pentas and petunias

My wife took charge of planting the spring annuals this year.  We have three small areas we put summer flowers and typically I love picking out the combinations and the varieties that will bloom a long time, fit the space and generally perform well.  This year my interest waned, and my wife was more interested in having something planted than I was in working up a master piece.  I would have made a different selection than she did.  They would have been classier, more understated, more all around artisan.  She picked out petunias (not even wave petunias or a really cool long lasting disease resistant variety) and pentas.  The space is too small for two species.  A simple single species is really prescribed for such a space.  But she picked petunias and pentas. 

The other day, I took a closer look at the planting and was so impressed by how it turned out.  The larger, single petunia flower with the pale foliage is such a wicked foil for the clusters of smaller pentas with the richer green foliage.  The flowers mirror each other so incredibly.  I never thought of the penta of the community which takes a cluster to be noticed vs. the solo brilliance of the petunia.  The reds complement and contrast at the same time as well.  Not to mention the play of the sprawling petunia, willing to go anywhere against the stately reserved composure of the penta.

I would have never experienced the wonder of these two plants together if I did it my way.  Which suggests I need to not be so quite consumed with how things are done according to my understanding of the best way, right technique, truest theology, most efficient way.  All the time.

The price of the tickets, how you frame the story, the guest list, what you feature about the event, how obtuse you are, what different ways you promote, what the color of the carpet is, whether it's evangelism or social action might turn out not to be so important as giving someone else a chance to express themselves- their passion, gifts, and dreams.

You might discover a combination you never dreamed of that will serve you for the rest of your life.