Flowers As Children..as Flowers.

I bought a Gerbera Daisy the other day. A real beauty with one flower opened and a few smaller ones ready to open up. I bought a yellow one for a friend and this pale coral one for myself.

I was going to plant the Daisy in the garden but I got too busy with my lemon bar meltdown during the week.. Today I repeated my bad behavior. This time I made "everything but the kitchen sink " cookies and ate most of the dough before it was cooked. I may need some serious intervention soon. I have been running amok in the kitchen. I've lost my ability to "just say no" to myself.
So the flower sat on the table waiting for good soil and a refreshing relocation. I just ignored it.
I was going into the kitchen to retrieve cookies from the oven when I noticed the Daisy on the table.
Oh my gosh, I thought, I have forgotten to water that poor plant and it's looking a bit pale.
I picked it up and set it on the sink... then I got the cookies out of the oven, put some more in, set the timer for another ten minutes, ate some cookie dough and walked back to the sink.
That's when I noticed the OTHER FLOWER IN THE POT.

IT was starring at me .....

And it seemed angry.... I thought I heard it say something and growl at me.
I lifted up the container and took a closer look.  Thinking that this odd flower was really two flowers pushed together, I check the stem.

It didn't look as angry from the backside. It was then that I realized  I was looking at was a very upset flower that had just wanted to be on its own, but it was born different, somehow attached, and not very happy about it. I watered the plant immediately and set the pot down in the sink to drain. 

 Poor thing. No wonder you're are so upset. You expected to stand on your own with a gorgeous array of petals, only to find another flower attached to your stem....vying for attention too.
It's true. You are different.. but you are interesting and unusual. Each flower has it's own personality. Be who you are: A magnificent anomaly.



One flower turns out "perfect".... What is perfect anyway? I'm partial to imperfection.

Another is born "different".... troublesome, not as easy to get along with. But it's just as worthy. 
It's still a perennial. It is of the same family as its siblings. Its petals might be brighter, noisier... you can feel the intensity of its personality. It's just a different "hybrid" soul.
Each flower is unique.... one of a kind.
We need to love them all, even if they are a little more difficult to grow.

Think how we started. We were all new and unformed. Life was filled with possibilities. 
Imagine you're a beginner... always a beginner, and have strength... and bloom.


Gerbera jamesonii.... the Transvaal Daisy:
Just give them partial shade and regular watering and they will thrive.