A Change of Heart

My philosophy when it comes to gardening has typically been, Why plant something you can't eat? Pete has made me feel a bit guilty the last two springs wondering if we were going to get any flowers.  (Note:  this draft was begun 12/6/2014  putting Luke at just over 3years old in the photo below.  My how things have changed! and yet stayed the same!)

 We've gratefully accepted the "leftovers" from our mothers and planted them without much plan.  This April I did sprinkle some seeds from packets I had accumulated over the last few years from Easter egg hunts or party favors.  I didn't have very high expectations and primarily did the deed to indulge Luke as he persistently questioned- What can I plant mom? What can I plant?  Mom, what can I plant?  

It took longer than I suspected for the characters of color to come through.  Which is probably my fault in not knowing what the "garden flower mix" seedlings would look like and dooming them to the fate of weeds.  From what others have told me the pink petals above belong to zinnias.  The sunflower never made it that tall probably due to the encounters with the weed whacker early on.  Luke was excited to harvest the seeds but we never got to as it seems some critter broke the thick stem prematurely.

These cosmos where interesting and delightful in how they spread and dawned their hearty stems in all directions.  Geraniums were quite pungent as I remember in my days of manning the plant department on the front sidewalk on Marc's.  Though I've never considered them especially pretty I do appreciate them for their uniqueness.  Perhaps that's the moral of the story...it's worth while to appreciate all of God's creation for its uniqueness, its intricacies, its character if not always its purpose.  Admittedly, I have not sought to explore the details of the flora and will likely learn of remedies, elixirs, and "hacks" of the avid gardener with a bit of study.

But for now I'll simply say... Thank you Lord for the birds and the bees...

The flowers and the trees...

And the many colors of the world.