Girls in the Garden

In the spring, I was greeted by hundreds of Cosmos sprouting up. They had re-seeded themselves from my neglected garden last year (which was even more neglected this year). Cosmo blooms are beautiful and delicate and lovely, but they are not my favorite flower in the world because they grow tall and leggy all summer long, taking over your flower bed, to finally bloom in the fall for a month or so.

So I was plucking these babies up all year long (as much as it pains me to pluck any flower babies up). Hundreds and hundreds of them.

I let a couple dozen of them stay, and though the feminine flowers are currently blossoming delightfully, the tall plants that they blossom on are falling forward with rotting foliage at the bottom.

Blossoms, lovely. Plants, ugly.

In a fit of rage, I pulled some of the mature Cosmos out last week, blooms and all. Only a few - I just couldn't bring myself to pull all of them.

Last Saturday I was so happy that I let those last plants stay. During Gabe's party, my niece Lettie asked, as she always does, if she could pick some of my flowers. She knows that Aunt Katie has a soft spot for little girls and flowers, and I told her, as I always do, to pick to her heart's content. She and her sisters plucked just about every one of those flowers, and I was happy to let them do it.

Lettie the wood nymph

Jovie

Callie

Ruby

My sister-in-law Sabina, who was gifted several flowers by her nieces.

Can you believe these girls? Just about every skin, hair, and eye color, and each of them so beautiful in their own way.


This was Ruby's bouquet. Doesn't it look like it could belong to a bridesmaid?

Even after all their plucking three days ago, I went out there this morning and there were dozens of new blooms awaiting. After a summer of hating those Cosmos, I am still going to have a hard time talking myself into pulling all their seedlings up next year.