No Instructions Included

This is a daylily seedling.   Sometimes you think you know where it came from and what it might do when it grows up.  Sometimes there is a little marker that says who the parents are.  And who Prince Charming is supposed to be.

Then there are days when there are few clues.  No neat little signs or notes.  Just a seedling standing on its own.  Those are the days when you don’t have a clue how Cinderella cruised into the party.  Or what became of the pumpkin or the mice.   Then you just need to look for that glass slipper and figure out what kind of adventure you and Cinderellie might have in the garden.

Better yet – pitch the glass slipper.  Don’t listen to the fairy godmother that says the magic ends at midnight.  There is plenty of magic and surprises each day when the sun comes up.

Advertisement

the sorting hat and other magic

As magical object go Hogwarts sorting hat does a fair job of delivering what’s needed.  It sorts out new students to their houses and fetches the sword of Gryffindor in a pinch.  There are other mundane magical devices out there.  Some so mundane and harmless that they are left in the care of ordinary muddles!  There is in fact one such device sitting next to the kitchen sink.  I am not sure of its exact name.   It could be the old plastic coffee container or it could be the stinking sorter.  I do mostly know what it does.  It sits there while kitchen scraps are un-cerimoniously stuffed insde.  carrot tops, greens and all, onion peels, egg shells and any other organic stuff (anything that is not a meat or dairy product)  when it gets full it is given over to the drudge.  for schlepping out to the sorting heap.

Now the true magic begins.  An eye of toad, actually the whole toad might just dig in, some worms and a bunch of spiders and other bugs along with some bacteria and assorted crobes (microbes that is)  jump in an swirl things about.  Oh and add a pinch of dirt, don’t forget to throw that in too!    It gets steaming hot.  Not hot enough to singe Hagrid’s beard but hot enough to (slow) cook.  And in a couple of months compost is served.   I did say slow cook.   Heck even magic takes a bit of thyme.

And now for the last magical trick…  Scoop up some compost and add a couple of dashes to each plant in your garden.   Not too much – just a couple of dashes.    Oh and don’t forget to step back smartly.  You would not want to get blooming poked in the eye!