Flowers Remind Humans: We Need Water, Too!

Tonight, I won my first battle of the Spring with the lawnmower, and finally mowed the Great Lawn of The House on the Hill, Modern Philosophers.

It was an epic undertaking, especially since the lawnmower did not want to start after a long Winter’s slumber, but it finally succumbed to my skilled combination of begging, pleading, cursing, and flailing of my arms.

Once the job was done, I sat on the porch, admired my work, and cooled off with an ice cold bottle of water.

“Don’t forget, flowers need water, too,” came a sweet little voice from somewhere below me on the Great Lawn.  I did a spit take.  It had been a long day that started with my waking up early for a run, and had just included my laboring under the hot May sun to mow my huge front lawn.

I wasn’t sure if it was the heat or the exhaustion, but something was making the flowers on the Great Lawn talk to me.

“Honestly, you need to remember to water your flowers in this heat!” the voice insisted, this time with a little more force.  So I stood up and prepared to pour the rest of my water onto the lawn.

That’s when I noticed I had a visitor.  As the little lady in the flowered dress waved to me from the sidewalk, I breathed a sigh of relief.  The flowers were not talking.  Phew!

She introduced herself a Belle LeFleur, from The Maine Flower Fanatics, a non-profit organization that (these are Belle’s words) “Speaks to humans on behalf of flowers”.

Apparently, Belle had arranged with one of the interns to meet with me tonight.  Alas, the interns had called it a day around noon and had fled The House on the Hill to enjoy the sun and warmth…without informing me of this meeting.

I invited my guest onto the porch, grabbed us a couple of bottles of Snapple, and asked her how I could be of service.

“I was hoping you could use your blog to spread MFF’s message to your fellow Modern Philosophers,” Belle explained.  “This is the time of year when flowers return to brighten our lives.  They don’t ask for much in return other than some water, especially on days when the sun is at its brightest.”

I have always been very pro-flower watering, so I told Belle I would be happy to get her request out to my readers.

“People need to remember that even flowers that have made the ultimate sacrifice and given their lives to brighten a home or office still need water,” she told me with a very serious look on her face.   “Everyone seems to forget this.  Yes, the flowers are slowly dying, but they do their best to remain perky and vibrant as they sit on a desk or a table far away from much needed direct sunlight.  The least you can do is change the water in the vase every day.  Don’t make them sit there in their own waste.  That’s so cruel.”

I’d never thought about it that way.

“When flowers finally give up and start to wilt, it’s usually because humans have forgotten to give them fresh water,” Belle continued as she wiped a tear from her eye.  “It’s all they ever ask of us.  Just some fresh water and a little sunlight.”

I comforted Belle with a pat on her back, and offered her the sleeve of my toga to wipe her eyes, but she politely declined.

So water your flowers, Modern Philosophers!  Don’t let them wilt on you.  Freshen their water, give them a little sun, and just appreciate the sacrifice they’ve made to make you smile and brighten up your day.

“Flowers would also really appreciate it if you didn’t allow your pets to urinate and defecate on them,” Belle added.

I don’t know how to follow that, so goodbye for now…