Lessons From a Plant

Last March 2011, I ordered four mosquito plants from an out of state mail-order nursery. They looked so pretty in the catalog, I couldn’t resist. And, since I am total mosquito bait, I jumped at the chance to purchase something to keep the pesky little buggers away. Yaaa, I’m going to be “mosquito-free” for change.

When the plants finally arrived on May 20^th I was as happy as a ‘hog-in-slop’. Sniggling giggling and itching to tell somebody about my prize, I opened the package. (Sigh) 

My happiness quickly turned to disappointment at the sight of the puny little pitiful looking things I found inside the package.

Rant time! I fussed and fumed and got all bent out of shape for a good little while. How dare they mis-lead people like that!? That’s a crying shame, fooling folks into buying something then sending them this junk. Okay enough already, I decided to go ahead and put the sickly little souls in pots. What did I have to lose?

Every day I watered, waited, fussed and fumed some more. What was I thinking? Did I really believe I would get that huge lush green beauty of a plant they advertised in the catalog? Well, yeah. Might need to call an attorney, that fringes on false advertising. Huh, they can’t do that to people.

I kept watering and waiting, sometimes fussing sometimes not. The mosquito plants took hold and began to perk-up a bit. That was promising, maybe they’ll be alright. Yes, this just might work out. By the end of May they looked almost like they had a fighting chance.

Early in June I stopped griping, they started to look so much better. By mid June I was a happy camper again, my mosquito plants were holding their own, looking like real cute baby mosquito plants. I started to look on the bright side and, forgot all about bad-mouthing the company. I put my efforts towards keeping my little mosquito plants alive and healthy.

My little darlings made it to and through the summer during the worst drought I have ever lived through in my life. It was a struggle but, we made it. And, by March 2012 my mosquito plants are a sight to behold!

I saw it coming but, I wasn’t quite sure what “IT” was. March 26, 2012, I stepped outside to a totally new look on my babies. Blossoms, blooms, flowers and, an awesomely ‘decked-out’ mosquito plant greeted me. The beautiful lilac flowers nestled sweetly inside lush green foliage seemed to whisper softly…

…“Thank you, Mama, for taking such good care of us. Here is a gift from us to you for all your loving patience. Enjoy!”

Lessons learned:

• Never order plants through the mail again
• Visit  local nurseries so I can see what I am actually getting
• Don't jump the gun and get all bent out of shape right away
• Change my attitude and do something positive instead of fussing
• Be patient!