NOT AGAIN!
I woke up the next morning full of hope, but when we got to the barn, my shoulders slumped. Three more plants had turned to ashes.
Mom rubbed my back. “It’s not your fault, honey! This is a tricky problem and a delicate plant. Which three did we lose overnight?”
“The plants in the pots that got one, two, and twelve teaspoons of water.” My stomach felt like I’d swallowed a rock.
“But look! Now we know more about your plant …” Mom gestured to the growing plants.
I took a deep breath to try to calm myself down. Panicking wouldn’t help the nine plants that were left. I grabbed my ruler with a shaky hand and measured. “OK, so it looks like the six-teaspoon plant has grown the most. That must be close to the perfect amount of water.” I poked a finger in the soil. “It’s kind of mushy and wet. That’s strange, right?”
“It is unusual.” Mom seemed to be waiting for me to figure it out.
I could do this. “OK, so we know that it likes sand mixed with moss. And that it likes to be a little soggy. Soggy … soggy … OH! Boggy! It’s that thing you were telling me about when I started, right? A bog?”
Mom smiled. “Exactly. Remember, a bog is a kind of wetland. The plants there are used to soils that are similar to a sand-and-moss mix, and they’re usually OK with a bit of standing water. I agree with your conclusion that our mystery plants seem to want to grow in a bog.”
I peeked out the barn window into the forest. “And you said there’s one around here?”
Mom pointed off in the distance. “The one I know of is a few miles that way, but there aren’t any roads to it. The only way to get there is a pretty steep and long hike.”
“I love hiking!” I flexed my arm muscles. “And I’m tough. Can I come with you to take the plants back? Please, Mom?” I was super excited to get the plants back where they belonged. And I was a little worried that the longer I kept them, the more likely I would wake up to more purple ashes.
Mom laughed. “You are tough. I have to go into work today, but maybe we can go tomorrow.”
“YESSS!” I jumped up and down.
“Why don’t you get all of these plants watered for the day, and then you and Sassafras can start packing everything we’ll need for a long day hike—hats and bug spray and snacks and all that?”
“We’re on it!”