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush, but the single iris bloom was more significant to me.  I felt the stirrings of new beginnings and wondrous memories yet to be made with my children and grandchildren.

In researching the color purple I discovered that it is a combination of blue and red.  Blue is calming and red represents energy.  How perfect!  I also learned that the color purple doesn’t often appear in…