Blame it on the poppy mallow

Apparently Ken Svoboda doesn't have a very green thumb.

Despite spending his entire life working in lawn care, Ken can't get a tiny little flower to grow. According to wikipedia, the poppy mallow "prefers a hot and dry situation."

Svoboda said the only reason he hasn’t completed the contract is the poppy mallow the city specified has been difficult to get established, even though it’s supposed to thrive in hot, sunny locations.

Excuses. Excuses. I'm sick of hearing excuses.

Even though he hasn't kept up his end of the deal, city hall has seen fit to extend the contract. You have to wonder if anybody other than a sitting city councilman would have been bent over backwards for like this. The one redeeming thing the city did is to make Ken put up some of his own money

Ray’s must provide the city with a $75,000 letter of credit, on which the city can draw if Ray’s defaults on the contract. The credit line would replace the performance bond, which contractors provide as a form of insurance that they will complete jobs. Performance bonds can be difficult to collect, however.

It's cut little flower and it's kicking Ken's butt. Is he really as tough as he'd lead us to believe?