I’m really excited to be on a summer schedule again. It means a little more sleep in the morning without that early middle school start bell. It also means that I have both girls with me in the morning, which is really nice on garden mornings.
I was never a big fan of lilies – their scent can be really overpowering and they always remind me of funeral flowers. That’s probably not a fair assessment, but they’ve never really captured my attention or interest. But walking through the garden this morning was revelatory. The sheer variety of lilies on display was breathtaking. We thought we’d walk right past them, but found ourselves hopping from one to another, each prettier than the last. I’m a convert.
The other really exciting part of the morning was when the girls both caught a glimpse of jumping water over the brick wall around the boxwood garden. The jumping fountains (as we call them) haven’t been operational in at least eight years. They were E’s favorite part of the garden when she was little, but they were frequently turned off. We asked a gardener once about them, and they said they were always in need of repair and so they stopped using them. F’s never seen them, but she’s always been curious about them since E points out the landing pads around the perimeter of the space each time we walk through.
I wasn’t sure I was going to get them out of there – they hopped back and forth underneath the arcing sprays. Some things you never get too old for. I’m glad about that.
