Tag Archive for: nature

Tulips in the Sun and Having Patience

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Okay, okay. I’ve heard it before–we all have. You can’t rush something. Things happen in time. Well, I really wanted to rush my tulips.

I love flowers!  What can I say? I even feature them in my novel, THE WITCH OF BELLE FLEUR.

What happened next?

In March I gave a friend a flower pot with tulips and she sent me a photo of her tulips and they had several buds.  I thought, surely I had done something wrong. My tulips that I had in the sun didn’t have any buds.

I  then moved my smaller flower pot inside. I was so delighted when I saw the first bud! I felt so accomplished! Luckily my outdoor flower pot was too heavy for me to move. So it remained in the sun.

As the days passed, I would go outside and look at my tulips in sun with mixed emotions. I was glad their color was a rich green, and they looked so healthy, but they didn’t have any buds yet. What was taking them so long?

Well, to this day, my tulips in the sun have not bloomed, but they now have beautiful and healthy buds ready to open when they are truly ready. My plants are healthy and are even producing small bulbs near the soil! I have never seen this with tulips, before. What a joy!

Rushing my indoor tulips gave me one flower, but it was short lived.  My tulips have shown me to have more patience in my life.

Tulip time, not my time.

So, as this year continues to flow, I am more mindful allowing things to unfold in their time, not mine.

Thank you for reading!

All the best,

Isabelle

 

  • Want to see amazing tulip photos from Skagit Valley, Washington and learn more about this lovely flower? Visit https://tulipfestival.org/

The photo below is from my beautiful tulips in the sun. Photo credit: Isabelle Hardesty

 

Isabelle Hardesty has always had a love of magic and nature and weaves this into her books.  Her favorite things include silly socks and yummy chocolate. She lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest. Hardesty is a Miami native and writes OWNVOICES work. Find her novel THE WITCH OF BELLE FLEUR on Amazon.

3 Reasons YA Fantasy Author is Enchanted with Mangrove Trees

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I love mangrove trees, and as I Miami native, I remember seeing these wetland beauties line Greynolds Park’s waterways. These trees enchanted me so much, I even ventured into kayaking to be closer to them. I loved watching the rippling water lap along their  roots.

In my book, The Witch of Belle Fleur, mangrove trees play an important role in Juliette’s transformation into a witch. I won’t give away too much, but it’s memorable! I can’t wait for you to read it!

Here are a three reasons I love mangrove trees:

  1. Mangrove trees stretch their long and graceful roots into water and find a way to survive.  They are survivors!
  2. These trees are land makers. Dirt gets trapped in their roots and over time land is formed. They are creators!
  3. Mangrove seeds can travel miles and miles, finding a new home to thrive. They are travelers!

I made sure to add mangroves in The Witch of Belle Fleur.

Read more about the book, here:

In a family brimming with secrets, Juliette learns her mother was a Destroyer Witch, and her father was a Healer Witch. This teen telenovela actress doesn’t have time for magic, yet magic finds a way into her life.

Juliette must choose between becoming her town’s Lead Witch or just walking away from magic and being a regular human, like her drop-dead gorgeous best friend, Victor. Eventually, she finds out that Victor has a few secrets of his own…

Although her instincts tell her to run from magic, magic might be the only way she can save her dying aunt.

She unwittingly brings magic back to all witches in Belle Fleur, including Thane, an ancient evil witch who wants Juliette’s power and soul.

A hot new mysterious guy comes to town and turns up the heat. Juliette’s feelings for him grow, just as she sinks deeper and deeper into the new world of magic.

Can Juliette balance her Healer and Destroyer sides while she tries to defeat the evil that hunts her and those she loves?

Pre-order your copy of The Witch of Belle Fleur here. 

Please email me at: isabellehardesty (@) gmail dot com with any questions or comments.

~Isabelle

Related blog posts by Isabelle you may enjoy:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isabelle Hardesty is a writer of young adult fantasy.

She enjoys writing about characters who are like people you know and people you want to know.

Isabelle lives in Seattle with her husband and son. She loves being with her family, eating chocolate, and connecting with readers. When she is not writing, you can find her either researching for her next book or painting.