Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The March of the Lilies

 The days that follow our annual plant sale
are usually ones of as much work as the days before.

Left-over plants are organized onto a farm wagon
that my Farmer rebuilt for me from an auction,
and then pulled up to the road as a road-side stand.
The sooner we can get it up there,
the better.
People love planting during the cool days of spring.


This means that I am continually hauling more wagon loads of plants
up to the stand.
 Of course,
I usually have a passenger or two.



 (My Lillie amongst the Lily-of-the-Valleys.)


 
 When we get to the top of the hill
and I'm panting like a race horse,
I check on the inventory...


 
 as well as seeing if the plants need water.

Any that look like they're not doing well,
get pulled off and put back in the wagon to go down to the house;




a dead or sickly plant makes an unhappy customer
who probably won't come back.





I've found that blooming plants usually sell the best.




I've made waterproof tags for each row of plants,
showing the blooms
to help the gardeners know what to expect and how to care for the plants.



I straighten rows that have been looked over...

tidying them.


Why is it so fun
to tidy plants,
but not so much the laundry?





So far we've done alright with the honesty system.



We've had a few small losses,
but we generally go up to the stand
whenever anybody has stopped and looked...



to see if there's anything in the money box.


It's rather enthralling to feel like we have our own little shop
sitting at the end of the driveway.




On the way back down,
we pick up the kid watching bees...

 




and I stop occassionally...


 
to take pictures of anything that is blooming
to improve my tags...



trying out some without flash,


and some with.




I love peonies.
I'm afraid they may be on my list of  "collectibles."



Who doesn't love the sweet little faces of
 
perennial "Forget-me-nots"?


I especially try to get pictures of flowers...

that I don't have tags for yet,
like these from a new coral bell I have...


and this 'Butterfly Blue' Scabiosa.


 
The passengers don't mind as long as I'm not too long;
if that's the case, I hear Lillie's quiet little,
"Go."



Several hours and loads later,
the kids are inside with their father...
and I continue on past dark until the job is done.


But I have to admit,

 
it is a rewarding feeling.



"There is nothing better for a man,
than that he should eat and drink,
and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour.
This also I saw,
that it was from the hand of God."
Ecclesiastes 2:24

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12 comments:

  1. I love forget-me-nots.

    And that sunset photo is pretty awe-inspiring.

    =)

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  2. It's always good to have a helping hand :) what a wonderful selection of flowers you have - I like lily of the valley just love the smell. Glad you had a good day and ANYTHING is better than laundry :) Judyx

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  3. I hope all your work has made your sale a successful one...all your plants look wonderful...Suzanne.

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  4. Tonya, that sunset picture is gorgeous!! I hope your plant sale went well, I really wanted to come, but we had so much going on that weekend.

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  5. Great sunset and it was fun spending the day with you and your flowers. I like the honor system. I am glad it works. Thanks for linking.

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  6. I wish I could come to your plant sale...it looks so nice and I love the casual approach. It also looks like you have some great plant choices to purchase.

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  7. Love the sunset pic. Lilly & Levi are growing as well as your plants!

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  8. Beautiful post, what a labor of love! I miss those little passengers around my garden, although Homer the Cat still accompanies me on my rounds. :-)

    That red peony is outstanding!

    Thanks so much for joining the garden party!

    Candy

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  9. Scabiosa was always one of my favorites, too. I just always thought that it had a very unfortunate name. (I guess it depends if you pronounce it 'scab' or 'scabe'. Your plants look great and it seems like you really enjoy working with them which always makes anything look even better!

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  10. So fun! It looks so nice. Your children are so cute! Love the sunset picture! It is beautiful!

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  11. Gorgeous flowers. Wish I could stop by your little wagon. I need some more perennials in my beds.

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  12. Coming over from Little Round Table's garden party to peek around! i host a garden party (on Thursday's) & would love to have you share at Cottage Flora Thursday's sometime? xoxo, tracie

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