The Unglamorous Dig

There is not a lot of glamour in a spontaneous dig such as this. Actually, there is no glamour. It’s gross and dirty. Like my Mother, I worry about random snakes and spiders. When I unknowingly spot tear-downs, I am typically on my way somewhere important…dressed up for a concert, rehearsal or a wedding. Obviously without a shovel.

This week, on my way to a Palm Sunday rehearsal, I noticed the bulldozer. The beautiful daffodil bed had already been flattened. After rehearsal (around 10 pm), I pulled up the loose bulbs out of the rubble. I was tired, but simply couldn’t imagine letting the bulbs dry up and die on the ground. I went by the old house the very next morning with a shovel, gloves and a few bags. I loaded up three bags full of very old daffodil bulbs, got them watered and placed them in a barn to rest.

House tear-downs always make me sad. No matter how delapitated a house is, there is something inside my heart that wants to save it. I want things to stay exactly the way they always were. I want old picket fences, my Grandparents’ way of life and pass-along plants. I suppose I inherited my Dad’s love of old architecture and all the nostalgia that goes along with it.

The old daffodil house had been run down for a long time. I was fortunate enough to meet the original owner’s son many moons ago. I was given permission to salvage some of the daffodils, as the house itself had an unknown future. I was happy to oblige and later shared daffodils with friends.

There was nothing monumental in this dig. The world wasn’t changed and cancer wasn’t cured. I didn’t even reinvent the wheel. I didn’t hop fences or rip my jeans on barbed-wire. There were no rattlesnakes, no exciting details or I didn’t even dig up cool, rare flower bulbs. This was just an average dig to save some very old (and common) daffodil bulbs.
I chronicle digs (no matter how glam) with pictures. I like to have evidence that once upon a time, a gardener lived at an old house and loved her flowers. After all, we are all just caretakers of our gardens and stewards of the Lord’s creation.

Happy Gardening, my friends.