Flower circle

Mystery, thy name is flower circles.

In early spring, in the lawn, circles of flowers appear in some areas, especially those areas where gardeners have gone to some trouble to plant bulbs and corms in their lawns for spring flowers.

The mystery is therefore not the appearance of flowers. They obviously come from the bulbs planted by gardeners

The mystery is the appearance of flowers in a circle.

Are these related to crop circles? Fairy rings?

Whatever they are, whatever they are related to, I have several flower circles in my garden right now.

However, I suspect scientists won’t be rushing to my garden to examine my flower circles to solve the mystery of their appearance the way they rush to fields to examine the appearance of crop circles.

Therefore, it is left to me and Dr. Hortfreud, my gardenalyst and co-conspirator, to determine how these nearly perfect circles of flowers appear in my lawn each spring.

I have several theories.

The first theory is that the squirrels and chipmunks around here suffer from an obsessive compulsive disorder and after I finish planting the bulbs, they dig them up and re-plant them in circles.  However, the flaw in this theory is the appetite of these thieves and robbers of garden beauty. I have not yet met a squirrel or chipmunk who would be able to dig up bulbs and replant them without eating them.

Another theory relates to garden fairies.  Experience has shown me over the last several decades that one must never underestimate what garden fairies might do in your garden when you aren’t around.  The question is did they move the bulbs after I planted them or move the flowers once they were blooming?  And how do they do it? Dr. Hortfreud thinks this is the most plausible theory.

A closely related theory involves space aliens. But as soon as you start talking about space aliens, people roll their eyes and whisper behind your back as though you have lost your mind.  I don’t even remind them about the big boulder in my garden. I keep this theory to myself. Dr. Hortfreud feels that is the best thing for me to do.

Which leads us to a final theory, one involving a gardener who might just have plopped herself down one fall day and then, too lazy to move, just planted the bulbs in a circle all around her. However, there were no witnesses to this, just as there are no witnesses to the antics of the garden fairies or possible visits from space aliens.

Therefore, according to Dr. Hortfreud, we have a mystery that may never be solved.  That’s fine with me.  I’ll just enjoy the flower circles in my lawn for as long as they last this spring, and hope they return for years to come.