Plant Sale Today!
If you drive west of the Twin Cities on Highway 5, you go through Waconia, a used-to-be-small town that still boasts of a ‘farm store’ selling feed and seed and chicks. If you don’t know ‘chicks’, read a book about livestock; some people still get eggs every morning from a coop.
As you pass through town, you’ll notice a hand-painted sign nailed to a telephone pole announcing ‘Plant Sale Today’. An arrow points up into the old-home neighborhood just off the highway. When I first saw that sign years ago, I figured some old geezer must be selling hostas out of his garage. I was wrong; partly.
One day, I followed the arrows to a quaint little home with a driveway full of colorful flowers and plants. There, I met the lady of the house. I learned that she works for a garden nursery, and with permission from her boss she rescues pots and plants that have been thrown away. She brings the plants new life behind her house, and only puts them out in her driveway when they are at the peak of flowering perfection. She sells the packs and pots of plants, and donates all of the proceeds to a Christian mission effort across the globe.
From the day I met The Plant Lady, I knew I had made a dear friend. She always had a moment to talk when I stopped by, and she always offered me a motherly hug. This past spring, I heard she had died. I was devastated. I lost my mother only years ago; I wasn’t ready to face the news of loosing another close friend.
Today, I drove by The Plant Lady’s house and saw her busy at work feeding and watering the bed of flowers in her driveway. I was elated. I stopped my van in the middle of the street and ran to say hello. We hugged and laughed and hugged some more, just like family.
The Plant Lady knows what I do with most of my time, feeding the homeless in The Cities. And she always has a moment to ask me how my friends are getting along. Today, she made a list of things that the homeless need so her friends can ‘garage sale shop’ for boots, backpacks, coats and the like. When I leave, she makes sure I take plants for my friends, and she won’t let me pay for a thing.
The Plant Lady has an enthusiasm for giving and a passion for life that rubs off with every hug she shares. Her smile is as genuine and comforting as the land surrounding her town used to be.
Progress and development are eating away the countryside of life that used to flourish here. But there’s nothing in this world that will ever take away the love and friendship The Plant Lady puts into every flowering pot.
If you ever drive through Waconia, look for the sign on the north side of the highway that reads, “Plant Sale Today”. And then follow the arrows up the hill to the driveway full of flowers, and The Plant Lady full of love.
As you pass through town, you’ll notice a hand-painted sign nailed to a telephone pole announcing ‘Plant Sale Today’. An arrow points up into the old-home neighborhood just off the highway. When I first saw that sign years ago, I figured some old geezer must be selling hostas out of his garage. I was wrong; partly.
One day, I followed the arrows to a quaint little home with a driveway full of colorful flowers and plants. There, I met the lady of the house. I learned that she works for a garden nursery, and with permission from her boss she rescues pots and plants that have been thrown away. She brings the plants new life behind her house, and only puts them out in her driveway when they are at the peak of flowering perfection. She sells the packs and pots of plants, and donates all of the proceeds to a Christian mission effort across the globe.
From the day I met The Plant Lady, I knew I had made a dear friend. She always had a moment to talk when I stopped by, and she always offered me a motherly hug. This past spring, I heard she had died. I was devastated. I lost my mother only years ago; I wasn’t ready to face the news of loosing another close friend.
Today, I drove by The Plant Lady’s house and saw her busy at work feeding and watering the bed of flowers in her driveway. I was elated. I stopped my van in the middle of the street and ran to say hello. We hugged and laughed and hugged some more, just like family.
The Plant Lady knows what I do with most of my time, feeding the homeless in The Cities. And she always has a moment to ask me how my friends are getting along. Today, she made a list of things that the homeless need so her friends can ‘garage sale shop’ for boots, backpacks, coats and the like. When I leave, she makes sure I take plants for my friends, and she won’t let me pay for a thing.
The Plant Lady has an enthusiasm for giving and a passion for life that rubs off with every hug she shares. Her smile is as genuine and comforting as the land surrounding her town used to be.
Progress and development are eating away the countryside of life that used to flourish here. But there’s nothing in this world that will ever take away the love and friendship The Plant Lady puts into every flowering pot.
If you ever drive through Waconia, look for the sign on the north side of the highway that reads, “Plant Sale Today”. And then follow the arrows up the hill to the driveway full of flowers, and The Plant Lady full of love.
posted by Kelly at 9:00 PM
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