10,000 Plants

Let me just start by saying, I am the daughter of a master gardener. No, he doesn’t hold a degree or a certificate of gardening, but my father can grow anything. He and my mother have had the most exquisite gardens for as long as I can remember. Even their back deck vegetables are always perfect.

I did not inherit that gene.

For years and years, we’ve talked about planting a vegetable garden, but we always knew it was a bad idea. As I’ve said here before, Ken has always traveled extensively, and in the summer, when he went away, we went with him. We knew we’d never get to enjoy the foods we planted, and we wouldn’t be able to properly maintain and take care of the gardens. When he was alive, my father-in-law brought us beautiful tomatoes (Katie’s favorite) and lots of corn from the farm on which he and Mom lived, and my parents have kept us well supplied with cucumbers (Morgan’s favorite). For everything else, we shopped local produce stands and the farmer’s market.

Then, everything changed…

Read more

Blossoming Love


gazebo-of-prayer-thomasLet me start with a disclaimer – I am not a gardener.  Truth be told, I hate gardening.  My parents have the most beautiful gardens, and I always dreamed of having a yard resembling a Thomas Kincaide painting.  Of course, that would require countless hours of planning, planting, weeding, and scolding children and dogs.  I would much rather be reading a book!  But I do have to admit that I love flower gardens.  I love the romance of a vast collection of fragrant blossoms bowing in the breeze.  A fully in-bloom rose trellis makes me practically giddy, and there’s nothing quite as beautiful as a lilac bush bursting with little flowers that tickle one’s nose with their sweetness.  If only I had the patience, skill, and desire to create such a masterpiece. Read more