Wanna Have A Great Day?

I have always loved plants and flowers.  Some of my earliest memories are ones of working with my parents in the backyard of our home, digging in the dirt doing "gardening".  I imagine that my childhood memories and the actual value of my early agricultural accomplishments are likely quite different.  I do recall one year's efforts of planting tomato seeds and growing tomatoes from tiny little sprouts.  I actually remember thinking how amazing the whole thing was and wondering what if the next year we planted a hundred plants and I sold the resulting crop in a vegetable stand in front of our house.  Even at six, I must have been a budding (no pun intended) entrepreneur.

However, I digress.  Today was indeed a good day.  My sister and brother-in-law are visiting us here in Florida.  This is their annual escape from the frozen Illinois winter weather.  After a big dinner last night at our new favorite Italian restaurant, we slept late this morning and didn't roll out until around 9:30 AM.  The weather was supposed to be a bit stormy later in the day, so after a quick breakfast, we headed out to Rockledge Gardens, a nearby plant and garden emporium that ought probably to be classified as a theme park or religious shrine.

When we arrived there, I was in a "let's not buy anything" mood.  Since I was intent on continuing my lazy day. I was very much NOT interested in buying stuff that involved me having to spend a significant portion the rest of the day in agricultural pursuits - a.k.a. digging, planting, hauling and other such "ings" involving manual labor.  I had planned my day around being a lazy slug and was going to do my best to see to it that no one deflected me from achieving my goal.

Well, as usual when visiting this particular place, I failed miserably.  The best way I can describe this place is that it's as if God somehow decided to test marketing the concept of equipping the wonders of nature with a cash register and a check out line.  By the way, the concept is a certainly a resounding success as I was among many people who were worshiping there today. 

In addition to what surely must be every possible shrub, tree, vegetable, flower, hedge, herb or anything else that might even remotely grow successfully in Florida (segregated into aisles and areas with such names as "Hedge Row" and "Palm Circle", the beautiful place also includes numerous other "just because we can" features. 

Among these are a big climbing gym area for kids to use while their parents load up their carts with treasures; a butterfly garden that is dedicated to the founder of the business; an area for garden accessories (wind chimes, gazing balls, wrought iron furniture, glazed pots, clock, wall decorations, etc.); an orchid and exotic plant greenhouse; multiple fountains and water features and even an assembled plant sculpture that has an electric train running through it.

The friendly staff is always ready with answers to any questions.  We got a quick rundown on growing roses in Florida from a wonderful lady staffer who said she'd been growing roses in Florida for many. many years and explained all about how to do from making a rose bed and all that went with that program to simply growing roses in pots - I like the latter approach.  This, by the way, was quite appropriate since there were several thousand profusely blooming roses on display - just waiting to be carted home.

I am sure you will not be surprised that I did not escape with my plan of sloth intact.  After a couple of hours of meandering (and not seeing it all), we rolled out of the parking lot in time to beat the afternoon showers with the van loaded down with four bags of pre-fertilized organic "container gardening" soil and 20 - 30 plants ready to be "containerized". 

If these purchases meet with the growing success we plan - we will soon be enjoying lunches and dinners seasoned with herbs, garnished with tomatoes and accompanied by salad greens all grown from our new container gardens.  We'll also be enjoying some of the ornamental items we purchased for years to come. 

We make this particular pilgrimage once every few months and I imagine this spring will find us there on multiple occasions as we continue to make our new home on the river more "ours" and add our own stamp to its beauty and character. 

I'll close with this recommendation.  If you want to lighten your spirits and remember what enjoying your life is all about - get in your car and head for the nearest nursery.  Dreams are there awaiting only your imagination to be complete.