My Garden Visitors & a Small Miracle

Sorry, I don't have the photos ready for a visual garden tour, and today's agenda is so full that I dare not take time for this right now.

However, I can report that I'm satisfied with how the Garden-Viewing on Sunday went.

I had over-prepared (of course!), and then had to sit and wait for about 3 hours before some friends showed up.

While at church in the morning I spied two couples that I had forgotten to send my email invitations on Saturday night. I was able to talk with the one couple and invited them verbally. They were the first to arrive close to 4 pm.

I mentioned the open side gate and they decided to go that way. I hurried out the back and metthem and began to show them my garden. They had never been here before, but I know that they have raspberries and make pint jars of jam to give away at Christmas.

We had only just begun to visit when another couple arrived, also from our ESL connections at church. They brought along one of my ESL students, a shy university student.

We were walking all over the garden, discussing the brilliant Kaiser Kronen (Emperor's crowns) lilies and the raspberries, and counted the baby watermelons, etc.

When we got to watering the garden I mentioned that last year I had got a sprinkler but this summer I could NOT get it to work. Watter and Eddie bent their heads over it for a few minutes, twisted and turned that - and suddenly they were ready to try it out. We took it out to the middle of the garden, - and Voila! it worked!

We decided not to drench ourselves, and I assured them I would water the garden later. But I'm so grateful! Standing there on the center sidewalk and spraying the garden with the hand-held spray gun is not nearly as effective. Mainly because I only have the patience to do that for about 20 min. at a time.

Whereas with the sprinkler I set it up at the far back end of the yard, and turn it on at the tap and then go inside and do other things, but keep an eye on the clock. In 15-20 min. I go out and pull on the hose so that the sprinkler unit is covering the next section to the one nicely watered. About three or four such moves and the whole garden is done. Meantime, I can go and water the front flowerbeds with a watering can. Though on super-hot evenings last year, I would take the sprinkler to the front too. That saved me standing out there in the heat.

Apparently we are going to get a heat wave over the next few weeks, so this miracle is wonderfully timed!

Oh yes. I served everyone an ice cream cone as we stood about visiting some more.

(I was thinking about cancelling the invitation to come next Sunday if this one didn't suit, but one couple who got my invitation late has expressed interest, so I expect to be doing this again next Sunday!)

[Back to Archives Index ] ~~ [Back to Main RoseBouquet Page]