Pop's Petunias

  Back on the farm, Pop had knowledge of just about everything.  He always claimed to be a "Jack of all trades but a master of none".  I have to disagree with him on that one.  He was a true master of so many things and gardening was one.  How the man had so much energy was beyond me.  He kept the fields planted and tended, took care of the farm animals, helped Mom with the kids, had a side business repairing small motors and still had time to have gorgeous flower gardens.  Even when he had become aged, he still worked from sun up to sun down.  I truly wish I could be like that.

  It was those flower gardens that came to mind today while I was out picking figs.  I could see beyond the fig tree, across the garden fence and under a peach tree where a pretty little purple flower was blooming.  This is a volunteer that comes up every year somewhere in the yard. I never know where I will find the tiny petunia plant but I always cherish it.  You see, this plant is one that originated in Pop's gardens.  He had petunias spilling out of every garden in the yard!  For some reason, he was partial to the plants.  Each year, he would scour the beds to find the tiny seedlings then transplant them in between other plants such as zinnias and marigolds.  The petunias would "fill in" any bare spots.  I always remember only purple petunias.

  This year, two volunteer plants came up.  One was under the grapefruit tree and the other in the back vegetable plot.  Since I had no flower beds prepared yet when I found the tiny plants, I potted them both.  Neither plant is doing as well as Pop's but, then, I am not the gardener he was.  I am just happy to find the plants each year so I can enjoy a little "throwback" time to the old farm.

Poor Petunia!

I'm a lonely little Petunia in an onion patch,

an onion patch, an onion patch.

I'm a lonely little Petunia in an onion patch

and all I do is cry all day!

Boo hoo, boo hoo

Petunia blossoms from this past Summer!

I can remember my mother singing this little ditty back in the day, usually when I would be crying over something that did not amount to a hill of beans as children are prone to do at times. She would start nonchalantly singing this song and before long the tears would be dry and I would be singing along. It was a sad but amusing thought to imagine a Petunia crying. The song goes on a bit more but this was the part where I would chime in while she would be singing! Mom was one smart lady! She knew that the best way to cheer a mopey child was to divert the attention to something much happier. Perhaps that knowledge was just a thing learned by experience since I was the youngest of five children!

Lone Petunia with a die-hard Onion to the left.

Today while in the garden, I noticed that throughout the winter, a lone Petunia has been growing right next to a single onion. They both have flourished despite freezing weather. I immediately started singing the little song while Son looked at me and smiled.."I remember Grandma singing that!" Wow! That song is a memory! The petunia was from seeds handed down from Dad's garden and the onion..sprouted from an planted "top". My oldest son planted the top of a sprouting onion in a planter box that held my petunias back when he was still at home. It withstood hard freezes and hurricanes in that planter box. Two years ago, I realized the planter box had seen better days so I transplanted the onion into the garden. I did not intentionally plant the petunias in the garden but obviously some seeds were moved with the onion. These two have been growing side by side for years now and I do not have the heart to separate them. It would be almost like the parting of best friends..nope..can't do it! I am supposing that come Spring, the song's wording might have to be changed a bit, though. This past Summer, the Petunia bloomed prolifically and was covered with the tiny seed pods. If these all come up, I might be singing a different tune..something on the order of....

I'm a lonely little onion in a Petunia patch...........

Petunia blossoms!