A thick down comforter of gray clouds pressed against the morning sky. The fringe along the eastern edge of the clouds was the color of July peaches.
Before sunrise late last week, I had come outside, coffee in hand, to admire the explosion of yellow swamp sunflowers in our otherwise fading backyard. The sunflowers are perennials that grow and grow — some are as tall as 12-feet — and you wonder if they will ever bloom. Then in mid-October, when everything else is giving way to fall, they show up, bright and ready to party.
A gardening friend who lives outside Brooksville gave me the flowers (also known as narrow-leaf sunflower). They are aggressive spreaders, and I’ve passed on clumps of them to other gardeners, who like me, are astonished by their vigor. Pass-along plants serve as connections between gardners, a lovely reminder of a friend and a shared passion.
My first pass-along plant came from a little woman who lived behind the Health Department on Military Road — her name escapes me. She grew a succulent called hen and chicks. The plant is easily divided, and she had them growing in every conceivable container, from dog food cans to ceramic pelicans. I admired her collection, and she gave me a plant. My “thank you,” however, was met with stern rebuke.
“Never thank someone for a plant,” she said.
Apparently, the plant will not grow as it should if thanks are offered the giver.
One of the best things about a hobby is the kinship it provides with those who share your passion. You may be different in every other way, but you nurture a love for restoring old cars, playing Mah Jongg, running marathons, going to MSU sporting events, flying radio controlled airplanes, growing roses, keeping bees.
That mutual interest trumps petty differences we seem to spend so much time squabbling about these days. I have beekeeping/gardening friends about whose politics I haven’t a clue. Also, you come to know people you never knew or who you haven’t seen in years.
Here’s an email I received last week from a childhood friend with whom I’ve become reacquainted after about a 40-year hiatus (and with whom I encouraged to pursue his interest in beekeeping):
I wanted you to know, I harvested my first two quarts of honey today. And to think it only cost about $500 in material, supplies, and labor — to obtain two $10 quarts of honey.
That’s a cost-to-benefit ratio of 25:1. … this venture would never fly if it were a (commercial) project. But I have really enjoyed the bees and thank you for helping me with them. In fact, reacquainting our friendship has been the best benefit I have received, which is clearly not included in the above B/C ratio.
I believe next year the bees will produce more, but even if they don’t they are still fun.
The one volunteer Mexican sunflower with its brilliant orange blooms is fading — I’ve found any plant with “Mexican” in its name to be not only beautiful, but hardy, drought resistant and wildly popular with birds and pollinators.
Oh, and another thing, the honeybees love the giant sunflowers. When the day warms they swarm the yellow blooms, harvesting their nectar for the winter ahead.
Birney Imes III is the immediate past publisher of The Dispatch.
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