Meet the sterling rose.
How many of you remember these?

Purple roses add enchantment to the receiver's life according to rose color meanings.
I'm glad to think I added magic to my friends' lives all those years.

I am starting to see God's warning about making a garden come to pass. Bananas, however, are a little hard to cultivate in the snow visited north.

For decades the prophets of my church have been telling us to go grow a garden. It is cheap, economical, promotes happiness, and builds character in the children you want to raise. At my parents' house I was brought up cultivating the garden, and was often sent out to do weeds whenever mom was mad at me.

I was lucky though. I had the resident green thumb and was always trying to grow something anyway. Most of the crop would be lost when I went to girls camp and the vines withered in the hot Arizona sun because someone forgot to water them. I would try again when I got back, but then a frost would kill the rest before spring.

The rose bush survived. This coveted sterling rosebush was a gift from my grandmother to my mother. It was silvery-purple in color and smelling like heaven's own personal bouquet. Though it was dying by the time I decided to have pity on it.

Placed in the shade, and surviving several years of neglect and torture, it was better able to withstand a week or two of being forgotten. It would get very sick while I was away on vacations or at camp, but it always hung in there just long enough for me to be able to return and try to help it get healthy again.

After a few months I was getting the most beautiful blossoms. I was the cultivator of these, and when I had to snip some off to save the bush from feeding too many buds and not itself, they became precious gifts for friends who meant a lot to me. Each morning a handful of these sterling beauties would get to come with me to school only to be passed out to dear friends. My friends liked this. Their faces would light up and a smile would be shared all because I tried to help in the garden. I watched as this simple gesture made their day better.

Gardens have a way of spreading joy, and most of the time what you reap will bring a smile to another's face too. There's just something about a plot of land filled with nature's miracles that makes a person feel good.

Though I admit that most people prefer this bounty cleaned, cut, prepped, and put on the dining room table in a vase, or with butter, ranch or bacon bits. But it had to start somewhere. Remember that next time you go grocery shopping or eat a salad at a restaurant.

So the prophets knew what they were talking about. Who knew. I was happier out there, and I was able to make other people happier without having to spend a dime. Nice.

Now how do I convince the landlady here to grant me such a privilege? So far its been a no. Hmmm.

What about you? Do you have any gardening stories? Any peculiar bugs in said gardening? Or is the whole thought of getting dirty repulsive to you and you prefer someone else to handle that for you? I tell you, I used gloves. Bugs were not my favorite either.

And lastly, are you any good at gardening? Anymore 'greenthumbs' out there? I really want to know. :)

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