This is the first time I've ever planted seeds. Doubting Thomas that I am, the fact that I've yet to see any evidence of germination disappoints but does not surprise me. For what seems like about three weeks now (I failed to note the dates on which I put the dang things in the dirt) I have been faithfully watering and watching.

I just planted flowers, no veggies, and I added compost and turned the soil in all the places where I dropped seeds. I put forget-me-nots in our little pet cemetery. Some showy Goldeneye went down along a back walkway. Velvet Queen sunflowers were placed in three locations surrounding the little grove of fruit trees behind the house. Hummingbird and butterfly wildflower mix was scattered along a fence line. More wildflower perennials were seeded around two baby dogwood trees.

I have yet to see any green poking up through the soil. I peer down every day with great anticipation. Then I pull out my reading glasses, kneel down, and look more closely. Nothing.

At this point I am assuming that my red thumb (isn't red the opposite of green?) has worked it's garden jinx once again. When we lived in Florida, I loved bougainvilla. I used to buy these gorgeous flowering plants and hang them in conspicuous places, only to watch the bracts fade away and the color disappear.

Plants that I don't want seem to grow fine. My wife refers to them by the generic term... WEEDS. We had one great plant come up in the middle of our backyard garden once. I had no earthly idea what it was but it grew like crazy. It was right out of Jack and the Beanstalk. You could almost observe its growth with the naked eye. I kept waiting for it to flower but it never did. The leaves were large and unsightly. It was about twelve feet high when I finally hacked it down (my wife was holding a shotgun on me at the time).

Here in Utah, we have many perennial weeds that flower, some all summer and into the fall. Around our property, there are many firecracker penstemon (red), Wasatch penstemon (blue), globemallows (orange), and other colorful flowering plants scattered around. Our first summer here, I got a book out of the local library and went about identifying as many as I could. I ended up with a lengthy and productive list which, naturally, I have now misplaced.

As for all those flower seeds that I scattered about, feeling like a veritable prince of the gardening world, I shall continue to water and watch with my usual dubious smirk, awaiting the appearance of green but, really, not expecting it. Perhaps they'll spring up any day now...

Comments:

comment by troutbend on May 3, 2008 2:09 PM ()

They should have told me that on the dang seed package..

reply by looserobes on May 3, 2008 2:40 PM ()

Why couldn't you have just reveled in the "success" of the bean stalk? Maybe even transplanted it to another part of the yard? I guess the shot gun had something to do with it. Oh well, perhaps you'll be surprised soon with little green shoots all over your garden. Maybe they'll even be the flowers you planted. Good luck!

Hang in there--you will wake up one morning and see a field of sprouting seeds!!!

comment by greatmartin on May 2, 2008 5:04 PM ()

Boy, I hope you're right.

reply by looserobes on May 2, 2008 6:50 PM ()