I know, I know...you came to this site wanting to talk decoupage so what's up with that pretty old and tired subject of flower power? Maybe it was cute in the 60's but really, it's got very little to do with me and you today unless, of course, it's about putting a posie on a plate. That's flower power of a sort, I guess, but it's frankly pretty far removed from my discussion with Louis last night just before we went out onto Troost Avenue and planted some Black Eyed Susans and Maple tree seedlings. Yeah, I know July 30th's not the ideal time to plant anything in a hot and humid Mid-west but, sometimes you just got to do what you got to do.

Let me try and start this again...."Look at this fantastic four inch deep red Zinnia that I just dead-headed from the pot on the front porch," I said to him. No, it really didn't need to be dead-headed as it's color had only just begun to fade at the very edges but, apart from the advantage of encouraging the potted plant to produce more blossoms (like the amazing beauty that I was holding in my hand) the advantage of dead-heading it early was that I could now take it inside, plunk it into a glass milk bottle container I never got around to returning to the store and so, appreciate it indoors. The milk container appropriately is marked "YUMMY" in pristine lettering on the side of the bottle. It's a local Missouri company, go green, STOP using plastic but I digress.

"Look at this" I said while brandishing it closer to his face almost weapon-like. "This is so easy! Why, after two years of a community's success of planting over 150,000 tulip bulbs on a derelict inner-city street aren't there ANY of these beauties blooming NOW on Troost Avenue? It's just so easy. A $1.59 packet of seeds, a night with a trowel, a little water attention and WOW you get this! Park Avenue in a packet."

"Well, you didn't plant any on Troost" the very practical Louis pointed out.

"It's not like I haven't been busy", I defended myself before pointing my Zinnia at all of our city neighbors and neighborhood associations that surround Troost Avenue that have been telling us for that they care so passionately about reclaiming the Avenue and reversing what turned so very, very wrong long ago when, well, we (and they) weren't responsible for it. "Where's the support for flower power on Troost Avenue?" I continued. "I just don't get it. Maybe after 150,000 tulips even we just plain don't believe it. Park Avenue in a packet...baloney. Flowers are nice, but heck, they're not capable of fixing what's wrong on Troost Avenue." Look at us, I thought. We planted them, just like everybody else on our porch and in our yard and, yes a couple of tree wells full on a friend's block of Troost Avenue but certainly, truth be told, we'd been nearly as selfish as everybody else. The heck with Troost Avenue.

But then, if this pancake-sized Zinnia has the power to command our conversation and thoughts why aren't WE out there digging tonight? Because it's nearly August and gardener knows its not the best season for that? Baloney. Read "The Adventurous Gardener" by Christopher Lloyd and you'll find out that you can do almost everything the exact opposite of what Martha tells you to do and most of the time Mother Nature will take over and things will work out just fine. Talk about Flower Power!

So, these extra seedlings that we never got around to planting, like the milk container we never got around to returning, are here for us to deal with we both decided. What better thing have we got to do tonight but plant them on Troost Avenue and then see what might happen?