Monday, July 25, 2011

Bouquets to Share

Mark and I are getting an early taste of the empty nest this week.  Anna is representing Idaho as a state FFA officer in Washington D.C., and Seth is in Des Moines at the New Century Farmer conference. FFA sponsors are footing the bill for our two kids who have a passion for agriculture advocacy. Not bad from a certified home-body mom. I wish they would text!

And so it is quiet around here.

My “cottage garden” front flower bed is pretty right now, though chaotic as usual. I’m never quite sure how it will look from year to year.  It is full of gifts from family and friends, whose transplants seem to do a lot better than flowers I spend big money for at the nursery.

My friend Gaye, who has since moved away, gave me starts from echinacea (purple cone-flower) and blanket flower just after we moved into the new house. They were the first fledgling flowers to take root here.

From Mom, who has been gone for almost a year now, came the soft lamb’s ear and the cat mint that cheers us on in the spring. I love the two quakies that Dad dug up. They anchor the front entry way and remind me of the aspen groves in the hills where the cattle summer.

The tiger lilies and feverfew came from Mark’s Mom, Anita, whose lovely yard shows a true artist’s hand. These two species have been doing their darndest to take over the place since! They're pretty, they just need a strong hand to keep them in check.

Seth found the two moose antlers that lean against the aspen trunks. Dennis and Theresa helped us gather the pink veined rocks the day Dennis cut down the logs that secure the front porch.   

The black-eyed susans came from uncle Doug’s unkempt, almost raucous garden. He and my uncle Vin showed up one day for a surprise visit with a box full of susans. Such a cherished memory, for Vin is gone now too. 

And so I think of them, designers all, when I check each day to see what is blooming. These plants, living on from garden to garden, make me happy. What better way to share our lives, our creative energy, than the seeds and tissues that live in our respective spaces.

Next spring I simply must find a spot for the hollyhock seeds I got from Aunt Marlene.

welcome to our home

Anna raiding the pea patch

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