A byootaful Life

I absolutely feel like Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk right now, because last night Phill came home with a present for me – an amazing magic bean with a secret message! Well, I must admit, it’s a regifted gift – Phill got it from a customer who bought them to give to his clients, but this one’s secret message was “With Love” and, well, that would just be awkward.

Sliding off the (slightly battered) case reveals a beautiful wooden box.

The lid isn’t properly on – WHY don’t I notice these things until after I’ve taken the photo?? Anyway, the first thing I spotted was the secret message spoiler – I thought it would be something that emerges after planting, but evidently the Amazing Magic Bean people want you to know your secret message in advance. I guess that’s a good thing – you don’t want to accidentally give someone an inappropriate message.

Anyway, here’s the contents of the box: “special” soil, bean and instructions.

The bean also spoils the secret message, because written on it is “With Love”. I guess this was never meant to be a secret afterall.

Okay, so the instructions are pretty detailed for something as simple as planting a bean. First of all, you grab the wooden lid, turn it upside down and place the box on top of it. That’s pretty cool – the lid becomes the base. Then, open the special soil and tip 2/3 of it into the box. Next, get your magic bean and put it in the middle of the soil with the black stripe facing downwards. You can *just* see the black stripe at the base of the bean in the above photo.

Cover with remaining soil and whola, the magic bean is planted! The instructions say to lightly water it every two days. You just want the soil moist, not overly wet. In 7-10 days, my magic bean will sprout! I’ve just got to keep it in a well ventilated place, remember to water it and, of course, not let the cat tip it over or eat it.

I will report back on my magic bean’s progress – I don’t exactly have a green thumb, but there’s no way I can mess this up, right? Well … we’ll see.