Earlier this spring I cleaned up and re-worked, er, assisted my boyfriend in cleaning up and re-working my back patio. Over the past three months, there has been quite a bit of growth and what started like this...
...has turned into this.
I've been very diligent with daily waterings to keep everything alive. The assortment of flowers includes hibiscus, pansies, dahlias, peonies and lantana. (Mom, be proud!) As of two weeks ago, an extra special, and somewhat unique player has joined the garden. Look closely and you can see it in the upper left hand corner.
As a 'thank you' from his work, my boyfriend received a greeting card of the future...a bean in a can. Remove the lid, water, and when the bean sprouts, it reveals the message inscribed on the bean. Very cool idea that turned into a friendly competition among his coworkers: who can grow the tallest bean? A few days of natural sunlight and watering and the messenger bean made its appearance. A few days longer and the leaves sprouted. But not just any leaves; these leaves were big. Bigger, in fact, than the can the bean came in.
And to put the size into perspective: The leaves are bigger than a man's hand!
It wasn't long before the bean outgrew the can and needed to be transplanted. Accompanying this move, he also received a name: Frank. Inspired by the way hops are grown, we tied a string around a tree branch to provide stability and to aid in training Frank which way to grow. A good move for sure. Two weeks ago Frank was measuring five feet tall. Fifteen days later, he is towering above the garden at an extraordinary nine feet! Now that is one magic bean!
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| Frank's point of view |
The only dilemma now is the figure out where Frank's new home will be since he has maxed out the current location and is now touching the tree branch the string is tied to. Want to get in on some of your own magic bean action? Check out Nature's Greeting and buy one for you or someone you know.
