Applejack was a simple girl. Not simple minded mind you, her wants and needs were simple. Give her a farm to run and friends, she’s set. Of course such contentment often leads to a stubbornness for things to change. Applejack was stuck in her ways and very rarely wanted to experiment. There was one exception to this however.
When it came to plants, Applejack was all about experimenting. Sure she’d grown apples, obviously, but she’d also grown, beets, carrots, squash, watermelon, cantaloupe and potatoes. Since a farm’s livelihood was always based on the harvest, Applejack would often find plants that she could harvest at different times of the year. So that there was always something they could sell, though their main harvest was apples and as such in the fall.
One day she had found a small garden shop. She didn’t have time to stop there at the time so now she was going to check it out. Applejack was in the market for a new plant to grow, something rewarding and profitable. She hoped the shop would give her what she wanted.
When she entered the shop it was to find it was quaint. It had all your general gardening needs, like trowels, spades, gloves, fertilizer, manure. Basic gardening stuff, it all reasonably priced too. Knowing she wanted a new plant to grow she decided to ask the current shopkeeper for help. Only she didn’t seem to be here.
“Can I help you?” A small voice asked. Applejack was so startled she jumped back, inadvertently knocking over some nearby hoes.
“I’m so sorry.” She said, crouching down to pick up the hoes.
“Not at all, I shouldn’t have snuck up on you.” The small voice said. She began to pick up the hoes too.
“Still, I should’ve been more careful, knowin’ how small the shop was.” Applejack told her the hoes were nearly all up.
“Well you’re helping clean the mess so I’m sure I can forgive you.” There was one last hoe on the ground. Applejack moved to pick it up, only to feel a hand on hers a moment later. She looked up to see a girl around her age, with dark green hair and lighter green skin. She had freckles on her face, much like Applejack herself. Her eyes were a hazel brown, and she wore a striped sweater that matched them. The girl blushed at the realization. “Sorry I didn’t realize you were going to pick it up.”
“Uh, yeah.” Applejack replied a bit flustered herself. She picked up the hoe and placed it back where it belonged. She offered her hand to the girl. “I’m Applejack.”
“Wallflower Blush.” she replied, shaking the farmgirl’s hand. “Sorry for the clumsy introduction.”
“Yes well,” Applejack shook her head, it was time to talk business. “So I’m in the market for a plant I can harvest in the spring, at a decent price. It would be nice if the plant was something rewardin’ to grow.”
Wallflower thought, “How much space have you got?”
“About 24 feet wide.” She answered.
“Does your soil drain well?”
“Run an orchard.”
“Do you have any cows?” The clerk pressed
“A couple.”
“Are you familiar with mulch?”
“Yep.” Applejack said smugly.
“Then I think I have just the plant for you.” Wallflower went into the back room and return with a box of pink root plants. “We just got in some rhubarb crowns. It’s early march as now’s the perfect time to plant them. Once you’ve got them growing good they have few needs, and they’re hardy. Best of all they’re perennial. “
Applejack’s eyes widened. “When can ya start harvestin’ them?”
“From year 3 to as many as 8.”
“Five years of spring harvest with minimal damage control? I’ll take them.” She decided, grinning.
“Great! I suggest you buy some compost, you mix it with the soil. They’re heavy feeders.”
“Ya know you seem to know a lot about these plants. Ya got any other tips?” Applejack asked
“Oh I dabble.” Wallflower blushed, “Anyway, you’ll want to plant them 4 to 6 feet apart, in one foot holes. Fill the first 8 inches with your soil compost mixture, plant the crowns then fill the rest normally. In the spring cover them in mulch, you could use your cow’s manure for that. Just keep about 2 inches on it during hot weather. Water them as soon as the top soil dries out. Also make sure to trim the leaves so they don’t take up nutrients. Remember the leaves are poison, so keep any pets or young kids away.” As the clerk talked about caring for the plants her face filled with joy until Applejack was sure she was lost in her own words. She was a fellow phytophile.
“Ya dabble huh?” Applejack teased.
Wallflower’s blush darkened. “Sorry sometime I get carried away when I’m talking about plants.”
“Well it works out well for me.” After that Applejack bought four rhubarb crowns and a sack of compost.
The next time she saw Wallflower was a few weeks later. She’d already planted and prepared the rhubarb. Things were going well, mostly. She entered the shop and smiled to see it was Wallflower at the counter.
“Oh Applejack! I’ve been hoping to see you. How are the rhubarbs?” The clerk asked.
“Doin’ pretty well. So far there hasn't been any problem with the plant.” Applejack told her.
“But?” Wallflower prodded.
“Well that’s actually what I wanted ta ask ya about. See there’s nothin’ wrong with the Rhubarb itself, but Winona won’t stop gettin’ into them.”
The green haired girl nodded. "Younger sister?”
“My dog actually.”
“Oh!” Wallflower blushed. “Sorry.”
“Think nothing of it. Anyway I was wonderin’ if ya knew how ta get her to stop. See usually I use natural pesticides, but I don’t wanna poison my dog.”
The clerk nodded. “You said you ran an orchard? Do you mind telling me what kind?”
Applejack blinked. “Sorry, didn’t think ta say. It’s an apple orchard.
Wallflower beamed. “Okay do you make apple cider vinegar?”
“Some. It’s not our top export.” Applejack admitted.
“But you do have some?”
“Yep.”
“Do you have white wine vinegar?”
“Yeah, fer cookin.” The farmgirl answered.
“Then the answer is simple. Mix the two vinegar’s together and spray your rhubarb with it. The taste is so bitter it’ll discourage most dogs from messing with them.” The clerk told her.
“Wallflower, you’re a crop saver.” Applejack told her.
“Anything to help a plant.”
Over the next month or so Applejack went back to the shop several times. Sometimes it was for more compost. Other times for plant advice. One time she brought Wallflower an apple to say thank you. These were all good reasons to go to the shop. Of course the fact that she wanted to see the clerk helped.
One day she entered the shop to find Wallflower crying. The moment the girl saw her she tried to hide her tears. “Hey Applejack. How’s it going?”
“What’s wrong.” She asked.
“Nothing’s wrong.” the clerk told her, trying to grin but only managing a grimace.
Applejack wasn’t having any of that. “Something has clearly gotten you upset.”
“Well…”
“Don’t worry sugarcube I promise I won’t think anythin’ bad of ya.” She told her sincerely.
Wallflower’s facade fell apart. “It’s my flowers.” She said.
Wallflower had told her she had a greenhouse of flora. She clearly loved those plants. “What happened?”
Tears fell down the smaller girl’s face. “Aphids.”
Immediately she understood. Aphid’s were easy enough to get rid of if you caught them early enough. Once you got a severe infestation it was a bit harder. “Do you need help spraying your plants?”
Wallflower looked surprised. “You’d be willing to help me? Even though you have an entire orchard to take care of?”
“The rest of the family can handle a few hours every few days for the next two weeks, while I help you shape up your plants.” Applejack told her.
“When can you help?” Wallflower asked.
“Tomorrow's Friday, How’s about we start then.” Wallflower nodded and handed her a paper with her address on it. “Thanks for this.”
“No problem.”
The next day she followed the instructions to get to Wallflower’s house. The two had agreed to meet in the greenhouse, so Applejack went out back. Just from the outside she could see the plants were growing well. When she entered it was to a fantastical sight. She had expected Wallflower’s greenhouse to be well kept and pretty. Not like this though.
There were flowers of several kinds throughout the greenhouse. From posies to petunia’s, tulips to daffodils, roses to lilies, it seemed like she had a little bit of everything. All the plants had a healthy glow to them making their beauty even more apparent. Applejack looked around in amazement.
“Applejack, you’re here.” Wallflower’s soft voice interrupted her thoughts. So startled was she that she nearly stepped back into some bluebells. Thankfully she didn’t hurt them. “Sorry about that.” She apologized.
“Not at all, I should have waited until you noticed me.” Wallflower said, brushing it off.
“You’re greenhouse is amazin’.” Applejack said.
“You’re just saying that.”
“No I mean it, you can tell from the way they look how much ya care about’em.”
“Well, thank you. I’ll take you to the infected area.” Applejack followed her through row after row of flowers. When they finally did reach the afflicted plants it was all too obvious. It was two rose bushes and a row of tulips.The pearls of each flower were ragged, a clear sign of the encroaching pests. It hurt her to see, and she could only imagine how distraught Wallflower must be. The girl became teary eyed just looking at them.
“So how do ya wanna go about this?” Applejack asked, they were Wallflower’s plants after all.
“Let’s start with the infected area, then you can spray the row above, and I’ll spray the row below. Just in case.” The green haired girl instructed.
“Ya got the spray bottles?”
“Of course.” She replied pulling out one for herself and handing another to Applejack. Each contained a highly diluted mixture of water and dish soap. Not harmful for the plant, but deadly for the aphids.
The two of them began to spray down the tulips, coating every leaf, petal. Amd stem in the solution. Once they were done with that they started on one of the rose bushes. Obviously they had to be handled with garden gloves, as the thorns would cut their skin otherwise.
Applejack started on one side of the bush and began to spray around, moving around the bush in a counterclockwise manner. After a few minutes she felt a hand come down on hers. She glanced up to see Wallflower had come around the other side of the bush and touched her hand. They stood for a second or two, then Wallflower realized what had happened and quickly withdrew her hand, a blush on her face. “S-sorry.”
“There’s no need to be.” Applejack replied.
The rest of the spraying went without incident. Over the next two weeks, Applejack stopped off at Wallflower’s house every few days to spray down the plants. During that time she began to notice little things about her. The look of love on her face as she tended to her plants. The gentle way she sprayed them as though not wanting to harm them. She delicate way she held the blooms as she moved petals aside to spray the interior.
Occasionally Wallflower would notice her look and blush. Applejack assumed this was because she hadn’t known someone was looking at her. Everytime Applejack would smile back reassuringly. Eventually the job was done, and the two didn’t see each other for another week.
When Applejack next saw her it was in the shop. Wallflower was behind the counter reading. Applejack approached her quietly. “Hey.” The girl jumped back having not noticed her there.
“Applejack, I didn’t see you there.” She said with a sheepish grin.
“Thought I’d return the favor.” the farmgirl winked. “So how’s yer garden doin’?”
“A lot better since we got rid of the aphids.” Wallflower blushed. “By the way I still need to thank you for that.”
“Think nothing of it sugarcube. If it wasn’t fer you I wouldn’t have a healthy crop of rhubarb in my garden.” Applejack replied.
There was a silence afterward with something in it. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was an underlying tension she didn’t understand. Wallflower moved closer as though trying to judge something. Applejack just stood there, confused. Slowly the smaller girl leaned over the counter and pressed her lips against hers. Applejack stood there dazed, she didn’t really react out of sheer surprise. After a few moments Wallflower pulled away.
She blushed bright red as she realized what she had done. “Sorry! I wasn’t think-” Applejack cut her off in a kiss of her own, though hers was much firmer and more passionate. Eventually she withdrew to see Wallflower stand there stunned.
“Don’t be.”