Originally published on Yours.org on May 1, 2018.
29 of #100DaysofSatoshiDoodles
Once upon a time, I received a gift of a sunflower seedling in a plastic cup. It had been nurtured with love by an eight-year old, but despite our efforts at handling with care, the fragile stem was accidentally bent in transport between school and home. I almost said “goodbye” and the spindly seedling was very nearly tossed into the compost bin.
A tiny feeling in my gut convinced me to try salvaging this seedling, by planting it in the garden, with a stake to support its growth.
A couple of weeks passed, and the bent stem seemed to straighten itself out, assisted by water, sunshine, and nutrients in the soil. Some helpful bees eventually stopped by to pollinate the disc florets.
Several months passed, and the formerly “broken” seedling had become a deeply rooted, thick, rigid stem (albeit with a scabby texture and funny bend) that now supported a large sunflower head with hundreds of new seeds.
True story.
p.s. Happy International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day! (I guess this depends on your climate.)