Many, many years ago an older woman, an artist, lived across the street from me. We never really talked, just smiled and waved. Then one day she moved away to a nursing home. A year or so later, she called me to ask for a favor . . .
Hello Penny, It’s Marie White, your neighbor from across the street . . . . Do you still have your flower garden in the front of your house?
Hello Marie, I’m so happy to hear from you! Yes, I do . . .
I was wondering: If I bought some Bearded Irises would you grow them in your garden for me, so I can come paint them?
Of course I said “yes”! Several weeks later a box of rhizomes arrived, and I carefully planted them, choosing what I thought would be just the right spot to please a painter. Marie White died before her Bearded Irises bloomed. And, in time, I moved to another house with a front yard, where I transplanted Marie White’s Bearded Irises. I just took a break from my marathon writing stint to take a walk in the rain. Here are Marie White’s Bearded Irises in glorious bloom: Paint them if you like.
