Susan in her happy place.

By Susan Shanklin

I’m busy today watering all the plants I bought at the Menard’s garden center last week. I drag them outside every day onto the deck if the weather is warm enough.

Susan can’t wait, you know. She has to have her plants right now! To tell the truth, I have been circling the local garden centers for about two to three weeks now to see if they are open.

Winter was so long and had extreme temperature swings. Down coat one day, warm jacket the next. Well, I was tired of the drab brown landscape, and I truly needed some green in my life.

Tom, my dear patient husband, willingly, yes, willingly agreed to check out the Home Depot and Menards garden centers on a Sunday afternoon.

My excitement is very high, ha. First of all, visits to DIY home centers are my best day or nighttime date with my honey. Started years ago when we were very cash-poor and, as always, builders and fixer-uppers.

Tom and I would load up the little ones and drive to Menards to pick through lumber, wiring, and parts that I knew nothing about or ever knew you needed, but Tom did.

We had a truck then, so after shopping we loaded the beater truck with the three littles, lumber, wiring, and “those thingies,” but the best part of the haul was the box of broken pretzel rods.

Does anyone else remember those? The pretzels were in a plastic bag and placed inside a cardboard box.

The kids and I gorged ourselves on the massively salty pretzel sticks for a good 40 or so minutes to home with no water!

We would arrive home with puckered lips and curled tongues, but oh boy, when you are dirt poor, it is like eating French pastry from a fancy bakery.

Menard’s doesn’t sell a box of broken pretzel rods anymore, but they have everything else, and, of course, the garden center.

We went so early in the season that the plants were still sitting on the large racks on wheels inside, freshly watered. Happy happy I am.

Tom says, “ I have to go look at chicken wire for the vegetable garden. I’ll meet you back here.”

I say, “Fine.” He he. I’m not going anywhere, but looking at all these plants!

This is my theory, folks: you have to go early enough in the season to get good, healthy plants, or if you wait, they are all dried out, weak, suffering plants just weeks later.

Well, I could go to the local nursery and pay exorbitant prices and walk out with a couple of plants.

No, people, I have two light purple African daisies, four light pink New Guinea impatiens, three pots of pink begonias, snap dragons, blanket flowers, a lemon grass plant, marigolds, coleus, a beautiful hanging fuchsia plant, and two huge bags of potting soil!

I can’t wait to go back for MORE! No, not too much more because my perennial garden is doing quite well. I just love flowers, you see. They bring me great joy.

Winter is for indoor art, rearranging rooms, and repairing the old house. Spring is for planting and transplanting. Spring is for trying to find the joy in the chaos. Spring is meeting people that need a smile or a word of encouragement.

Spring is my happy place.

Planting for more.

Susan

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