Lemon Meringue Pie

The deed has been done and this is what is left of two decades of terrace strip gardening.

One might expect that I would be terribly upset about the City of Seymour wanting the flowers removed, but here's the thing about me:  some make lemonade when they are given lemons.  Me, I make lemon meringue pie.

The five days between my receiving the official notice and the final rototilling of the plot turned out to be great fun.  It began with my telling my friend Susan about it and asking her if she would like some perennials.  She was digging in half an hour. She went home with her car's trunk and back seat full.

I put the news out on Facebook, on my blog, and by e-mail to everyone I knew in Seymour.  On Sunday, it was announced in services in the United Methodist Church.  I put a sign up at my house as well.  

People kept coming. I had to stay on site to tell people about the flowers, the sunshine and water requirements and how to treat them.  I also had to tell them the history of each bloom, because almost everything had been donated.  The lilies-of-the-valley and day lilies came from my mother's garden.  Many of the irises came from librarians Kim and Lois. Lois has since gone to her garden in the sky, so each of those flowers carry memories.

Sometimes, I found myself perplexed when I couldn't remember the colors of various irises yet to bloom.  I thought one of them in particular was multi-color, but I couldn't be sure.  In the end, some of that particular iris was left behind.

My flowers are going to places as far away as Port Washington, near Milwaukee and to Lakewood in the northern woods.  Young families new to gardening took their share.

With each plant, I gave these instructions:  the perennials are free but when it comes time to divide them, you must give some away to another gardener. 

Some folks didn't come for flowers, just to commiserate.  Teachers and students, joggers and walkers came to tell me how much they've appreciated the garden over the years.  I never knew how much it meant to people.

By Tuesday night over a dozen carloads of flowers were gone.  Only a few plants were left.

Gary started a new strip on the other side of the sidewalk and put hostas, irises, and day lilies there.  The city has no jurisdiction past the sidewalk. Then he rototilled the remaining vegetation in.  It's likely flowers will be coming up all summer anyhow, but he'll keep them trimmed to the required six inches.

This morning, the transplanted iris bloomed.  I was right.

There's no stopping someone like me.   Like I said, lemon meringue pie.