Green Thumb???

I am well aware that I don't have a green thumb.

Regardless of this, I've been very excited to have the opportunity to have a small garden and a few flowers this year. Just to give it a try. Saturday I pulled out the pots and Begonia bulbs someone bought for me and set to work. Justin wasn't here so I went at it on my own, confidant I could stick a few bulbs in a pot. Whats so hard about that?

The directions said to plant the bulb flat side up, rounded side down. However, upon opening the little packet I discovered that my bulbs had "sprouted." There was roughly an inch long shoot off the bulb with a pink, fuzzy, leafy thing on the end. I felt a little bad that I'd left it long enough that it sprouted but hey, better late then never right? I dug the little holes, put some water in, and stuck in the bulbs.

They weren't perfectly shaped in the Flat-on-one-Side-Rounded-on-the-other-side the way the directions implicated but there was definitely a "roundish" and a "flatish" side to the thing. The only confusing part being that it was sprouting out of the rounder side. So they might have been a little deformed, I dunno...I carried on, planted my little Begonias and was pretty satisfied to see the happy pink, fuzzy, leafy things poking up through the dirt.

Now I've been watching my 'guinea pig' plant, waiting for it to do something. All the while I have a terrible fear nagging in the back of my mind that the fuzzy leafy things are not flowers at all, far from it. I've asked a few people their opinions and the common verdict seems to be that my fears are correct.

I've planted them upside-down. My pink fuzzy plant is not "sprouting" so much as it has ROOTS. Roots that are now poking out of the dirt, waving in the breezes. GRRR.

Its funny, I'll admit that. Maybe even hilarious. But I can't help but feel a little silly anyway. My poor children, what will I do to them?

So I guess I know what I've got to do....unless, I wonder if it would grow anyway. I could just have a potted root system in my house. It would be unique....

I'm happy to say that the rest of our planting has seemed to be more successful so far. We've got corn, potatoes, peas, beans, and broccoli in the ground right now and more seeds waiting for hotter weather. Thankfully with seeds there's no real right side up so I think we're ok with those.

I'm beginning to realize I might have to be a little more careful in relaying these stories of my extreme mishaps to everyone because I think some people are actually pretty convinced I'm a few fries short if you know what I mean. I'm confidant this isn't the case but....some days......I dunno.....