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I love daylilies.  You can divide them, forget to water them, forget to plant them, plant them, forget to water them, water them, and then watch them grow and bloom.  What a  perennial! 

Last summer, I was headed home from work when I spotted a sign that said,”Free blah, blah, blah.”  Well, you had me at “free.”  So, I turned around to see what “blah, blah, blah” might be.  It was free daylilies divided in large clumps and put into plastic bags, eight in total.  My daughter had just moved into a new home, and a little landscaping would be a nice touch.  

As you might guess, it was a ninety-five degree day, no clouds, and super high humidity.  Hello, Nebraska summer!  Those clumps wouldn’t last in the plastic bags, so off I go to my daughter’s house uninvited.  (I always promised myself I would never to that to her…oops!) To be fair, I did call her, and she was excited about the plants.  

It’s four in the afternoon-you know, the time of day when the heat and humidity are unbearable-and my daughter and I are outside digging in the front bed.  Not only are we going to plant the daylilies, we are having to dig up and move the hosta  plants to the front to place the lilies behind.  A wee bit of weeding was in order, too.  Really, how long could this take? Oh, about three hours.  Those eight bags of lilies turned into 24 re-plants. 
 
On pins and needles, are you?  Got the phone call last week, and the hosta AND the daylilies made it!  As silly as it seems, it was rather exciting to hear the news!  Though we may have grumbled in the heat, we planted with a labor of love!  

Gardening seems to involve not only a labor of love, but trust and faith.  Who knew you could learn all these things by getting your hands dirty? ( I can’t wait to get my hands dirty in our Community Garden at Holy Cross!)  Will I go back to my daughter’s house?  Absolutely.  I think some iris would look lovely on the south side!

Musically and Gardenly yours,
Becky Jones (she/her)
Worship and Music Coordinator