Try Something New

My condo is unusual in that it has an L-shaped deck that is over sixty feet long.  Every day from the earliest spring I finish my work, don a bathsuit and head towards it.  I am on the second floor overlooking a beautiful courtyard with a waterfall and fountain so the atmosphere is perfect for reading or napping.  I have a large red umbrella to protect me when the sun is too hot and am surrounded with pots of beautiful flowers.

Each year my daughter and I go to a greenhouse and make a large purchase of soil and bedding plants.  Then we pick up her husband and the three of us haul everything from the vehicle to the deck.  Adam and Kristal are wonderful gardeners and it doesn’t take long until they have created a beautiful environment by choosing the plants best suited for each pot and planter.

This year, I was thinking about how demanding their careers are and the amount of time that they are away from home because of them.  Their jobs require travel to several locations, including being out of province.

So, in early March I decided to do some research to try to lighten the load for everyone.

It was such a pleasant surprise to find an online greenhouse near Calgary that delivers!   Their website was amazing and offered me not only different varieties of plants than I had previously purchased but also details about the plants themselves.  It didn’t take long until my cart was overflowing.  I ordered annual flowers, a tomato plant, fertilizer and even planting soil. 

Unfortunately, every time I tried to check out, I was blocked.  The good news is that this gave me an opportunity to call the greenhouse and learn more about their wonderful business concept.  They do not allow anyone to go to the greenhouse and only do deliveries.  Attempts at having pickups in the past apparently caused more effort than the owners and staff wanted to expend. 

The shopping cart, I was told, had a timer which meant that I needed to enter everything quickly without doing so much browsing!  

This greenhouse is in a small community south of Calgary and the person who answered the phone invited me to call back with any questions that I would have in the future.  She even moved my delivery date to accommodate the planting season and my work schedule.

I was so excited about this new idea that I posted a message on our family chat only to have my son-in-law reply stating that it was too early to order and plant in March.  (He knows that I don’t have the gardening expertise that he has).  I explained that I was trying something new this year that would save him labour but perhaps the family would still like to come and help with the planting process and be my guests for a restaurant meal afterwards.  If they can and will come, that would be great but, if they are unavailable, I know that I can take my time, call for advice and attempt the gardening project on my own this year.

It is easy to follow tradition and do things the same way over and over again without realizing that there are so many options in life.

Look around.  Do some research.  Maybe you will stumble upon a way to try something new.

After all, if we weren’t subject to change, we would all be chasing our supper with a bow and arrow!