"Faith sees a beautiful blossum in a bulb, a lovely garden in a seed and a giant oak in an acorn."

                                                                                             -William Arthur Ward

Gardening fills me with wonder. The combination of seed, dirt, sun and water produces results that are nothing short of miraculous. To plant a seed is a giant act of faith.  To plant a handful is to paint the landscape with a pallet of colors that could only have come from God. In my gardening endeavors, no two seasons are ever the same.

This past summer, we decided to grow a house. A sunflower house complete with walls, roof and a small doorway. The “walls” were thick with leaves and blooms. The roof allowed the sun and stars to peek through.

We started by measuring a rectangle measuring about 6 by 9 feet. Leaving an opening for the doorway, we dug out a trench of about 8 inches wide. Into the trench, we planted a mixture of seeds: giant Russian sunflowers, morning glories, moonflowers, teeny tiny pumpkins called Jack Be Little that are only 2-3 inches big, miniature cucumbers and scarlet runner beans. In between the giant sunflowers, we planted strawberry popcorn. I mixed in several different sunflower varieties to add more color: Monet’s Pallet (a mixture of reds and yellows, roses and creams), Vanilla Ice (very pale lemon yellow), Moulin Rouge (very dark burgundy red) and Earthwalker (many colors on one plant ranging from deep orange to many shades of tan to yellow). Around the outer edge, we planted marigolds and zinnias. At each of the four corners, I tucked in a few Dill’s Atlantic Giant Pumpkin seeds.

In less than 2 weeks, our house was clearly visible. It quickly reached my knees, then my waist. In little more than a month, the sunflowers were over my head. With the sunflowers (our walls) so high, I then strung lightweight string across the top. This would be our roof. The morning glories and moonflowers climbed up the sunflowers to the string. We now had a blooming roof.

Our sunflower house was truly magical. During the day, the bluish-purple and pink morning glories would open up wide. At night, the air was filled with the fragrance of pearly white moonflowers. Bright red scarlet runner beans contrasted nicely. Looking closely, neatly hidden in the jumble of flowers and leaves were the mini pumpkins and cucumbers. From each of the corners, a large pumpkin vine snaked outward.

Our house is still standing; still providing an enchanted fort to sit in and dream.