Kahili Ginger

Kahili ginger or hedychium gardnerianum is a rather attractive plant which originates on the Indian subcontinent. Like the hardier Himalayan Balsam which we British consider invasive, kahili ginger warrants a similar reputation in New Zealand and South Africa. Its ability to propagate and exclude other plants from an area lends it a rather thuggish aura. Yet when I beheld it growing in a nobleman's hothouse, where it was properly controlled, it was looking tired, its petals already withering and about to fall. Even flowers known for their vigour and dominance retire; even weightlifters and athletes wear out. Well might Isaiah the prophet pronounce:

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. 40:30-31, King James Version

The Lord’s people have all the energy they need - not because they remain young, but because their God compensates. As their days, so their strength.