The Humble Zinnia

"Among some of the more ethereal and esoteric of cognoscenti,

the humble Zinnia is held to be of the lower orders…

"And here again Kipling was right:

to walk with kings nor lose the common touch

is as applicable to gardening as to society.

"I had far rather see a farmhouse front yard ribald with Zinnias

than most of the Gentiana jewels I have been expected

to enthuse over in English gardens."

Richardson Wright

Editor in chief of House & Garden

for more than 35 years.

From his The Gardener's Bed-Book.

After cutting zinnias this morning I put these in a favorite piece of old Fiesta.

When I snapped this picture,

the perfect circle of the little handle reminded me of a marriage.

It is a sturdy little thing even though the chances were

it might easily have been broken over decades of use.

My mind has dwelt on a particular marriage today,

that of my mother and father.

It might have easily been broken--they went through a war,

health issues, worries over 4 daughters,

financial struggles, 

things that most couples face over the years.

 But it was a sturdy marriage.

If my father were still alive today,

Mama and Daddy would have celebrated 72 years of marriage.

You were both as humble as garden Zinnias

and you had a beautiful marriage.

Happy 72nd Wedding Anniversary.