While everyone is wrapping up their gardens for the year, my Floridian self is waiting for the day that I can set out my squash and tomatoes. It is still 90-something degrees, and tomatoes won’t set in anything higher than 85-degrees. Ask me how I know. Too, the bugs are having a gourmet time on my squash which are waiting in the shade for the day that I can set them out. Can’t the pests at least wait until I’ve toiled, nurtured, and hand-pollinated the male and female flowers before they mock me? No, they want to get an early start this year.

This is why it is unexplainable that my flowers along the front walkway are doing so well. Every visitor has commented on their beauty this month. This is probably because they are used to seeing my fruitless labor lining my front porch: impatiens that droop under the bug infestation that I spray without success every morning, petunias with a life cycle of two weeks, and verbena with uncontrollable white-stuff disease. The reward for my labor is discouraging to say the least. Blooming where you are planted is easier when you’re not in Florida.

I even went to an eight week class on growing roses in Florida (“in Florida”, being the key phrase) sponsored by the county extension office, the folks who should know. I won’t post a picture of my rose bush (yes, that’s right, there’s only one left) because it was clear by attending those classes that if I ever wanted to grow a measly rose, I’d have to quit my job as a wife and mother to devote it to full-time rose care. I’m not even exaggerating.

And so, I present my pentas, which will never happen like this again. Hurray for flukes. Boo for The Curse. [Edit: Creation was subjected to The Curse not without hope. And so, the Curse reminds us that He will make all things right one day, and that our hope isn't here, but there. But...you know what I meant.]

pentas
Front Walkway