"Mums" the Word

Up to now, I've pretty much avoided annual flowers. They don't make anything (like vegetables do), the don't last for a long time (like perennials do), they're just pretty for a few months and then they die. Kind of silly to spend money on something that just sits there, right?

But the other day I was at Sunrise, where they have rows and rows of mums. They're kind of a gaudy flower any other time of the year, but in the fall mums just feel right. Maybe it's the colors--rusty red, pumpkiny orange, golden yellow--but they just work.

So I brought some home. No place to put them in the ground outside, no place to put them inside. Just brought some home and plunked them into a pot. I've spent ten bucks on far less useful things.

And I know I could try to save them and plant them in the Spring and yadda-yadda, but, really, I did some research on Mums and they're a bit of work to keep. They need extra rich soil and they're supposed to be moved every three years, prone to pests, etc. And I really wouldn't want them in my flower bed in March or May or July, anyway. Just right now.

As part of my little annual-buying rebellion (and also because I want my mums to survive my dogs) I put my pot'o'mums outside our back door instead of the front. We use the back door much more often, and they make me smile every time I walk by.

So they aren't useless really, they're perfect. They'll sit on my back stoop, be beautiful, and make me smile everyday, and when it's time for a poinsettia, they'll be done blooming and ready to step aside.

There's definitely something wonderful to be said about flowers in the perfect time and perfect place.