Our Master Gardener

Last spring, my father, our resident "Master Gardener," gave me two small green plants.
"They are balloon flowers," he declared, and he promised they would bloom into beautiful unique flora. Well, halfway through the summer, they still looked like straggly green stalks.

Our Master Gardener assured me they would bloom, but perhaps not until the following spring. So I tended to these plants all summer, fall, winter, and spring.

For the duration of this time, they have looked like weeds, which have grown in size but never produced those unique, beautiful flowers. In fact, a friend asked why I was allowing such large weeds to grow in my planter box right outside our back door! See for yourself:
And so, we began to place bets on these flowers. Would they bloom by Easter? By Mary's birthday? In honor of Mother's Day? Or, had Dad played a joke on us and perhaps they were weeds after all? Every morning at breakfast, we would place our wagers on when the "weeds" would actually bloom.

After 14 highly-anticipated months, I'm happy to report we have our first blossoms. They truly are unique and beautiful. Thanks, Master Gardener!! Your reputation is safe once again.