Growing.

Today, I dug up divisions of my mom's hostas of every variety and bundled them into our car.  I was drenched with sweat and the rain that shook from trees and plants as I worked.  Back in Champaign, while Walker unloaded the car with more objects from my mom's house, I started weeding, raking out the side gardens, and digging holes.  I'll harvest more on our next visit for the other side of the house.  

My mom would love that a piece of her was at our home.

I love the hostas.  I love the shades of green against our black and white house.  I love my memories of my parents collecting varieties.  I love looking at them and seeing our Cedar Tree house, our Third Street house, our Park Avenue house, my mom's Sleepy Hollow house.  Someone told me some of the varieties are from my great-grandparents building in Chicago.  Is is true?  I don't know if I'll ever know, but my sappy sentimental heart loves me all the same. 

Seedier.

I dreamed the other night that it was time for engagement photos, and I was not ready.  Our photographer had arrived and she said the light was perfect right now (!), and I was in sweatpants and sweaty.  Main man had not shaved or had a haircut in some time.  I quickly got ready and the only shirt I could find was an old American Apparel shirt that I have never liked, but cannot bring myself to get rid of because, man, it was not free.

Then we headed straight to the wedding.  Our present plate collection was a few short of success, and many of you lovely people had to share plates.

Our garden has moved from its starter trays to its intermediate home of every coffee mug and punch cup we've purchased at thrift stores for the wedding.  These babies need to get in the ground, but at least we're getting more use out of our wedding wares!

This is the garden that springs forth naturally and came installed with the house.  It is doing its best to stave off Russian Fidel's encroaching bamboo plot (tulips shake fists at bamboo!).

As for the garden, location decisions need to be made and I need to take action!

The stall is that where the garden will in all likelihood be there are well established bushes that may sadly have to go.  Can anyone tell me what these are? 

Seedy.

Our neighbor (Russian Fidel, I call him, as he is Russian, and has a hat like Fidel) may think we're up to no good.  From his front door he can see our basement windows aglow. But this idea is only misguided, not illegal. 

Our wedding flowers are planted, and doing well, and will hopefully move to their new home outside in the next week.

I read somewhere on the internet that a child could grow sunflowers, they are so easy.  Let's see how I do.

So far far the sunflowers are proving to be the heartiest and fastest growing -- the aztec gold variety in particular.  The herbs and zinneas are doing ok.

Ok, ok, this could seem like a bad idea, but it's LESS of a bad idea than the paper flower plan.  I consider my lovely friend Caitlin to be a person of great patience and skill with some pretty tricky various business and artistry, and she tells me that paper flowers are not a good idea.   I was sold quickly on this, as I started losing interest in paper flowers as soon as I thought about having to buy paper.  And more paper.  And I trust in Caitlin.

This growing plan could go horribly.  I could lose all interest in it over the next month.  But, I'll be out relatively few dollars, and back up plans abound.  We're going to  buy some quantity of flowers from the farm, because they really want us to and we want people happy, and if the sunflowers really bomb, they are available pretty inexpensively from Costco and Sam's Club (and the farm has said they'd have to order rather than grow themselves anyway), and as my aunt points out, I could also hit up the farmers market in Galesburg on the morning of the wedding.  

One way or another, it will all come together.