By first light the irises stood folded along the pond, green spears still keeping their colors tucked away like flags in a cupboard.
We asked at the kiosk. "They used to unfurl all at once and startle the water," said the man with a paper cup. "Now a dragonfly makes a slow pass, the nearest bloom nods back, and only then does one flag go up. The rest stay rolled until their turn."
A day later the same dragonfly came back for a second patrol. The petals greeted the water, the pond received its nod, and the bed, which had been practicing courtesy, lifted one clean purple banner on the first try.