Temple Miracle Grow

Back in the middle of April I went and helped plant flowers at the Mesa Temple as a stake service project. I took a picture of the flowers a week after they were planted.

They weren't looking quite like temple flowers. They were kind of tiny.

Today the oldest son, oldest daughter, son-in-law and I went to the temple and this is what the flowers are looking like just less than 2 months later.

(I think this is kind of a funny picture. The siblings look like they are trying to hold hands and the son-in-law is alone in front.)

Here's another shot of the flowers.
Before

and now.

and one more, before

and today. Where did the little purple and white flowers go?

The temple must use some great Miracle Grow, or perhaps it's their temple-made mulch. I'm wondering if my spiritual growth is that impressive when I hang out at the temple? Imagine how spiritual I could be if I lived there 24/7.

One Pink Poppy

This morning the youngest son had to be to school at 6:00 AM to go to his state band festival. I wasn't that excited to be his designated driver, but I am definitely more of a morning person than he is. He prefers that I keep my mouth closed and my comments to myself during our early morning trips to the school, and heaven forbid if I happen to feel like singing along with the CD. His attitude seems to take some of the joy out of my mornings, but it's hard for me to be grumpy when it's actually still cool outside. I love the morning, once I manage to extricate myself from my bed.

When I got back home after I dropped him off I noticed that there was a new flower in my planter. One beautiful pale pink poppy. It made me smile.

I have always loved poppies. Every Spring the side of the road in front of my Grandma's house in Santaquin, Utah would be full of lots and lots of tall orange poppies.

They always looked so happy to me. Every year after they would die my mom would collect some seed pods and try to plant poppies at our house. They never seemed to grow even though they flourished, without any assistance, at Grandma's.

It was a good thing I got up early today. By lunchtime the heat had pretty much destroyed my pretty poppy. Perhaps I'll collect the seed pod and try to plant some more next year. This time I'll try to remember to sow the seeds in the fall and then maybe the flowers will bloom earlier in the season,when it is still under 100 degrees, and last more than 2 or 3 hours. Regardless, this pink poppy was a bright spot in my day.

Green Thumb

Back in the fall my Lantana bushes were taking over my planter and desperately needed a trim. I pulled out my handy clippers and went at them. When I finished, all that was left were 2 bare, woody stem clumps. How could this compassionate service go so terribly wrong?
For several months, every time I would walk out my front door I would look at those sad, sad stumps and feel bad all over again. I was just trying to help and I killed those poor plants.
In January I threw some 25 cent wildflower seeds into my planter and started watering them with hopes that they would grow and hide the poor Lantana. After a few days of water, I was surprised and ecstatic to see new leaves on my Lantana bushes.


Perhaps they weren't dead after all. Another month and some more water and sunshine and my Lantana was thriving.


And now I'm right back where I started. The Lantana is once again taking over the planter.


I wonder if I should get the clippers out?
Oh, and notice the pink flowers that managed to grow from the seeds I planted. They had to grow some TALL stems to get out from under that giant Lantana but they're trying their best to hide it.

Planting Flowers

This morning our Stake had a service assignment planting flowers at the Mesa Temple. It was a cold (for Arizona), cloudy morning when we started at 7:00 AM. The flowers were dropped, still in their plastic containers, right where they were suppose to be planted. It almost looked like they had fallen from heaven for us to take care of. Lots of people came to help and the planting went quickly, but not quite quick enough to avoid the rain that started sprinkling down. After the planting we added compost. Lots and lots of compost. Some of the compost got blown from the truck and stuck to our wet jackets until we began to resemble mud people. I was wet and I was dirty but I'm still glad I got to make a small contribution to the beauty of the temple. I was home and showered by 8:30 and when my boys got up they questioned whether or not I had really gone. Of Course, I forgot to take my camera so I couldn't prove to them that I had. While I was down in the dirt digging flower holes I was reminded that one of the first "dates" my oldest daughter and my son-in-law went on in the Fall of 2007 was a service project to plant flowers at the temple. Those same flowers looked beautiful the next April when they had there wedding pictures taken with them. Unfortunately I am having a hard time coming up with any pictures with the flowers. Perhaps you can see them if you blow this picture up bigger. The week after the wedding these flowers were all dug up so the summer flowers could be put in. Kind of sad, but necessary in Arizona. Friday, April 17 - Today when I went to the temple I took some pictures of the flowers we planted on Saturday. They have been in for almost a week now, and while they are not quite up to par for temple flowers yet, they are still all alive and the compost is still in the planter where it belongs and off of the sidewalk where it doesn't belong. I wonder what they will look like by mid-summer?

My Mom's Flowers

My mom has always worked hard
to have a garden or 2 or 3 of beautiful flowers.
At our house on the hill in Heber
my mom had rock gardens
full of pretty flowers
tucked in beds
surrounded by rocks
hauled from the hot pots
in nearby Midway.
Every evening she would go outside
and water her flowers.
I think this was her quiet time.
Her time to think and
to appreciate the fruits of her labors.
At the time I didn't really understand
what she found so enjoyable about
standing over the garden
with a hose every night
but now I think I am
beginning to figure it out.
It's nice to look at something
you have created
from almost nothing
and see it flourish.
It's rewarding to be a part of
making Heavenly Father's world
a more beautiful place.

My mom is a good example to me
of being creative and
making her little corner of the world
a nicer place.
Even though she doesn't feel good
most of the time
she keeps busy sewing
or quilting
or crocheting
or knitting
or doing geneology.
After her surgery
the nurse's instructions
from the doctor were
"Don't just lay in bed
all the time"
so she is adamate that she
needs to be up and doing something.
Although I think it is o.k.
to act sick for a little while
following cancer surgery
I do admire her for her detemination
to not let this bump in the road
keep her from accoplishing
the things she desires.


I could learn a lot from her.
Perhaps I'll go home and
plant a Fall garden.

Today I am thankful for

a mom who is a good example to me.
happy childhood memories.
A new baby boy in the family born to my niece yesterday.