Several years ago I purchased window boxes with a small inheritance
from my grandmother. As time passes I
remember how much she and Grandpa loved flowers too. As life-long farmers Grandpa and Grandma had
amazing flower gardens in their suburban retirement home. The flower beds were so stunning they often
had bridal parties ask to use their yard as a setting for wedding pictures.
I enjoy the full beauty of my window boxes. Most years I find myself selecting flowers of
reds, blues, yellows and white as I wander the local greenhouse. My south facing windows require morning and
evening watering. The north and east
side boxes are less prone to dry out and I can water them once a day.
Last summer my husband and I went to Texas to help our son
and daughter in law and their family move back to Michigan. We were gone a week in the middle of July. To
make watering easier I removed all the boxes from the house and grouped them on
our north facing patio. My mother
graciously agreed to drive over once each day to water the window boxes and my
various containers of flowers. By
removing the boxes from the hot sun she was able to water them only once a day. Mom also shares the love of flowers and she
was happy to help.
This summer our travel plans include a mid-July business trip
to Greece. We will be away from home for
11 days. As planting time the window
boxes stayed in their storage spot in the garage. I miss the colorful frame at the bottom of
our windows. I’ve missed selecting and
planting this year’s colorful combination.
My other flowers have missed my twice a day trek around the house with a
watering can. I’ve noticed many more
weeds springing up since I’m not out there to pull little weeds several times a
day.
This is the summer without flowers. I’ve concentrated on the excitement of a
wonderful trip, yet I still miss my window boxes full of blooms. Yesterday as I walked back to the
house from the mailbox I looked up from the bills and thank you notes clutched
in my hand. The flower beds looked
beautiful. I’ve been missing the obvious
beauty. I still have flowers to
enjoy.
That is one of the tough things about summer travel. I wrote about my gardens today too! Enjoy your trip to Greece. I'm sure they will have beautiful gardens there for you to enjoy!
ReplyDelete~Jennifer
Sweet Writing Life
Mrs. Laffin's Laughings
What a lovely way to honor your grandparents love of flowers with your own flower boxes.I am thinking this tradition will continue next year. In the meantime enjoy your adventure in Greece.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people have written about flowers and gardens this week! My husband and I are not big gardeners, but we finally purchased patio furniture and have been spending more time outside in our yard than ever before. I've found myself missing flowers, as my dad is a huge "yard guy" and always has beautiful displays. I think next spring we need to plant some of our own!
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