Fussypants

Short story time! I have a wonderful job at a garden center, as I have mentioned before, that comes with some unique perks. Every once in a while, they’ll have free plants to give away to employees, which are usually the leftover plants customers don’t buy 1/x

Most of these plants are on their last legs - they’re annuals that are past their bloom, they’ve been eaten up a bit by insects or they’ve got a couple broken stems. Collectively, I refer to them as “struggle plants” 2/x

I always look forward to when they put out racks and racks of struggle plants for us to choose from. Even though a lot of them are in rough shape, there’s always hidden gems to be found. Plus, what’s not to love about a Charlie Brown zinnia? 3/x

Well today was Struggle Plant day! I eagerly picked through cartons of dalias and alyssums and petunias and found a cluster of 9 plants I just *had* to bring home 4/x

Here’s the other wrinkle to the story - I don’t drive to work. I bike. So I had to figure out how to get 9 plants into my tiny little bike basket and safely to my house 5/x

Luckily, I’m a pretty good problem-solver... and also very stubborn. I managed to fit 8 of 9 plants into the basket and could carry the final pot in one arm. It wasn’t graceful but I managed to make it all the way home biking with one hand and a basketful of plants 6/x