Have You Ever Seen Such a Thing? (the sequel)

. . . Gladys deftly guided us all outdoors.

Some of us walked gingerly around the north side of the house, not at all knowing what to expect. That would include yours truly.
However, meeting us as we rounded the corner was our friend Rosalie. She is rarely coaxed indoors; flower-lover that she is!

(Enter Rosalie)

"Hi, everyone!" she called. "What's going on? I was just about to send out a search party for you!"

To be quite honest, I'd completely forgotten that Rosalie had been waiting for us to meet outdoors. It was refreshing to see her smile, and I asked, "Rosalie. Have you seen anything unusual in my flower gardens? Anything that might make you pause for a second look?"
She'd been smiling so sweetly. I was surprised at her sudden change of countenance.

"Have I done something wrong?" she asked.

Uh, oh, I thought. We really must get to the bottom of this!

It was then that I looked down. Right in front of me was something I had never seen before. A crazily twisted object. This then, was the culprit . . . the object of all the discussion. It had to be! I looked at Rosalie.

"What in the world is that?" I asked.


(enter Hazel)

"I'm sure Shady means, ' What an interesting phenomena. Can you tell us about it, Rosalie?"

(Of course that's what I meant. Thank you, Hazel.)

(enter Harry)

"Now Rosalie, while you're at it, would you mind describing it carefully? And in detail? You know Hazel's the gardener in our family . . . not me."

(Harry. Another one of those tactful types.)


Rosalie brightened immediately!

"Shady, I have the most interesting thing to tell you! I learned this at the arboretum the other day. I was walking along and saw those things, just like these, all over the gardens. I stopped to take a closer look when one of the docents approached me. She asked if I knew what these were. Of course, I said, 'No'."

"Then she explained. And now I can tell each of you!"
Rosalie was positively beaming as she knelt down in front of her creation.

"These are daffodil leaves, she said. Surely you've noticed how floppy they get after the blossoms fade? And how they fall all over the surrounding flowers? And how often those surrounding flowers don't thrive? Well, the leaves are braided! she announced gleefully.

"The leaves still receive all the sunshine they need to create food and energy for the bulb before they die."


"Your surrounding plants are no longer crowded and stunted . . . at least they won't be!" she crowed.

"And YOU have delightful little garden sculptures in all your flower beds!"

"But you no longer have a good supply of rubber bands," she laughed.

"Rosalie, you're a genius!" I said. Rosalie blushed.


And Gladys? Gladys Gardener?


Gladys is off the hook and back on the bench! The garden bench that is! :-)

All's well that ends well. Especially in this shady spot!
Have a great weekend!