The Bartering of Flowers

Yesterday, I held my first every yard sale. Yes, folks chalk up another first for me! Although sales were disappointing I was able to meet some very nice neighbors and have an old burn barrel full of scrap metal taken away.

One of my friends dropped by that had never been down my driveway to see my house before. We were having a delightful conversation about the house, the view and of course the yard. With all the rain we have had this spring there are plants, flowers and weeds growing and blooming that I have no idea what they are.

Sadly I'm not even sure with many of the green plants that come up if they are a flower or a weed or a flowering weed. I'd like to be able to hold up a leaf in front of a magic lens and have it tell me all about it. I guess technology isn't quite there just yet but maybe in the future?

My friend is a superb cook and makes the best homemade apple pie on the planet and as I found out yesterday is a wealth of knowledge about gardens; flower and vegetable and plants in general . She gave me some great ideas about what to plant, what needed to be moved, suggested a raised bed vegetable garden etc. and shared with me some stories of plants that have been in her family for over 100 years through plant propagation. I plan on accepting her invitation to visit her yard to learn more and get some starts that she is willing to share with me.

As she said in our conversation it's all about "the bartering of flowers".

In fact after the sale was over and I returned home from collecting my signs posted around town there was a couple out on the road collecting a wild rose bush start to place in their yard.

The coincidence of all this is tied to a library book I just finished reading last week, The Invisible Garden; One woman's journey from soil to soul by Dorothy Sucher. It's a story similar to mine, Dorothy who lives in the Washington DC area goes to Vermont to visit a friend, ends up buying a ramshackle blue farmhouse with a stream running through the property and becomes consumed by what she calls "Garden Fever".

I look forward to continue my education regarding plants and gardens, digging in my yard, pulling weeds, seeing what "pops" up and what I can bring in and nurture and enjoy and the lessons and experiences they will bring.