A Garden Fairy

Do you know how some people can't see a stray or abused dog with out stopping the car and adopting it on the spot? I think I might be like that with plants. I see neglected plants and it hurts me a little. Usually, I resist the urge to clear out random neglected beds out of sheer laziness, but I've been known to pull a few weeds during a break at work. This one got to me though. This bed is located outside my daughter's daycare center, so I've been parking next to it for years. It doesn't look like much, but I happen to know there are beautiful white irises in there, irises that bloom and flourish with no fuss or work. What? You don’t see any irises? Trust me, they are there. I’m pretty sure the ladies that run the daycare don’t know they are in there either.
Of course, this last season, it did not bloom much. It is no wonder. The plants desperately needed to be divided and the weeds are choking them out. So, today I broke down and started weeding. Out of the goodness my own heart – I swear. It was simply for the benefit of these beautiful irises, irises that desperately needed to be divided. Honest.
So after some ant bites, a blister on my finger, and long battle with a hideous weed with very sharp thorns, this the result:
Actually it was pretty fun. I didn’t get every weed, and I only divided two of the largest clumps, but I think I made a pretty big difference. I didn’t tell the daycare I was doing this. By telling them I thought it might obligate me in some way. I also thought they might think I was totally insane. I mean, who goes around weeding random beds? Let them think they’ve been hit by a garden fairy.

Did I mention that those irises needed dividing?