WHAT’S THAT
SMELL?
Mom, Dad, Sassafras, and I were all enjoying our picnic dinner. Mom had even picked up a can of tuna fish for Sassafras, and he was savoring each bite as he purred loudly.
A warm breeze ruffled my hair.
It was such a beautiful night and the food was so delicious that I actually started to feel a little better. Maybe those two plants weren’t the last of their kind. And now I knew not to plant them in the sun at the bog. Maybe those flower buds would get pollinated and turn into a bunch of rainbow seed pods after all. Hopeful for tomorrow’s hike, I made a silent wish that everything would work out.
I took a deep breath to try to let go of some of my worries. Wait a minute. I sniffed. Something smelled amazing.
Mom, Dad, and Sassafras must have noticed the smell, too, because they stopped eating and started sniffing the air.
“What is that incredible smell?” asked Dad.
“I’m not sure,” answered Mom. She sniffed some more.
“It smells like roses and lilacs and honeysuckle all blooming at once.” I sighed, and then sniffed some more. “Can Sassafras and I go find out where it’s coming from?”
Mom and Dad nodded their approval. Sassafras looked at me, then his tuna, then me, then his tuna. Finally he gave a big sigh, gobbled a giant mouthful of tuna, and trotted over to me.
We walked around our house and through the garden, but we couldn’t figure out the source of the smell.
“Where is it coming from, Sass?”
Sassafras gulped the last of the tuna in his mouth and sat for a second. He sniffed first one way, then the other, spinning around in a complete circle. Then his eyes lit up, and he started chattering and took off for the barn.
The barn? OH!! THE BARN! I ran after him.
I threw open the barn door and turned on the light.
“Woooooowwwwww,” I breathed. Sassafras started purring. There in front of us were several of the most beautiful flowers I’d ever seen.
“They’re beautiful,” I murmured. “We have to tell Mom!”
We ran back to the picnic blanket and I blurted out, “You have to come see! In the barn!!!” before I remembered. My dad can’t see magical creatures. Or plants. Whoops.
Mom’s eyes got really big, but she answered, “Oh, the smell is coming from the barn? How unusual! Sure, we can come check it out!”
She gave me a wink as she and Dad got up and followed us to the barn.
Inside, Mom couldn’t seem to help exclaiming, “Oh my goodness!” The flowers really were so breathtaking!
Dad looked around puzzled. “You’re right, hon, this really is so strange! It smells so wonderful in here, but the only thing I see are these pots of sand and … moss? Are you trying to grow something, Zoey?”
I did my best not to laugh. Poor Dad! All he could see were the soil cups. I really wished he could see the flowers too. At least he got to smell the amazing smell. It was a start!
“I sure am, Dad.”
“Well, keep at it. I’m sure something will grow for you eventually.”
Mom coughed to cover her laugh. It was so funny to hear Dad saying this in front of these enormous plants covered with gorgeous flowers. Oh, Dad.
Hey, wait a minute. It was kind of weird that the flowers didn’t bloom until the night. “Um, Mom? Just out of curiosity, are there plants that only flower at night? Or do most plants start blooming at night and I just haven’t noticed?”
Mom smiled. “What a great question! Some plants only bloom during the day, and some only at night. Some bloom both day and night. The flowers are meant to attract their perfect pollinators, so you can get clues about who that pollinator might be by looking at the flower. For instance, a flower that smells like rotting meat and garbage is probably pollinated by a fly. And a flower that only opens at night is probably pollinated by a nocturnal creature—something only awake at night.”
“Wait, what? I thought only bees pollinated plants?”
Dad jumped in. “Ooh! I know the answer to this one. There are actually lots of different creatures that can pollinate plants. Birds and butterflies are great pollinators. So are monkeys, lizards, bats, beetles, ants, and even your favorites—mosquitoes!”
I shivered. “Ew, mosquitoes are pollinators?”
Dad laughed. “Yep, there are some endangered orchids that rely on mosquitoes to pollinate them.”
“Weeeeeird.”
Mom looked at Dad. “Hey, honey? What if instead of going on a day hike tomorrow, Zoey and I camp overnight? She might be, uh, able to see some nighttime pollinators up close.” Mom winked at me again.
I crossed my fingers. The only thing more exciting than a hike would be a hike AND camping overnight.
Dad thought for a minute. “That’s a great idea! The weather should be nice. I might be able to come with you, but I have that big project from work …”
“Why don’t you take a quiet evening at home,” Mom said. “We’ll be just fine.”
“As long as you don’t mind?”
“We’ll be great, Dad!” Mom and I quietly high-fived.