August 9th, 2007

So, this was a first for me. I've always wanted to be a gardener, but have never taken the time to try to learn exactly how to become one. Well, our dear Meme who passed away 3 years ago was actually a Master Gardener (that's a real title for all of you who don't know much about gardening). She would volunteer time at the botanical gardens in Ft. Worth & had her own little green house in the back yard. Talk about a green thumb. Some of it rubbed off on Grandad & Lynn so I thought it would be a perfect opportunity while they were here to learn a little from them & for Lilyanah to get to play in the dirt. We spent hours the day after they got into town at Al's nursery in Sherwood looking for the perfect plants. I wished Will had been there with me to help pick but he sweetly said he trusted me so I was on my own. Grandad sat with Ethne at one of the outdoor tables they were selling & Lynn entertained Lilyanah, who loved the fountains. I think she would live in water if she could. She wore her new shoes from her mema that squeak whenever she puts pressure on the heel. It was nice to know where she was at all times without even having to look up! I'm not sure how much everyone around us liked them but they're pretty cute!
The sales people were very friendly & I was able to find plants that would do well in lots of sunlight & that wouldn't lose their leaves (evergreens). The crazy thing is I am NOT a fan of purple. I don't own a single piece of clothing with the color purple on it & don't buy any for the girls or Will (obviously). But the plants that I loved the most had purple flowers that grow on them. Most are a variation of Hebe. . . though I did get some heather & one lavender plant. I love dark, interesting leaves. . I still have to get 1 more plant but I'm not sure what I want yet so there's just a hole where a plant should be. And, I obviously still have some weeds to pull, good times. I can't say that Lilyanah was the most helpful but she had fun & that was the most important thing. On the way home from Al's we stopped at a local store to see if they had any gardening gloves Lilyanah sized. I had to get some groceries for dinner so Lynn & I went our separate ways. We came back together at the checkout line & her cart was full of gardening toys for Lilyanah. She got a little shovel & rake & a wheel barrel & one of those pads you kneel down on so you don't hurt your knees. . . have I mentioned that her mema spoils her!? But that's what grandparents are for, right?! The soil was rock hard so we had to saturate it with water & let it soak while we had lunch. Grandad did all the muscle work & dug the holes while we took turns planting & hauling away the dirt. Unfortunately we have lots of small holes hiding in the grass in the back yard that need to be filled in, so fortunately we were able to put the dirt we were digging up to use. Thank you Lynn & Grandad for coming to visit & helping us plant some pretty flowerbeds & for being so great! We really enjoyed the planting process & now we just have to make sure we don't kill our pretty plants! Slowly, but surely I will catch up & posts won't be about something that happened weeks ago! Love you all! ~Wendy.