When we moved in to our new home in September 2010, the three flowerbeds were not unlike a winning display at a competition -if the category was ‘Most Unprepossessing Plants Arranged In The Most Unappealing Fashion Possible’.

But hey, gardening isn’t for everyone. The previous owners weren’t gardeners. Neither were we. But when we got around to it, we pulled the unprepossessing plants out (we kept the ivy growing up the fence) and we planted some plugs and seeds and a couple of little plants.

Boy, do they take a while to get going. Last summer, our flower beds looked sparse and sad. Alan pulled out weeds and my mother would occasionally swing by and point out that the plant I was quite pleased with was, actually, another weed. Alan coaxed and cajoled the lawn back to life, and I lamented how blooming long it all takes. (Or maybe that should be, not-blooming long.)

But this year, things are different. The lavender plugs that we planted are thriving. Other seeds and plants and roots are coming away. And the bulbs that I planted on New Year’s Eve continue to delight. Right now, there’s another crop of Alium coming, tall and straight and strong.

Slowly, slowly, it’s coming together. And it’s really worth the wait.