Sophia's Garden

The All-Things-Marigold Nursery was a bright yellow spot on the surface of the planet. It was so yellow you could probably see it from space. Sophia’s family had owned the nursery for three generations and, now that she had lost her mother and her grandmother, she oversaw the entire operation. Summers were long and golden.

Of course, she had an entire team of workers, many with years of experience in different areas of the business. She had her gardeners who planted, weeded and harvested the marigolds. They also collected the seeds. She had another pair of employees who packaged the seeds. She had office employees who saw that new packages were always available to hold the seeds, who kept track of orders for flowers, who kept track of orders for seeds and sent them out all over the world.

Sophia’s nursery was in Central America, close by the old Aztec ruins because the biggest demand in the world for marigolds was right there. The air smelled spicy, bees were plentiful, mosquitos stayed away. She loved marigolds and never would hire anyone who didn’t love them.

It was believed that dead souls were attracted to marigolds in Aztec lore. Dia de la Muerte, or the Day of the Dead is celebrated on November first and second each year and thousands of marigolds are ordered for the festivities. On that day marigolds are strewn on the walkways to the houses where they guide the souls of the dead as they return to their homes for a brief visit. Marigolds are placed on the ofrendas or altars to ancestors and offerings are made. Marigolds are twined into garlands to carry in parades to honor the dead. And they are placed on graves in cemeteries as homage to dead family members.

Joseph was Sophia’s chief gardener. He managed the workers who tended field after field of marigolds. He and Sophia were in constant contact. Joseph relished the hours he spent with Sophia, but she seemed indifferent to his personal presence, always dealing with him as an employee and maintaining a professional distance. Joseph knew she wasn’t married, but as an employee in their culture he was considered an inferior. He couldn’t help how he felt, but he could keep his feelings to himself. He was very reserved by nature.

“Joseph,” Sophia said, “we’re getting lots of seed orders from India these days. I think someone there might be starting a nursery. Can we handle the demands of this new market?”

“We’re good, Sophia, when I saw the increases in orders, I planted accordingly. The weather has been holding steady and all is well. But if they harvest enough seeds, they won’t have to order ours in the future so this could just be a temporary boost to business and we will possibly have more marigolds under cultivation than we need when they get set up over there,” Joseph told Sofia, with a worried look on his handsome face.

Sophia did appreciate Joseph. Without him the nursery would falter unless someone equally talented replaced him. That would be a tall order and would take up a lot of time, time that might put the family business in jeopardy. Sophia did notice Joseph’s feelings for her but so far had not reacted. She knew she needed offspring to inherit the business and she would hate to be the daughter who ended the legacy. She decided she would flirt a bit with Joseph to signal that she was open to a relationship. She, as a strictly practical business decision, had decided to marry him but wanted him to think that he had taken the lead. She thought they would make good babies, and that at least one would be a girl. She could also pass the business down to a boy if that was the best option.

The wedding was colorful with a theme of red and yellow--the yellow supplied by thousands of marigolds, breathing their musky scent into the very air around the couple. Joseph was a happy man, unsure how he had won this once standoffish woman but delighted with their days and their partnership at the nursery. Both Sophia and Joseph were also delighted by their growing family, one boy, Lucio, two girls, Lucinda and Lucy. For several years they lived the lives of farmers and business owners, and the business thrived.

When Lucio was 5, Lucinda 3, and Lucy 2, Sophia and Joseph started to notice yearly declines in their business. They were not big declines, but it was setting up to be a trend. Joseph found that some of their buyers were now buying from the nursery in India that had begun with the purchase of the seeds from All-Things-Marigold. He ‘Googled” the Indian nursery and was surprised to see how big the operation had grown in so few years.

Sophia and Joseph had a serious talk about what they could do to win the business back. They did not think their customers deserted them because they were unhappy with their products, or their deliveries. They must not be doing effective marketing. Sophia thought she should make a trip to India to immerse herself in how the company was marketing itself and to, perhaps, approach the company with an offer to buy. Could they do business on two continents? Did they want to do business on two continents?

She loved seeing her children among the marigolds. How had such a bright flower become the flower beloved by dead souls? Perhaps the lightness served as a beacon from beyond the grave. Already the children helped with planting as best they could and they liked to spend time in the barns where the flowers were sorted, trimmed and packed to send out all over the world.

Chefs often ordered marigolds as they were edible. French marigolds, Gem marigolds, and Mexican Mint marigolds were the tastiest. Chefs used less tasty marigolds in their gardens to keep out critters who avoided the smell marigolds gave off which was unpleasant to them.

Sophia loved playing with the children, cooking with the children and reading with the children. How could she go to India and leave Joseph, who she had come to adore, and those three wonderful children? She decided she would only stay a week, then would sail over to Morocco to visit the marketplaces on the way home and also try to drum up some new customers; so, two weeks at the most.

Sophia had never left her home before now, but she was excited to see India and the owners of the nursery were looking forward to meeting her. She flew over and kept in touch with Joseph and the children by email and on Skype.

India was hot. The whole country was a hot house with flowers thriving everywhere. The nursery was called The India Marigold Nursery and it was an enormous operation. Labor in India was inexpensive and plentiful, with many experienced farmers who were willing to leave failing farms and relocate for steady employment. The business lacked the family feeling of All-Things-Marigold but it was run by one family. Sophia and Joseph had already checked their online marketing and found that it was a carbon copy of their own. These people had stolen their business model and they were now stealing their customers. They were unaware that Sophia was somewhat angry about being copied and they greeted her warmly and showed her around their entire operation.

Joseph gathered as much information as he could about the worth of their business. Sophia called each day to talk to the children and Joseph even though it was nighttime for her. Joseph told Sophia that the Indian operation cost much less to run than theirs. He suggested that they offer to buy out the nursery and hire someone to run it for them. If that didn’t work maybe they would accept a merger. That Indian Nursery could force them to downsize or even put them out of business.

No way was Sophia going to be the one to lose the family business. The Indian nursery did not want to sell outright but they did like the idea of a merger. Joseph had their lawyers set up a deal and everyone signed it. There was another very yellow celebration, spread across two continents.

Sophia's children implored her, “When are you coming home mama?”

“I’ll be home in a week,” Sophia promised with tears and air kisses.”

But Sophia never made it home alive. Her body was found in an alley in Morocco and shipped home to the devastated family. Someone had given her false directions, trapped her in an alley, robbed her, and murdered her. The criminal had been apprehended and would be convicted. Sophia's family mourned with marigolds everywhere, as Sophia would have wished. They built their own ofrenda and smothered it with marigolds every November and it did seem like Sophia’s spirit was felt throughout the nursery and their home.

Joseph made the merger with India work and both businesses prospered. All three children worked in the nursery and all three inherited All-Things-Marigold. Joseph and the children visited the Indian operation many times until they felt almost as at home there as they did at their own nursery. They visited without mishap and made friendships that bridged two continents. The merger made the two nurseries the “masters of the marigold market”. Sophia’s spirit rested happily and visited every Dia de la Muerte.