I got a phone call from a former employee/friend saying she needed some help. She, her husband, and parents are moving to Arizona. Their family's home is up for sale and they will be moving this week. She asked if I could help keep the grass cut and do the trimming. I've been in her shoes before and offered my help.

I rode my bike out to her parents house (4 miles down the road) to talk to her mother. She was absolutely frustrated. She was to have everything packed up but as we all know, there is never enough time to do it. She took me on a walk through the yard and showed me what she wanted kept up. But what I really got was a nice walk through her 20 year old garden. And I had to laugh, when she said "and I just got it the way I like it."

My reply to her was "any time spent working in the garden, is time well spent" (quote taken from a post here on garden web). She had quit a different garden than I had. It was so nice to see how someone else viewed gardening. As we walked through the yard, I would comment on all the different elements that they had added over the years. And as we got back to the front, I was amazed at what she had accomplished in 20 years. It also made me wonder what I would do if I let my self go for 20 years :)

So I'll be just cutting her grass and weeding the flower beds 2 times a month, or until the house sells. Not much work. She also offered a few cuttings to me as a partial payment. I'm excited to do the work for her. I'll be taking pics (she doesn't know yet) and sending them to her so she will not have to miss the fruits of her 20+ years of gardening.

Anyone else have a garden-sitting stories?

Clyde