I had a friend named Flip.
Flip owned, and operated a prosperous lawn and garden center.
Flip took a chance on me, one with no experience growing anything, and hired me, as his first seasonal employee.
One day Flip decided to take lunch offsite. He gave me detailed instruction on what he needed me to do while he was gone.
He needed me to ‘deadhead’ the purple petunias by removing the spent blooms down to the next leaf joint. He explained that by removing the faded flowers, the plant would continue producing new flowers, and would stay in bloom longer.
Purple petunias are my favorite with their deep purple color and their faint, mysterious scent.
I was so happy to have a task that was uncomplicated and yet would continue the cycle of glorious petunia purple-ness.
I was happy to have the task completed as I saw him pulling into the parking lot. I had deadheaded the petunias, cleaned up my mess, and displayed the baskets along with the other flowers.
As Flip walked towards me his face showed dismay. It was not the dismay I expected. He was confounded as he asked, “What did you do?!”
I was startled, since I did what he asked me to do.
“No. No. No! I asked you to deadhead them. You have removed all the blooms.”
He then showed me what the new blooms looked like and questioned me. “Don’t you see the difference?”
I hadn’t noticed a difference until he pointed it out to me. The new and old blooms had looked the same with just subtle differences that I will now forever remember.
Flip.
Thank you for not getting hostile or mad. Thank you for using that moment to train me further in my knowledge of plant cycles, growth, and care.
Thank you most of all for teaching me how to rectify a plant-based mistake.
Fertilize it with phosphate, with potash, and give it time. It will bloom again.
I remember your lesson Flip.
I apply it often.
*Learn bloom stages.
*For vigorous growth, remove the dead blooms.
*When I cut away the wrong things, do damage control by adding nutrients.
*Most important: give it time.
And so I will Flip- so I will.
