Flowers hold memories

I was just finishing up on one of the flower beds when a guy I didn’t know stopped by. He asked if he could pick one of my flowers. I told him no.

I am used to people commenting on the flowers. A while back an older gentleman told me I was foolish for pulling weeds and asked if I ever heard of a popular herbicide. I told him that pulling weeds was satisfying and that I contributed enough dangerous chemicals to the world without using a product that was as dangerous to my health as it was to the weeds. He let me know in no uncertain terms that I was an idiot. Thankfully he hasn’t been back since.

Sometimes people ask if they can pick a flower. I always tell them no. I am more than willing to cut some for them but I don’t want them to pick them. I have picked up too many flowers with half their root system intact that someone yanked out of the earth and then left the wilted things on the sidewalk. There are a few plants that I refuse to give away because they came from someone special. The yellow irises came from my mother-in-law. I had shared a couple of them with a neighbor many years ago. Sadly she died and her son moved in. He was a good soul but eventually he also passed away. Then the property was sold and the new owner made it his mission to eliminate the plants.

I wish I had asked for the irises I had given away before the last ones were destroyed.

The other ones that are not for sale are the blue and white irises I dug up from the front of my mom’s house after she died. This year is the first time they have put on a great show. Usually they just look wimpy. I have come to realize that it is not the plants themselves that I cherish, rather it is the memories associated with them.

Sometimes I think you will get tired of reading about flowers. It isn’t about the flowers. Sometimes they live and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes the squirrels have contests to see which one of them can do the most damage.

I have tried planting plastic forks around plants to deter the squirrels. They laugh and pull up whichever plant they want. This year they have a war against marigolds. Other years they prefer tomatoes.

I think that most of us hold onto things that other people feel are useless just because of the memories they represent. This explains the proliferation of storage units. They may not need the contents of the units but they also aren’t ready to dispose of all the stuff they have accumulated.The upcoming generation doesn't seem to feel the need to hold onto objects as much as my generation does.

So did I let the stranger pick a flower? Nope. I cut one for him and sent him on his way.