Where friends and flowers meet

We met years ago when our two youngest daughters were in grade school together.  Her quick to laughter moments and her quirky sense of humor both struck me immediately,  and I was impressed.  I just knew we could be friends.

One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.  –  Lucius Annaeus Seneca

And, she’s been a kindred spirit of mine ever since.  She’s a great friend.  We don’t get to see each other as often as we did back then.  Our daughters have moved onto new stages in their lives since graduating from high school.  We’ve changed with the seasons too, even our hair color, we both found natural to be the best fit for us.  No matter how much time lapses between seeing each other, when my friend and I get together it is just like old times.  We can find topics to talk about for hours.

A single rose can be my garden…a single friend, my world. – Leo Buscaglia

Me:  “Hey, did I tell you I’m trying to grow more flowers this year?  Do you mind if I stop by and check out your garden for some inspiration?”

JL:  “Sure, Friday afternoon works for me.  You might be disappointed, the pretty pinks and purples of early spring are turning into the white and yellow stages of the flowers.  The irises are almost done blooming.”

Me:  “There are stages of colors to your garden?  Oh, my, I’ve got to see that.  See you then.”

JL:  “Great, you’re always welcome.”

My dear friend has a glorious flower garden that I’ve admired all these years.  My heart melts at how welcoming and quaint her garden is.

I’m literally in awe as we walk around.  I love to listen to her as she talks about each flower, she calls them by name and tells me when each one will bloom.

Having a garden of perennials and biennials and annuals looks way more complicated than I could fathom having in my yard.

I have gone back and forth on if I’d really enjoy having or not.  It sure looks like a lot of work.  But my friend makes it look so simple.

JL:  “When the weeds get too thick on the stone path, I just pour boiling hot water on them.  I come back the next day and kick the debris off the rocks.”

Me:  “I would’ve never thought about doing that…”

JL:  “Look, here – see, it works.”  She kicks the weeds off the rocks with ease.

Me:  “You’re brilliant – that’s an impressive technique.”

We stroll along some more and she tells me the names of more flowers and the stages they are in.

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I happily snap away with my camera.  I recognize these cute little flowers.  I’ve always loved them.

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And the delicate white roses.

JL:  “Grr…these rose bugs must go.”

I lean in to take a picture of a bunch on a rosebud.

JL:  “You’re not going to take a picture of them are you?  They must die, they’ve destroyed so many flowers already, I have no tolerance for them.”  Stomp, Stomp, Stomp.  

Me smiling:  “Yikes, I guess not…we have some bugs like that too, but I don’t have many flowers yet, so they just attack me when I’m outside.  I can’t stand them either.”

She recited the life cycle of the damn bugs, and I was impressed even more.  But I noticed the bugs weren’t attacking every white flower.

JL:  “They like the more fragrant ones.  These flowers aren’t as fragrant.”

Having a beautiful garden like hers is something I know I’d adore looking at, but the upkeep of it is what I’m fearful I wouldn’t be able to do.  What has taken her years to establish no doubt took lots of TLC.

She knows it inside and out.  Which flowers or plants should be relocated, which ones should be saved, and which ones would look great in a new spot.  She carefully chooses which annuals to plant and knows they’ll look great with the blue pots.

And when to buy a new plant to experiment with.

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And she knows when each one of her favorites will bloom.

Daisies have always made me smile.  They are such a happy plant to me.  I hope the ones I planted from seed will survive my novice techniques.  If not, I always know where I can see them, a place where I’m always welcome.

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PS – How about you, do you have a beautiful flower garden?  Share the link so I can check it out!  Do you have a dear friend that you admire too, I hope so, I know I adore my friends.  

Post-Inspiration Cee’s Flower of the Day