Planting for Beginners

Fuku looked at the colorful seed packets in his hands. With Matentines a thing of the (recent) past, seasonal items of the time have long since gone down in cost, and roses—while still fairly expensive year-round—had experienced a decrease in price steep enough that made splurging on a few packets of seeds a reasonable decision that didn’t break the bank. Among the packets were also seeds for white carnations and baby’s breath, though not as plentiful in number as that of their rosy counterpart. While Fuku didn’t exactly have a green thumb, the thought of a romantic bouquet in his future was enticing enough to kick up an interest in trying his hand at a spot of gardening. Now that he had the seeds, though…

“Roses, huh?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, the snowy-haired bun looked up from his seeds to find himself being watched. The glint of gold as the newcomer toddled toward him gave them away as his best friend Komugi, still in his bun form—and walking strangely, at that. Fuku’s lips twitched as he held back a giggle.

“Yes, roses.” He took the time to inspect Komugi as he drew closer. Now that he was actually looking at him, he could see that the older bun was covered in dirt, as if he’d been digging for some time. Inclining his head, he asked, “And what about you? You look like you’ve been doing some gardening too—I didn’t think you were into that. Were they hazeblooms?”

Komugi shrugged. “Hazeblooms, yeah, but I’m not too crazy about gardening. I just find it easier to do with hooves…less work.” He waved his little arms to emphasize his point, showing off his dirt-caked hooves. The thought of the normally-tidy bun digging deep into the earth with gusto was enough to make Fuku titter, and Komugi rolled his eyes in response. “Anyways, boss wanted some hazeblooms for some future business ideas, but y’know how it is; we’re a professional dungeon, not a garden center. Not like we’ve got the real estate to be setting up garden beds or anything.”

“Oh, did you volunteer our roof for the project…?”

“Nah, just the balcony. I had a feeling a certain someone would think about trying some gardening too,” The calico bun replied, looking pretty smug as he looked at the seed packets in Fuku hands. “And it looks like I was right! Didn’t think you’d be putting them in pots first, though…rose bushes grow to be pretty big you know. Why not plant them directly into the beds on the roof?”

Fuku bit his lip. “Well, I’ve never done any gardening before and I’m worried something will go wrong, so I thought…it wouldn’t hurt to keep them in pots first, so I could keep an eye on them.” But now the question Komugi had posed to him had him second-guessing himself. “Do you think it’s a bad idea…?”

“Maybe.” Komugi’s honesty made the younger bun flinch, but he continued on, “I’m not gonna lie to you and pretend I know how deep the roots of something like a rosebush goes, but if they settle deep the plant might not live long in a pot..and if it does, you’ve gotta think about the work you’ll have to do to it in the future.”

“Work, like…?”

“Transplanting them to the beds upstairs, duh. Depending on the state of the roots, the plants might not make the trip. I say just plant them on the roof now and check up on them when you can. It’s not like you’ve got anything else to do…unless you’re inviting strangers to my place when I’m not home.”

Fuku pouted. “You know I wouldn’t do that, Mugi…”

“Well, you should! I don’t know how you don’t get bored housesitting for me all day. Don’t tell me the imps are enough to keep you entertained ‘til I get home.”

“I’ve got plenty to do when you aren’t here, and sometimes I take the imps out with me when I go shopping… There’s this park they like that I bring them to, and—” Fuku bit his tongue as he noticed the humored look Komugi was giving him. Face hot, he pressed on, “B-but I digress, we were talking about the plants! If I’m going to plant these on the roof, would you…be able to help me…?”

“Aw, it’s okay Fuku. You can just say you wanna plant some flowers with me, you know…”

“Mugi!”

“Kidding, kidding! You know I’ll always help you, Fuku. C’mon—we’ve got some bushes to plant.”