“If you want something, ask for it. You might be surprised by how much you get.” — Something Ma always taught us
Not the whole plant.
Just the head.
And this wasn't just any sunflower. It was huge! I wish I had taken a photo of it with my hand beside the flower head so you could see just how big it was.
I started it from seed and had been watching it grow and was patiently waiting for the seeds to mature so I could save them for planting.
Well… somebody apparently wasn't interested in waiting.
They came by sometime during the night, cut off the flower head and took it.
The funny—or rather, not so funny—part is that the seeds weren't mature yet. So whoever stole it probably didn't even get what they wanted. Those immature seeds are unlikely to germinate.
Talk about stealing before the groceries are cooked! 😂
But honestly, I was upset. I was livid. I had been looking forward to saving those seeds and growing more sunflowers.
And this isn't the first time.
The marigold mystery
About a month and a half ago, I planted a whole line of marigolds along the front of the yard.
They were growing nicely and just beginning to form buds.
Then one day I went out to pull weeds and noticed something strange—the holes where my marigolds had been planted.
I looked around for the plants.
Nothing.
Every single one was gone.
I was devastated.
Standing there this morning looking at that sunflower stalk brought the whole thing back to me—and reminded me of something Ma always used to say:
“If you want something, ask.”
Ma believed that if you asked someone for something they had, you might be surprised by how generous they could be.
Ask for a small cutting and you might get two or three branches.
Ask for two oranges and you might go home with five.
People can be surprisingly generous when you simply give them the chance to share.
But Ma also had a childhood story that taught her the other side of that lesson.
The pineapple punishment
Ma told me that when she was a little girl, she and her brothers went into a neighbour's garden and picked pineapples without permission.
They came home quite happily with their pineapples.
Unfortunately for them, their father—my Grandpa Cyril—was a no-nonsense man.
He wasn't about to give them a little lecture and send them on their way.
Instead, he made each child put a pineapple on their head and walk through the village.
Yes. Pineapple. On the head. Walking through the village.😂🍍
The neighbour apparently thought Grandpa Cyril had been too harsh with the children.
But Ma said that experience stayed with her for the rest of her life.
It taught her a valuable lesson.
She never stole again.
And I suspect that when Ma told us this story as children, there was a little message hidden in it:
“Remember what happened to me? Don't let me catch you doing the same thing.”
She never actually had to threaten us with pineapples on our heads. The story did the job.
Ask. Don't take.
And that's what I keep thinking about when I look at my sunflower.
If the person who wanted that flower had simply asked, things might have turned out very differently.
The seeds weren't ready, but perhaps I could have given them something else. A few seeds when they matured. A cutting. Some flowers.
Because that's what Ma taught us.
Ask.
You might be surprised by what someone is willing to share.
But when you simply take something from someone's garden, you take more than a plant or a flower. You take away the gardener's chance to enjoy it, save its seeds or decide what to do with it.
So if you see something growing in someone else's yard that you'd love to have, remember Ma's advice.
Ask first.
As for me, I'll be planting more sunflowers.
Because one stolen flower isn't going to stop this Grey-Haired Gardener.
Although I may have to keep a closer eye on those seed heads next time.
Apparently, I'm not the only one waiting for them to mature! 😂🌻
What about your garden?
Have you ever had a plant, fruit, flower or cutting taken from your garden without permission?
Or do you have a family story about something your parents or grandparents taught you about sharing, asking or respecting someone else's property?
Drop your story in the comments—and if you have a photo, even better!
And remember:
Ask first. You might be surprised by how much you get.
thegreyhairedgardener.blogspot.com
As a child growing up my mother also instilled in me that people thing is people thing! I feel your pain. I had a similar experience. I had planted some Blue Java bananas in front of my home and was patiently awaiting the first harvest from them. I saw the Cepep workers cleaning up the roadside and when they left I decided to take a walk in front of my house. They had harvested the three bunches of Blue Java bananas. I felt so broken hearted. They took all, no thought of the gardener and it was the same thing, the bananas were not ready.
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