Small Mercies

My mom and dad sent me this beautiful plant about three weeks ago. You wouldn't know it by looking at it now, but for the first two weeks after it arrived, it would drop its leaves if I even looked at it. Okay--you can still kind of see some black on one of the leaves it is about to lose, but I consider it a victory that the flower actually bloomed! I have a hard time growing anything. I've killed more plants than I can even count. Bryan has asked me to stop buying them since we know from the outset that it is a waste of money.

This year, I wanted to buy some herbs to plant in our yard so we'd have fresh basil and chives all summer long. As we were wandering around Home Depot, Bryan noticed the herb seeds were only 99 cents. So, to satisfy his practical side while still allowing me to indulge my inner gardner, he suggested I try the seeds. I relented but fully anticipated that if I can't keep a plant alive, I'd have a hard time getting seeds to grow. I took the seeds home, planted and watered them and tried to keep my hope alive. The next morning, we saw squirrels digging in my pots! I had painstakingly planted my seeds exactly 1/4 inch beneath the soil and these squirrels were ruining everything. I thought we'd have to spend the rest of the summer looking at pots of dirt. But, this morning, while I was outside admiring the bloom on my hibiscus, look what I saw!!! SPROUTS! My little seeds had sprouted--well, at least in two of the four pots I planted.