I love flower gardening! I find a lot of satisfaction in taking a weed choked spot of my backyard, and bringing it to life with splashes of color. I lose track of time when my hands touch dirt. Maybe that’s why I like it so much. It’s a relaxing and creative process.

            My last gardening experience however, was anything but relaxing! The heat of the day made getting those tender plants I had purchased into the ground less desirable. It was the day before Independence Day. I had a crowd coming for BBQ and to watch fireworks. I wanted the yard to look good. I looked at the plants a couple of times, but the thermometer was reading close to one-hundred. I decided to wait until the sun set.

            The rest of the Smith clan headed off to the movies to escape the heat. I decided it was a perfect opportunity to get those plants in. The evening was sultry, but pleasant. The sounds of the neighborhood reflected the impending holiday. The teen neighbor next door was having a jam session complete with a drummer and electric guitars. As I prepared the bed and began to lay down weed barrier, they were unwittingly serenading me with old seventies rock tunes. I smiled to myself and wondered how they had been introduced to the songs they were playing. Dogs barked, and kids shrieked as they played games of chase, and the sound of an occasional fire cracker caused me to worry about the status of fire safety in my neighborhood. 

            It was late when I busted through the backyard gate with my red wheelbarrow loaded to the brim with plants, decorative rocks, and bark. I was now in a hurry, anxious to get the plants into the ground before everyone returned from the movie. As I came down the slight slope into the yard, the load began to shift. My focus went immediately to the maroon snap dragons, now hanging perilously from the side of the wheel barrow. I was so focused on them that I failed to notice the bright yellow sprinkler in front of me. It’s the fun kind. It sprays sideways in rotation while creating a fountain in the middle. It’s perfect for running through on a hot summer day. In fact, I bought it for my kids with that purpose in mind. It conveniently has wheels on the back for easy movement. It was only a fraction of a second, but the ride I took on the sprinkler seemed a lot longer! It ended up sliding to the left, my ankle twisted the same direction, and the wheel barrow turned over to the right. I haven’t felt that kind of pain in years! I screamed for a minute. I admit it. But the band next door played on, the house was dark, and now from another house in the neighborhood blared the sounds of “God Bless America”.  There was no one to hear. It was better that way, really.

I took deep breaths, and my thoughts oddly turned back to gardening as I lay flat on my back, writhing in pain, and staring at the tree overhead. I decided it was lovely from that angle, and didn’t need to be topped after all.  I got up, put weight on my left foot, and contemplated the idea something might be broken. Then, I finished planting with a flurry, knowing the next day I wouldn’t be able to walk. On the fourth I made soft ice cream, in a soft cast on my left ankle, in between soaking in an ice bucket.

My ankle still looks terrible. It’s swollen and almost as colorful as the pink, purple and maroon garden I planted, which by the way, looks great!  I just wish I had planted it in the daylight.