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piece of concrete I decided to accept it. With the side of the shovel, I removed as much mulch as I needed to see the exact outline of the concrete. It was a perfect triangle jutting toward the center of my big flower bed. I took a large squared off piece of sandstone and marked the far corner where the sides met so I could tell where the concrete ended and the soil began. I gave up planting anything in that particular area except along the edges of the big bed. My original idea was to line the whole front edge of the bed with white alyssum and I was determined to stick with it.

With a few extra bags of top soil and a lot of hope, I planted the alyssum along the front edge of the bed. I gently popped each alyssum plant out of the safety of its black plastic casing and placed it on the concrete. I apologized as I piled as much soil as I could around the plants. I'm sorry. I know you don't have any soil here but I know that you really want to live. I bless you with love. Grow. Grow. Grow.

Each morning before the heat of the sun hit the big flower bed, I watered the flowers. Each morning I again apologized to the alyssum and prayed over them in a sing-song voice, I bless you with love. Grow. Grow. Grow. Within a few weeks and with the help of a little Miracle-Gro the newly planted flowers began to bloom. Amazingly, some of the plants on the concrete became more abundant looking that its counterparts planted elsewhere. The sweet scent of alyssum filled the air.

Now each spring I circle around the bed, imagining how I want it to look. Some of the unidentifiable plants turned out to be purple monarda and cone flowers. Two years ago, I planted Stella d' Oro lillies to add touch of yellow. What I once thought were weeds turned out to be delicate pink primrose that stubbornly try to take over the whole garden. This year I added two hydrangea bushes. And the alyssum?

For the past four years I've planted and prayed over the alyssum along the front border of the big flower bed on top of the concrete. Each year it continues to Grow. Grow. Grow.

Learn more about this author, Pixie Stevenson.
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