Thank you Betty...

Two years ago, I was browsing at the Nursery and came upon a pot of iris's that had a tag with a name, and no picture indicating what color they were.  Being the friendly shopper that I am, I wondered aloud, and to the lady next to me, what she thought about which color they would be.  She looked at me and said, "don't buy it.  Come and dig all the irises you want out of my garden."  I wasn't entirely sure how serious she was, but I gave her my phone number and she promised to call when she was ready for me to come and dig.  Then I promptly forgot about it. 

Imagine my surprise when 6 months later after the snowy, Idaho, winter, when I got a phone call from a lady named Betty, who was wondering if I wanted to come and dig irises tomorrow.  So, I packed up my little kids and found her cute little house and as I drove around the back corner, was amazed at the field of iris that this sweet, little old lade tends too.  She walks with a cane, hunched over and shuffling, and yet she maintains that beautiful patch of earth where bloom upon bloom were growing profusely.It was truly an amazing piece of art.  

I dug a few, visited with her for awhile, and came home to dig out the ugly old brown iris's that I had planted.  And again, forgot about it. Only to be surprised again after our cold winter to get a call from Betty, wondering if I would like a few more iris's.  Excited to go see her again, we loaded up, took our shovels, and a box, or two and went to dig.  When I got there, there was no flowers in sight!!  The season had come and gone, and I hadn't even gotten to see her masterpiece.  But, we walked around, and she pointed out the clumps that were too big, guessed at the colors, maybe purple, the ruffly pinks, maybe blue, orange or even yellow. I followed her around, dug what she told me to, and came home to plant.

The suspense at which color would bloom where has made this Spring so fun; to see the different blooms--to see if I got the right colors planted next to each other, and to enjoy their sweet smells has been wonderful.

Thank you, Betty!!!