BLOOMING SURPRISE

When we shopped for our annual batch of spring blossoms for our yard this year, we also received a mystery plant. Tucked in beside the begonias and the hydrangeas were a bunch of greenery that no one knew the name of.

“Plant it” they said simply, “ and find out what it is.”

So we did. My mind began to race with the multiple analogies I could create out this experience.

Not judging a book by its cover.

A rose among the thorns.

Beauty and the beast.

As our rainy spring turned into the equally rainy summer, we watched and waited.

The combination of one day sunny followed by two days of rain became the norm for the week, and when there was a break in the mist we trimmed and pulled and shaped our beautiful flowers, now lush and full because of summer’s heat.

We still didn’t know what our mystery flower was, until we began to see the tell tale yellow blossoms and giant green elephant leaves.

“Ah yes” a neighbor decided, chin cuffed between two fingers.

”It’s a zucchini plant.”

“Great!” we both responded, for we loved squash.

We went to sleep dreaming of ratatouille with pasta, zucchini bread and glorious chunks of the vegetable mixed with olive oil, parsley and crusty Italian bread.

But the pretty yellow flowers just kept blooming and blooming, producing nothing. Definitely out of place, the hardy vines grew strong and thick amongst the delicate blooms and colorful posies.


Finally, one evening I noticed a green stem protruding from the base of the flower, but had no one to share the discovery with except the dogs.

“Look! A zucchini!” They cocked their heads in unison and looked at me as if to say “…..and? If it something we can’t eat, we ain’t interested.”

Even though it was only one stem, I thought for sure more would show up eventually.

Knowing ‘a watched pot doesn’t boil’, I purposely denied myself from looking at my newly found discovery for a few days.

Imagine my surprise when I went to check on it this morning.

It’s not a zucchini.

It’s a pumpkin.

I have my very own pumpkin patch growing amongst the flowers. Planted there by unsuspecting farmers, the most obvious of all analogies appeared right before my eyes.

Bloom where you’re planted.