Day 201

Another full spring day: 44 planters completed and one landscape consultation accomplished. Miniature boxwoods planted with orange New Guinea Impatiens and Amethyst Torenia.

Strobilanthes (Persian Shield), Begonia bonfire, red ivy geranium, and asparagus fern added to the impatiens and torenia.
Morning sun and afternoon shade make this combo work.

Orchids in My Office

Yesterday I was out to dinner when a sweet lady from one of the neighborhoods that I maintain came by my table to thank me for making her neighborhood so colorful and beautiful all year round. She then asked about my home - wondering if I had such beautiful containers and plantings at my own house.
My husband almost snorted out his iced tea.
Now I discussed this topic a couple of weeks ago in this blog - the shameful agony of my "cobbler's children" containers. I went to the greenhouse this week and with the pleasant weather gathered all the plants I needed to make my late winter containers look incredible so I wouldn't feel so negligent to my little planters (and in case this sweet little lady decided to drive by my house). But then I got an email from my publisher with the first deadline on my book, and the boys had activities they needed me to attend, it rained all day on Saturday, and on and on... so, my planters were still empty.
Yea, I know. I just need to hire myself.




But every once in a while someone does something to help me keep a little beauty in my close up
world to calm the anxious beast in me that works way to many hours doing what I love to do, just at other places than my own home. My husband brought me cyclamen for Valentine's Day. Costa Farms sent me this gorgeous orchid to bring life to my office full of planting schedules, community lot maps, plant catalogs, order forms, stacks for billing, and very outdated pictures of my children.

And last Saturday one of my sons said he would help me get our vegetable garden ready for planting. I think he was just hungry. But a few hours of teenage muscle made a big difference in our readiness to plant. I didn't even mind that he thought taking pictures of me sweating and dirty was a fun way to take a break.


So what exactly am I communicating in this post?
That life sometimes seems out of focus - that I often concentrate on clean, crisp jobs well done in all that goes on in my working world, and that can leave the rest of life a blur. Sometimes the little things - the small flowering orchid in my office, the gift of time to help in the garden - can help bring the priorities of life back into focus.


One down, 17 more to go.

October - Breast Cancer Awareness Month

When my older sister was first diagnosed with Breast Cancer, I went around in a stupor for days. This couldn't be happening - not to Susan the strong, the marathon runner, the family camp director, the one we all rely on to plan our large family get-togethers. I was working at a nursery at the time and I remember unloading a truck of perennials when I saw a familiar pink color among the myriad of Hosta tags. There before me was a lovely Hosta named "Remember Me", and I started to cry. Someone out there in plant world grabbed hold of the truth that plants bring us hope, and the yearly return of a bright happy Hosta in a dark shady spot is a what I needed to plant. For every "Remember Me" sold, a portion of the proceeds goes to Breast Cancer Research "The Cure".
Recently I learned that Proven Winners is providing the first true pink Annabelle Hydrangea and named it Invincibelle Spirit. Having watched my sister and other dear friends battle both successfully and unsuccessfully with breast cancer, I am always amazed at the strength of spirit I see in their lives - they are truly invincible spirits. This new Hydrangea not only has the tough nature of the Annabelle hydrangea, but the rosy pink blooms are as unique and special as the ones we plant them for.
So plant with a purpose this month - to encourage, to remember, to bring beauty, and to bring hope.
Find Hosta Remember Me at www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com.