THE WEARIN' OF THE GREEN

Happy St. Paddy's Day to You... I hope that all of you with a little Irish in you (and those who wish they did!) enjoy a day filled with fun, friends and worthwhile leisure. For me, that has become my work with dahlias, especially this year. As I have learned more, and as friends have shared knowledge and ideas with me, my enthusiasm has grown and the joy has multiplied exponentially. My dahlia friend Beth and I were texting last night, gushing about our seedlings and tubers, and how well they are doing - using words like "nubbins" and "babies", as we metaphorically jumped up and down, clapping our hands in glee. We are more excited than children on Christmas morning - and we have the "green" of our juvenile dahlias to thank for that.

I am getting ready to go on a trip in a few days, to visit friends, family and drop in on a couple Spring Training games. Although the trip will be a lot of fun, I am finding myself torn and conflicted about leaving my fledglings home without me to fuss over them. As it is now, I check in on them throughout the day, talking or singing to them, and nudging them or misting them as needed. It is such a nurturing thing, both for my little green progeny and for me. I worry that my daughter, who will be looking after the house while I am gone, might not keep them moist enough, or heaven forbid, might even forget to spritz them once or twice. Such thoughts are banished as quickly as they come, because I just cannot bear to go there! I may need to have a couple back-up dahlia enthusiasts to drop by from time to time and double check on the nursery, just to make sure things are looking OK.

Although I am mostly Dutch (having three Dutch grandparents), we have been able to trace the ancestry of my grandfather on my mother's side to the British Isles, including England, Scotland and Ireland. So although I may have developed my love of tuber gardening from my Dutch forebears, I think that my love of green, growing things (and an occasional green beer!) must have come from my distant Irish roots. So, it is in that spirit that I leave you with this thought: "Wishing you a rainbow for sunlight after showers - Miles and miles of Irish smiles for golden happy hours - Shamrocks at your doorway, for luck and laughter too - and a host of friends that never ends, each day, your whole life through!"