Gardening

A few years ago a good friend of mine invited me to one of her garden club meetings, and at the time I thought, 'I'm not really a gardener" but I accepted and was very pleasantly surprised and glad that I did. I had the opportunity to not only meet those wonderful (and wise) gardeners, but to invite them to our home and return their generous hospitality. The club meets weekly during the summer months and I hope to able to attend this season. Yes, they did welcome me into their *circle*.

As far as gardening experience goes, I did work in our family vegetable garden during the summer months, weeding, weeding and picking the fruits of our labours. Dad tended to extend the garden boundaries each year, resulting in more weeds and even more fruit, but that's okay. We enjoyed our own veggies at the supper table all winter, and "thanks Dad and Mom for teaching us the importance of "home-grown". There's nothing like a fresh plate of new green beans and potatoes, baby carrots with your own herbs for seasoning and a side of cucumbers and tomatoes to satisfy that *outdoors* appetite. Ummm-m-m, I can taste it now.

Having said that, I have to tell you that I don't grow but only a few veggies today. It's the flowers that I love. Okay Dad, I know I can't eat the flowers, but I do so enjoy watching them peak throguh the soil, spreading their wings skyward and rewarding our senses with heavenly sights and smells. In fact, Arend is out there right now planting annuals in containers, to be proudly displayed around our front patio area, as well as down our (long) driveway.

I do help, but he does the bulk of the planting and preparing. So why am I in a garden club you ask? Good question. I did admit to the "Late Bloomers" that I'm not the true gardener in the family but that didn't deter them. It's fun to meet at one another's homes and tour the variety of gardens that each one has cultivated on their property. We all share our garden *stories* and sometimes horrors, before we sit down to a delicious lunch prepared by the hostess of the week. I love that part, being a bit of an entertainer, and so does Arend. The arrangement works well for both of us I'm happy to say. And the garden ladies always walk away with smiles on their faces, so how can you hate it??

Before I close today, I did want to mention the new author's series that I've been reading and you'll see why I've included this. The author's name is Patti Hill and her 3-book series is about a garden-designer who is looking (not really, but her friends try to help her along--grin) for love, in all the wrong places it seems. The characters lured me into the plot immediately, and the laughter and tears lasted throughout the delightful story that ensued. You might want to check out her web site: pattihillauthor.com If you love gardening ( and even if you don't) you will aappreciate this author's style and sense of humour.

I have more on gardening for you in the next post so stay tuned, Barb