The nice lady at the nursery assured me, “it’s impossible to kill an oleander.” I almost said, “wanna bet? Come by my house.” Instead, I just said “Maybe I can’t, but something sure is.” When we moved into this house over 30 years ago, the oleander hedge between us and the neighbor was well-established and thriving. In summer it was covered with bright pink flowers; the rest of the year the leaves were dark green and glossy. It formed a pleasant demarcation. It seemed independent and content, and I was perfectly content to let it be. In fact, I never gave it a second thought and only occasionally dragged the hose across the driveway to water it. Then a couple of years ago I noticed withering leaves and bare, dead branches. Oops. “So,” I said as I plopped a couple of smallish oleander bushes on the wagon, “how long do you… Read More »
IT’S SPRING !
… Well, it’s not quite spring, but it will be soon. My cousins in Framingham, MA, and New York City and my friend in Pennsylvania may doubt that, but my apricot tree is saying “yes!” And here’s proof: The nurseries are stocking spring flowers. Right now! At noon I was sitting on the patio reading the paper and looked at my garden wondering when things were going to start blooming. The apricot tree started two days ago and the pomegranate tree has some miniscule leaves showing, too. But I was thinking of the flower bed and then it hit me: Hey, I could go and BUY some flowers and jump start this whole spring thing! So, jamming a baseball cap on my unkempt hair and donning my sunglasses for disguise, I headed down to Lowe’s. Just walking into the nursery made me smile. My breathing slowed and my pulse dropped to somewhere near… Read More »
