A Blooming Gesture of Friendship

Sunday mornings are my tinker around the garden in my pajama mornings.  I love seeing how busy nature has been all week and the progress made while I was not paying attention.

I usually start at the side of the house by the garage and water all of my flowers there then proceed to the back. As I filled the bird feeders on the deck today and listened to the birds, I felt for the first time in a long time content. A perfect moment. I paused and took a deep breath, closed my eyes and snapped a mental picture.  I am sure I will need to visualize this mental picture  sometime in the future when moments are not so perfect.

After the bird feeders, I went down the steps to the lower garden and remembered how small all of the bushes I planted once were but now have filled out. It dawned on me that my boys were little when I planted the bushes and now they too have filled out. Time does slip away.

I made my way around the opposite side of the house to where I started.  It looks like Miracle Grow exploded and everything is super-sized. Figures, the nicest part of the landscape is on the side of the house where nobody sees it. I guess it is enough that I see it and enjoy the beauty. 

From there I continued to the front porch to check on my pots. To my surprise, I found unexpected Caladiums I didn't plant hiding among the flowers.  Only one person that would have planted them, my friend Ann.

Ann is quite a gardener and has an amazing mature garden full of bountiful bushes and fantastic flowers. She spends hours and hours in her yard and admits she cares little about the inside of her home but her garden is a different story.

She was raised on a farm and so enjoys just digging in the dirt. I am in awe of her yard. Her flowers are perfectly timed so that when one is at the end of blooming, another one is about to open.

I vaguely remember mentioning to Ann in early spring when I purchased flowers for my pots that I didn't see Caladiums. They weren't out yet and I haven't had time to track them down. Then today, so unexpected I found Caladiums in my pots hidden like little presents under a Christmas tree.

I was so excited to find the blooming gesture of friendship and truly appreciate Ann's thoughtfulness.  A small act of kindness that made such an impact on me that I wanted to share it. What a sweet thing to do. I never thought of planting a surprise in a friend's flower pot before.

Often times I purchase a flat of flowers because it is a better value but can't really use them all. Next time instead of over planting because I have the extra flowers, I will pay the blooming gesture of friendship forward.

Thank you Ann, the Caladiums are perfect! I so appreciate the blooming gesture of friendship but mostly appreciate how our friendship has bloomed over the years.