Finding Christmas in a London Garden #3: Finding Christmas Again in London

The Chelsea Physic Garden's Winter Magic: An Invitation

"Care to explore London's oldest botanical garden with someone who's trying to remember how to be spontaneous? They're hosting a Christmas fair at The Chelsea Physic Garden this weekend, and I know a secret entrance where the snowdrops bloom first."

Snowdrops? Olivia’s breath caught. A delicious shiver swept through her.

Olivia opens Alex’s attachment: the image is bright and yet slightly out of focus, the caption reads: a watercolor of Chelsea Physic Garden in winter. The flowers are clear, brave heads push through snow. These small snowdrops push through frost like tiny lanterns lighting the way to spring. The next line: "Come wintertime, this little Eden holds London's first whispers of renewal."

The message preview makes her pause: "Axel Sterling - CEO" has become simply "Axel" in her contacts, a small intimacy that still makes her smile. His text carries that particular mixture of corporate precision and emerging playfulness she's beginning to enjoy as she types her response back.

Her heart performs a gentle pirouette, so different from the nervous ballet of their first encounter in the dark office at the Christmas party. This invitation feels like being offered a key to something special, of a peek into a private London - not the glittering splendor of Trafalgar Square, but somewhere more intimate, more real. She’d never thought of experiencing Christmas in a garden, but she loved horticulture and plants. They showed her that there was always so much more to learn....