You can tell what my main focus has been these past few weeks because I’ve only written about my yard and rocks. I think it’s my way of sticking my fingers in my ears and yelling “yayayayayayaya” to try and forget my youngest daughter is graduating high school in a month.
Anyway, last Friday I went to Lake Wilderness arboretum for their annual plant sale. To say I went a little nuts is probably an understatement. I was buying plants not only for my rock garden, but to start a small arboretum in my own back yard. After my purchases, I had plant fever.
Saturday morning I woke up and exclaimed to my husband, “McClendon’s is having their annual pancake breakfast.” It’s something we try to do every year, though my ambitions aren’t usually as high as they were last weekend. I’ve never had a rock garden to fill with plants or an arboretum to create. We showered and went off to stand in line for our two pancakes and two sausage links; orange juice and coffee to boot. Though I’m not sure my husband really understood the real reason I wanted to go.
If you don’t know McClendon’s, it’s a family owned, local, hardware/garden/building type store. Emphasis on the garden part for me. After we ate, we went to the garden section to ponder plants. Or at least I did.
I scrutinized a short bushy, yellow barberry for $25. Not being able to decide if I should buy it, I moved on to another section. I discovered a Tiger’s Eyes Sumac.
“I really want this, but it’s $44.”
My husband said, “The one over there was only $25.”
“It doesn’t even look the same. Why would you suggest that?”
“I don’t know. Cheaper.”
“Well, since you’re not protesting, I’m getting it.”
After I put it in the cart I continued my quest. My husband bored-leaned. That’s the kind of leaning one does when they are being patient, but they are bored. It’s why I don’t go to car swap meets with him; though I’d add whining to my bored-leaning.
Then he said, “I could eat another couple pancakes and sausage.”
“Go,” I said. So he did.
When he came back to me twenty or so minutes later, I was almost finished with my picks and we walked up to the cash register. He observed the cartful of plants I had chosen and said, “I really pulled one over on them. I got FOUR pancakes and FOUR sausage links.”
Though I dropped a chunk of change into McLendon’s coffers, that extra breakfast made my husband feel like he had won. He’s a good man; he didn’t say a word about my extraneous planting buying.
We unloaded everything when we got home and I got to planting. It was still cool on Saturday, so I was able to work until all the plants were tucked safely in the ground. Then my husband and I went to the figure eight races in Monroe. They were exciting, but aside from the time spent with him, it obviously wasn’t the highlight of my weekend.
Sunday morning dawned, I went to church. When I got home, I needed to water the neighbor’s grass because they were out of town. As I was sprinkling their lawn I noticed a plant that would look excellent in my rock garden. I pilfered a bit of it, making sure the surrounding foliage didn’t looked disturbed.
Look what I have become. I’ve gone to the plant side and been driven to thievery.
Gretchen Leigh is a stay-at-home mom who lives in Covington. You can read more of her writing and her daily blog on her website livingwithgleigh.com or on Facebook at “Living with Gleigh,” or twitter @livewithgleigh. Her column is available every week at maplevalleyreporter.com under the Lifestyles section.
