Thoughts of Gardening

It was somewhat warm here yesterday, around 60 degrees, and I got to thinking about Spring. I have periods when I'm really into gardening because there's really nothing quite like looking at your yard and seeing blooming flowers and realizing that you had a part in it. The last couple of years weren't great for me health-wise, and I really let it slide. But I got myself all fixed hopefully and we'll see if I can get back into it this Spring.


One of the great things to do in Texas in spring is to visit the Hill Country. The roadsides, fields and yards are full of native flowers and it's just breathtakingly beautiful. There are bluebonnets, indian paintbrush, winecups, evening primrose and hundreds more. And they're just there! Nature plants them and waters them (hopefully) and we just get to enjoy.


Fredericksburg, Texas is great fun in the spring. Other times of the year too, but it's prettiest in spring. They have lots of tiny little houses, once called Sunday Houses, which you can rent for whatever length of time you are staying. We stayed in one once that actually had a white picket fence. It was SOOO cute! There are lots of quirky little shops and gardens all around. And one of my favorite places to visit, the Fredericksburg Herb Farm. They have some beautiful gardens with lovely walking paths, a retail plant shop, a retail perfume/skincare/aromatherapy shop with all sorts of things they make themselves, a cute little restaurant, and their own bed and breakfast house. I bought a perfume there several years ago called A+Cross. The listed notes are sandalwood, musk, vanilla, lemon, clove and chamomile. It's a very warm, comforting, sweet sort of a scent. Just a hint of lemon keeps it from being too sweet and the clove isn't overpowering.

It kind of got pushed to the back of one of my perfume shelves and I forgot about it. But I have it on right now and it's pretty yummy! It is a cologne, but it's longer lasting than several EdT's that I could mention. And....it's reasonably priced.

If you happen to make it to Fredericksburg, be sure to drive out of town a ways and visit Wildseed Farms. They have an onsite retail operation as well, but the real draw is the fields of flowers. They grow all their own plants and harvest the seeds to sell, so in spring there are just acres of flower fields. It's kind of awe-inspiring. I feel like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz looking at the poppy field.

It's been about three years since I've been there, so I may have to make time for a short visit again this Spring!

In the interest of spending a little more time talking about perfume. let's discuss Philosykos by Diptyque. This is a perfectly fine and dandy little smell, but I'm going to talk about it from a gardener's point of view. I don't necessarily get fig from this. I know that's what it is, but truthfully, a lot of plant saps smell the same. This is what it smells like when I trim that god-awful eleagnus shrub outside the front door. This is what it smells like when I deadhead spring flowers, pick shoots off the pecan tree trunk, pull (some) weeds. Add in a little dirt smell and this perfume is what I smell and smell like when I'm working in the yard.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with that smell.....when I'm working. in. the. yard! But then I come in and take a shower. Because really, it would just be nasty to hang out like that in the house. And my mother would seriously question my sanity were I to take that smell into her house. Because she's a gardener too and would recognize it. So.. while I can certainly appreciate this perfume, I won't be wearing it from a bottle. I have a yard for that.