The First One's Free

James Dodson recalls meeting Philadelphia Flower Show competitor Jeanne Francis, who uses the screening test her son employs in his alcoholism recovery job to convince Dodson he suffers from horticultural addiction (Beautiful Madness pgs. 49-51).  Denizens of the flower world frequently use addiction metaphors to describe their hobby, and so do their enablers.  The supposed ethos of sharing in the gardening world is just a sneaky smokescreen for being a seed slinger or plant pusher.


A friend gave me a dozen daylily and iris cuttings last summer and, at the time, it seemed like a purely altruistic act.  Now, I realize that this was an elaborate ruse to get me hooked on the H. -- and it worked.  

So, with these four (pictured above), I'm making room for more daylilies, paying it flower forward, and trying to recruit another addict.  We bought two of the unknown pink variety in 2003 and both have multiplied into big clusters.  I decided to pass on one group much like the sample that drug dealers in After School Specials give to kids in order to grow their client base.  And daylilies (Hemerocallis) are the perfect gateway drug to a horticultural habit.