Generosity

“Come quickly! We have to be there before four!” called my husband from the kitchen door. Excitement sparkled in his eyes. “What? Where?” the girls and I asked in bewilderment but we were immediately ready for action. “I bought six!” my husband called out, very pleased with himself after running on an errand to buy Azaleas for me. I was just as pleased. “You remember the beautiful garden we passed this morning on our hike?  I met Dave. He lives there and he said he would show us around before it gets too late."

We hurried off and Shade the silky black Great Dane and her three other companions of unknown breeds met us with friendly sniffs at the entrance.

 Dave immediately introduced us to their garden, as if introducing to us an old beloved friend. The garden rolled out gracefully before us in half winter sleep. We walked down the stone bedded path and at the rose arbor we were encircled by a forest of Azaleas--some shining with starry white and pink blooms, others fringed with splashes of bright pink on the edges of white petals. Between the silver Birches, Azaleas with their leaves swooping on the floor started to bud with cones of wine red promise. Dave also introduced us lovingly and with passion to the soldier-like Beeches, the huge sturdy old Pine, the gnarled Japanese Maples, and the Dogwoods with their miniature buds. 

We met his wife Jane (the landscaper) on her way to the beds with the uncountable rosebushes while the dogs bounced ahead of us.

We passed the stony pond with the serene sculpture holding a basket of fruits, and Dave told us how he and six men struggled to help her stand secure on her pedestal in the middle of the pond.

 As the sun set, we found our way back to the rose arbor, and Jane invited us for coffee. We thanked them for their generosity and Dave made the comment that gardeners are either generous or thieves. Jane laughed and told me that at springtime when they receive visitors to their garden, some ladies have their garden clippers in their pockets. “It is a huge temptation not to pinch a slip of these beautiful specimens!" she winked at me. I agreed and as our eyes met, her eyes--the colour of brown sherry--shone with merriment. 

"We have to share," she said as we walked and touched the leaves around us with loving hands. “In our love for nature and the sharing of what we have in our gardens, we plant our love in the gardens of others." She turned around and greeted me with a warm kiss on the cheek and a hug.  

As we drove home the generosity of the couple and their willingness to share their garden with us swirled around us and forever the bloom of an Azalea will remind me of Dave and Jane’s generosity.