This is my first time participating in the Spring Fling Kidlit Contest, and I’m very excited about it! My recent experience of having my beautiful flowers eaten by a not-so-darling deer served as the inspiration for this story. Having lived in a city most of my life, deer were certainly not a part of my urban garden experience. Despite the curious creatures in my new yard, I enjoy my time outside gardening, reading, and playing with my dog.

I want to thank all of you who have made this contest possible and hope you will enjoy reading my story.

Doomed Blooms

by Patricia Brown

Dear Deer,

Shame on you! Do you have any idea what you’ve done? My mom was so excited to have a real garden with dirt, and grass. Don’t get me wrong, we had a fine garden. Beautiful begonias, gorgeous geraniums, and pretty petunias adorned terracotta pots in our concrete yard.

When we moved here, we planted dazzling dahlias, lovely lilies, and radiant roses in the soft soil. We stepped back to admire the splendor, and Mom beamed like the sun.

Then one not fine day, you snuck into our garden and munched and crunched on the tasty, fabulous flowers, leaving nothing but stems and disappointment. And we learned, that you naughty, greedy, greenery eating deer munch and crunch on a variety of doomed blooms.

So now, we’ll only plant flowers that you DON’T like in our soon-to-be magnificent garden.

Sincerely,

Not your neighbor

PS: Don’t come sniffing around!