First Day Of Spring Color

Last week a friend sent out an email inviting a small group to meet her at the botanical garden to see the orchid show and have lunch in the garden's cafe. Seven people responded that they were in. This morning at 10:00 we all met in the lobby for our "moment of Zen" field trip.

It was a little ironic that ten days ago when the original message went out it was still cold and cruddy. Today was overcast, but overall this week there's been a hint of the new season in the air.  The orchid show was held is a large room in the main building of the garden. There was an incredible selection of orchids arrayed against a backdrop of tropical greenery. A path meandered around and through the room.

After everyone in the group had their fill of admiring the beautiful flowers we took the elevator upstairs and filed into the cafeteria. The menu had a large variety of items, and it was hard for me to decide. In the end I ordered a Kale Caesar salad, with the traditional dressing, Parmesan, and croutons paired with large pieces of kale.

The rest of the group was going to explore more of the garden, but I was expecting a phone call, so I said my goodbyes and left. Instead of driving home down the freeway I took the surface road so I could pull off if my call came in. At the halfway point I passed a garden shop with a rolling cart of pansies outside. The pop of color took me by surprise, and I was past the shop before I could react and pull in. However, several miles to the west when I passed a big box hardware store I didn't make the same mistake twice.  I've never bought outside flowers on the first day of spring, but it felt like an appropriate postscript to my morning.

The store had single-color and mixed six packs. I chose the latter. At home I put the flowers in the front porch planter and watered them well. I'm looking forward to enjoying the bright blooms all spring.

Small, but they'll quickly grow