It was Mother's Day weekend and Sweetheart and I were visiting the local greenhouses, searching for a rhododendron, rose bush and some herbal plants.
It was probably not the best time to be frequenting greenhouses, as a lot of people decided to go to the greenhouses that very same weekend. Well, we had to go to several different greenhouses, as each greenhouse carries some items and does not carry other items. And every greenhouse can't carry EVERYTHING. We also wanted to do some price comparison.
Years ago, when I started planting flowers in my yard, I decided that I would plant only perennials. It seemed like a good deal. You just plant the flowers or bushes and forget them and they just keep on blooming. No replanting every year, like you need to do with annuals.
That's a good plan in theory. Trouble is, the plants or flowers don't always grow as they should and need to be replanted from time to time. Sometimes, the deer eat them and they need to be replanted.
That very thing happened in our yard just last winter. The deer knocked over the wire cage surrounding one of our rhododendrons and ate the bush. All that was left was a few bare, brown stems sticking up. That is one of the purchases Sweetheart and I wanted to make.
Well, not only do I need to worry about predators attacking my flowers--weeds can be just as vicious. They can crowd out the flowers and bushes, causing them not to thrive. They also detract from the very loveliness for which I planted the flowers to enjoy.
And then there's the pruning. It's not that it's such a bad job, but it's work that I had hoped to avoid when I decided to plant flowers in the first place.
Well, if I have to do the work anyway, I might as well have the flowers I enjoy. So I get a few annuals just for the fun of it.
My daughter and granddaughter took me out for dinner on Mother's Day. My daughter gave me a flower, as well. It is beautiful. It is an annual.
It's a keeper.
Dorothy is the author of two books—“Miles and Miracles” and “Getting It All Together “. You can purchase a book or make a comment by emailing her at dorothybutzknight@gmail.com