Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Dirty Little Secret

A couple of months ago, Hubs and I decided to do a little yard work to pretty up our backyard, so we--and by we, I mean he (I gotta give credit where credit is due)--dug a lot of holes in our yard and planted a bunch of crape myrtles. They do really well here in the extreme Texas heat.

I thought that while we were at the nursery, it would be fun to buy a hanging plant to suspend from our bird feeder. They were gorgeous hot pink petunias that lasted about one week, and then they were completely dead. I wasn't sure if I over or under watered, but they were gone. And rather than heed my Mom's advice and return the plant to the nursery and ask for a new one, I decided to cut all of the shriveled blooms and leaves out of the hanging basket and replace them with some flowers that would never die. That's right, people, I bought fake ones and stuck them right in the same soil as the others!

Aren't they pretty? Even my mom told me they were beautiful, though, as soon as she found out they were fake, she rescinded her compliment. She doesn't do fake flowers. I, on the other hand, love looking at their loveliness when I wash dishes, and I feel smug knowing that it really doesn't matter if I remember to water them or not! It's a win-win.


Well, the other evening, as I was washing dishes and admiring my fake fleurs, I thought, "Wow! Those leaves look SO lifelike! And then this morning (while doing more dishes), I noticed some hot pink buds popping up through the falsies!


Dirty secret EXPOSED! Now what? Do I pull out the fakes and let the real ones live, or should fakery and reality live together in perfect harmony?

3 comments:

Dana Cheryl said...

What a dilemma!!! I have no good advice for ya other than to say that petunias are water hogs. I water mine every single day even when it rains and they've never been over-watered. So maybe if ya don't mind watering pull out the falsies but if ya do then keep doin' what you're doing. Looks pretty and from a distance who'll know? Well, except for us your blogging friends but I won't tell. :)

Cheryl said...

Looks great just the way it is! You might want to remember to water the real ones, though :) I have a black thumb, though, so don't take my advice.

J said...

I'd probably get the fake ones their own new pot if it were me, and water those petunias OFTEN. Maybe move them to a shadier spot, since it's so hot and dry there? And leave the fake ones there to tease the birds.