BLOOM WHERE YOU'RE PLANTED

My mom always says "bloom where you're planted."  Well, for the last 9 months I've been planted in a job that I reeeeally don't like.  It's not always easy to bloom, especially when you don't like where you're planted.  But sometimes it's necessary to make the best of your situation, even if it's not your ideal situation.  No, this is not going to be yet another rant about my (almost overwith) job - though I could go on and on.  This is actually going to be about blooming!

Fun fact: I don't like hate flowers.  I hate them.  Always have.  However... something inspired me this past weekend to fiddle with the art of horticulture.  Not sure what it was that inspired me - perhaps it was Pinterest (O Pinterest, how I adore thee), or perhaps it was the next-door-lady's pretty landscaping. Maybe it was my sister going on and on about the landscaping at her new house, or maybe it was reminiscing about the years of helping my dad keep our yard well-manicured.  Whatever it was, it bit me.  And it bit me good.

Liz and I spent the first half of the day going to the Doodah Parade in downtown Kalamazoo (yes, that's the real name of the parade) - a purely silly parade. No rhyme, no reason, just silliness. Then we strolled through the art fair in the park downtown (ahhh-maz-ing), stopped at the Gorilla Gourmet van, and grabbed some food and hibiscus lemonade - YUM.

 

I got home in the early afternoon, looked at the spotty grass growing up to my siding , and I decided I was going to change it. 

Sol and I headed to Menard's.  I grabbed a cart and maneuvered the aisles of the greenhouse.  I grabbed every pretty orange and yellow flower I saw.  Then an employee came up to me and asked if she could help me.  I said no (at first), but then changed my mind and told her the truth: I was totally and completely clueless.  She asked me all the right questions (what color scheme was I going for? what direction will the flower garden face? how much sunlight will it get? etc etc etc).  She pointed out all the flowers in my cart that wouldn't work, as well as the one flower in my cart that would.  Then she told me we better just start over.  We emptied out my cart, and she assisted me in picking out the best flowers.  Thanks, Flower Lady.

So I got home, dressed Sol in gardening-appropriate attire (of course), and headed out to do some landscaping.  I commenced tilling up the ground with my newly-purchased teeny claw and spade - NOT easy.  I gave up a few times, threw the claw, realized how dumb my "landscaping" would look if it was only half-scaped, and continued on with the tilling.

It took a few hours, I'm totally sore today, my hands are blistered, and my feet are still caked with mud (of course I was gardening barefoot), but my flower garden looks great, albeit simple. I remarked to my sister how bare the garden looks - I thought the flowers would brighten the place up a little more.  But she reminded me that flowers will grow, so I should just be patient.  **tapping foot** 

And guess what?  I want more.  This little stint of gardening has awakened the horticultural beast inside me.  MUST GET MORE FLOWERS.  That said, if you want to send me some perennials, you're more than welcome to!  Our newly-green thumbs are itching to dig up some more dirt :)

Sol might need a break, though... Apparently gardening pooped her right out.