Hi, everyone!
I’ve been married to Rusty for 27 wonderful years, during which we have built a life together, buying two houses, raising two kids and caring for two dogs. To say our life has been “busy” is an understatement but within the whirlwind of activity and daily coping, we have always had the oasis of each other to come home to.
Rusty’s love of plants and gardening started while we lived in our first small townhouse, which he managed to transform into a lovely garden working around our daughters’ ugly metal swing set. Two years after moving into our current home, our garden was lush and flourishing when Hurricane Andrew annihilated it and he had to start all over again. Now, as you can see by the photos he posts, his talent as a gardener is amazing. Everything he sets to grow eventually obeys his commands; his garden is like a symphony—full of discordant notes while the orchestra tunes but bursting into perfect melody once the piece begins. He battles weeds, snails, pests, oppressive heat, and feral cats and his plants reward him with their tenacious growth and stunning beauty. And our home is all the more lovely for it.
In a perfect world, my husband would work in his garden all day every day. But we need health insurance and must pay bills so he packs himself off everyday to a job that is not fun anymore. When he comes home, his garden is his psychologist, his confessor, and his best friend. It is his trophy and a source of immense pride and satisfaction.
Gardens are wonderful teachers. Whenever Rusty brings home a new plant and it adapts to its new environment and beautifies its surroundings we are once again reminded that living requires acceptance and cooperation and we are all dependant on each other in this confusing, crazy, and interesting journey we call “life.”
Writing this blog has been immensely rewarding for Rusty and a lot of fun. So I'd like to wish all his good friends in the Blogosphere a joyous, peaceful holiday season and a blessed New Year. May all your gardens bloom in 2008!
Maritza
I’ve been married to Rusty for 27 wonderful years, during which we have built a life together, buying two houses, raising two kids and caring for two dogs. To say our life has been “busy” is an understatement but within the whirlwind of activity and daily coping, we have always had the oasis of each other to come home to.
Rusty’s love of plants and gardening started while we lived in our first small townhouse, which he managed to transform into a lovely garden working around our daughters’ ugly metal swing set. Two years after moving into our current home, our garden was lush and flourishing when Hurricane Andrew annihilated it and he had to start all over again. Now, as you can see by the photos he posts, his talent as a gardener is amazing. Everything he sets to grow eventually obeys his commands; his garden is like a symphony—full of discordant notes while the orchestra tunes but bursting into perfect melody once the piece begins. He battles weeds, snails, pests, oppressive heat, and feral cats and his plants reward him with their tenacious growth and stunning beauty. And our home is all the more lovely for it.
In a perfect world, my husband would work in his garden all day every day. But we need health insurance and must pay bills so he packs himself off everyday to a job that is not fun anymore. When he comes home, his garden is his psychologist, his confessor, and his best friend. It is his trophy and a source of immense pride and satisfaction.
Gardens are wonderful teachers. Whenever Rusty brings home a new plant and it adapts to its new environment and beautifies its surroundings we are once again reminded that living requires acceptance and cooperation and we are all dependant on each other in this confusing, crazy, and interesting journey we call “life.”
Writing this blog has been immensely rewarding for Rusty and a lot of fun. So I'd like to wish all his good friends in the Blogosphere a joyous, peaceful holiday season and a blessed New Year. May all your gardens bloom in 2008!
Maritza
PS Merry Christmas to all my friends in the Blogosphere. Wishing you a wonderful day with family and friends. I hope Santa brings you plenty of gardening presents!
Rusty
7 comments:
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family. Local south floridian that reads your blog to try to understand what actually can grow here and to get inspiration to work on my own garden.
A very Merry Christmas to you and your family Rusty. What a great guest blog this was, thanks for sharing! And I agree with your guest blogger Rusty, you are a great gardener!
Hello Maritza;
You did a very nice job complimenting Rusty on his hard work bringing your gardens along. Obviously you have been a big part of that too. Good gardeners usually share the work and the glory although there are many relationships where one person never has any interest and sits back on the sidelines.
I noticed some coleus pictures. I wish they were hardy as it seems that whenever I get some I really like, I forget to dig them up before fall frosts. Although I have never bought from them, Glasshouse Works at http://glasshouseworks.com
has some interesting varieties. You can continue gardening where you live but 3 feet of snow up here has slowed me down.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
http://thevermontgardener.blogspot.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
Merry Christmas to both of you. What a wonderful guest post.
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
This was a touching post to read. Rusty's garden is truly a labour of love and I can only imagine that it brings much pleasure to everyone around him.
Your love for Rusty shines through in this post - thanks for sharing!
Happy New Year and may this year's garden be as prosperous as past years.
Wow, what a touching post. How meaningful to have this feelings articulated so well. I can only hope my husband feel the same way about me in 27 years!!
Great post. Happy New Year to you and your family. Hope it has warmed up for you. It has been chilly here also; but now is getting much better. Strange how cold 60 F. can feel.
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