Sunday, April 4, 2010

Easter Drive

Since I was off work today, mom insisted that I come visit them on Easter. They were up early for sunrise service at their small Baptist church. I slept in til 6am. On the way back, I was struck by the color just south of Cheraw, SC.



When I got home, I unloaded all the things Mom likes to pile on me when I visit. Old stuff for a yard sale I'm planning in a few weeks, food that she took to church this morning and no one ate, and of course, guilt. I don't come home enough, or something. But she doesn't understand the gardening aspect of my life. So I took her the largest container of brugs, pinks and yellows. She mentioned last year when she saw mine that she would like to have some for her yard. I even planted them. I also took her a rooted fig cutting and a newly rooted Weeping Willow. I bet she mows them down next week when she cuts the grass with the huge riding mower.

I spent about an hour taking inventory of all my containers. The lids have been off for a week or so since the daytime temperatures have been so high. Watering has become a daily chore as they dry out quickly even in partial shade. I removed everything from the racks and spaced them out in the driveway. It looks like I'm starting a home for wayward plants. At least now, I can use the sprinkler on a 15 minute timer to water everything while I'm off admiring the latest foliage, growth, and even blooms.



It's 84 degrees. I'm sunburned from planting a pile of seedlings in my sister's one flower bed. Her "helpful" husband thought he would tidy up last December while stringing Christmas lights on anything that couldn't run away. He pulled all the coreopsis, shasta daisies, and columbine. I noticed today, she had a lot of reseeds from the annuals. She's also got a gazillion datura seedlings popping up. In the bed around the Japanese Maple, there are hundreds of tiny cherry tomato plants I gave her last year. I only planted six.

8 comments:

Best Wishes, Marie said...

what is a family get together without a slice of disapproval ??

Alison said...

The sky in your photo is an amazing aquamarine color! It sucks to have family that don't understand...I hope your sister doesn't mow down the plants you gave her. Keeping my fingers crossed that she surprises you!

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Just because we are blood related to people, doesn't mean we get along.

I hope your Mom does not thoughtlessly mow your lovingly grown rooted cuttings down.

Enjoy your lovely gardens Tom. You've done a lot of work with them, and they are a work of art to be proud of and thankful for.

FlowerLady

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

P.S. ~ I wanted to say how blessed you are to have that wonderful scenic drive to enjoy.

FlowerLady

Jean Campbell said...

They'll enjoy what survives. The gratitude might not be overwhelming but they will remember what you did.

I've been enjoying trips to town, seeing the various trees go from palest greens to brightest.

Tom - 7th Street Cottage said...

She won't mow them down. My dad was supposed to drive an iron pipe down beside each one to mark their spots. He was searching for the pipe when I left. She's just half blind when she's on that lawnmower. I did leave a few parts of the story out. Call it creative licensing. :)

My sister enjoys her plants every year. I've installed a bunch of reseeders and some perennials with instructions for the husband to leave them alone. They get water from the lawn sprinklers and weeding by my nephew. He loves the plants more than anyone.

Anonymous said...

That first photo is just stunning -- a perfect illustration of Robert Frost's "Nature's first green". It really is gold. Looks like a lovely day for a drive.

denise said...

which highway is that close to cheraw? i live in chesterfield which is about 12 miles from cheraw.