Garden wonders

It’s shocking what some people will put in their gardens.

Dinosaurs, 8-foot tall chickens, life-sized armored soldiers, naked mermaids. 

Exploring nurseries is entertainment on many levels. I told my husband I’d love him forever if he brought home that chicken but, thinking I was joking, he just laughed.

We browsed rock ants circling on a Ferris wheel, a bobbing peacock and Buddhas of all type – old, young, laughing, stern – even one who appeared to be doing jumping jacks.

 There were stone dogs, deer, alligators, hippos and fountains featuring a child peeing. Before I knew it, we had loaded up a giant concrete sea turtle.

Like others who have the gardening bug, for us, visiting nurseries is like shopping in a candy store. So much looks good. We want to load it all into our bag. But overdoing it is bad (diabetes, visits to the dentist, stomachaches, if we’re continuing that candy store analogy), so sometimes looking has to do. Otherwise our backyard will turn into a crazy mixed up zoo.

Sure, nurseries are about the plants. We browse those too. Some make their way into our yard, tucked next to a boulder, sheltered on the patio, or planted firmly in the vegetable boxes. But we always savor the “hardscapes” – pig chimes, butterfly trellises, giant pottery galore.

It took two days for my husband to discover my latest find. My reasoning is that if we are going to continue visiting nurseries, our garden needs a little serenity.