We Are Family

Early last week, my mother-in-law Diana called me to say she’d been working in her yard and had about 300 flower bulbs she wanted to give us. I talked to Steve and we decided the area South of our house where nothing grows, would be a perfect place for a random assortment of flowers. Trouble is, we’re not yard people. We don’t really do much in the way of landscaping and such. It’s not that we don’t want our yard to look nice, it’s just that we don’t usually have the time, tools or knowledge to make it so.  Diana said she and Pete (my father-in-law) would be happy to help plant. A very generous gesture, but I can’t imagine anyone would love to come over and plant stuff in my yard, especially when the temperature is hovering near 90 degrees.

But they arrived Sunday mid-morning with a car full of tools, buckets of bulbs and a lot of enthusiasm. Diana had a plan and we were more than willing to go a long with it. I took a good, long look at the yard and determined the lilies needed thinning so I positioned myself by the maple trees and went to work. I put the extra flowers in a wheelbarrow and hauled them over to the work area (the South plot we call “Stonehenge”). Diana asked questions on where we might like things and gave some very helpful opinions, while Pete and Steve dug up areas and planted. The whole time we laughed, chatted and enjoyed each other’s company. It was a hot, tiring, productive and fun day.

Yesterday, Diana sent me a text asking me to set out the leftover lilies for her to plant. I was home, but focused on studio work so I couldn’t help. Turns out, I don’t think she wanted my help anyway! She arrived with three lovely rose plants, a petunia and some beautiful yellow wildflowers I’d admired in her yard. She planted everything and the area is really starting to take shape. I’ll get photos up soon.

Sometimes Steve and I just need a little shove to get things started. It was so thoughtful of my in-laws to take the initiative and get us started on a beautiful yard. While I doubt ours will ever look as nice as theirs, at least it looks 100% better than it did! Thanks, Pete and Diana!