The Little Tulip That Could Not

I've always wanted to plant bulbs in my yard so I can enjoy some spring blooms. And for years and years, I haven't done it. I have a lot of excuses - I’m lazy, I don't really have any flower beds, and I don't know anything about bulbs - to name a few. 

Last fall, I finally bought a package of tulip bulbs from Sam's Club and planted them in the gargoyle thrones on each side of my garage. 

What is a gargoyle throne? one might ask. Well, allow me to take you on a quick journey into the past...

Twenty years ago, there was a house in our neighborhood that had two large stone gargoyles on either side of the garage. Scotty and I used to drive past it and comment on how ugly and tacky the gargoyles were. One day, that house went up for sale, and we bought it. 

The end. 

The "thrones" the gargoyles sat upon were made from stacked landscaping bricks filled with dirt and then cemented over the top. When they sold the house, the previous home owners removed the cement to release the gargoyles (which they took with them), leaving the dirt exposed and cement stains on the brick of the house.  So we have two raised dirt beds on each side of the garage, which we lovingly refer to as the "gargoyle thrones."

The eastern gargoyle throne - you can see the leftover concrete on the red brick from where the gargoyles used to stand

We've planted a lot of experimental plants in the thrones over the years. They’re mostly shaded, so it's hard to find things that grow well in them, but we've managed to succeed with pumpkin vines and sunflowers a few times. In the above photo, you can see how some sedum has grown out the sides of the containment. I originally planted the sedum in the dirt up top, but it took on a direction of its own!

Anyway, back in October, I went ahead and planted some tulips in the thrones - unsure whether they would ever grow since they wouldn’t get a lot of sun. The next week, while I was in Disney World, my mother-in-law brought my girls home to plant some bulbs to surprise me (what are the odds that, after living a bulb-less life for 18 years, I would plant bulbs, and them my MIL would come plant bulbs in the same place a few days later?) my girls weren’t supposed to tell me about the bulbs, but Zoe blabbed. She just couldn’t help it! I asked my MIL what kind of bulbs they planted because I want to know if my bulbs succeed. She said they planted hot pink tulips.

To my delight, tulips started emerging from the ground a few weeks ago. I noticed that some of the tulips had thinner leaves than others. I chalked this up to the variety pack I planted and my MIL planting a different kind of tulip.  I hoped that they would eventually bloom, and that I’d be able to tell the difference between my mother-in-law’s and my flowers so I could know if I was capable of planting and raising tulips. Every day, for the last month or so, I've gone outside to check on their progress - looking forward to the first appearances of buds. 

Last week, the first bud began to form. What color will it be? I wondered! My package of bulbs boasted of reds and yellows with a few light pinks in the mix. Eventually, the color made itself known: the first tulip would be yellow! It was MINE!

Earlier this week, it snowed, and my little bud, which had just started to open the day before, took a hit. 

I found it drooping under the weight of the snow, and after removing the snow, it didn't seem like it would spring back. 

I ended up writing a lengthy blog post about my little, droopy tulip and how it reminded me of Jesus’ love for us. I thought a lot about it all week and drew all sorts of spiritual parallels that were timely for the week of Easter. I even shed a tear or two as I “felt stuff.” 

Yesterday, I noticed that the tulip was starting to do a lot better. I thought, “It’s going to pull through for Easter, and it’s going to beautiful!” Such perfect timing! Such a special lesson!

Last night, as I was lying in bed, I pictured my yellow tulip. I continued writing my Easter blog post in my head. Suddenly I had a thought… you know… my tulip actually looks a lot like a daffodil. As soon as the thought came to me, it was like running into a wall. 

My tulip isn’t a tulip at all!

My tulip is a daffodil! 

It’s not leaning to the side from the snow! It’s leaning to the side because that’s what daffodils do! 

I’m sure it will still be beautiful just in time for Easter, but I no longer have a tale of the redeemed and revived tulip. Now I have a tale of the daffodil that beguiled me, and I have a feeling that my MIL didn’t plant any hot pink tulips in my gargoyle thrones!

Cancel my Easter blog post!