I won’t be taking a vacation this year, not one out of town anyway. Lucky for me I love being home and I can take memory trips just by looking out the window. I know there are always pictures and mementos, but my souvenirs are living in my yard. I visited Arizona today while watering my big tooth maple, a tree native to Oak Creek Canyon just north of Sedona where I have spent hours of heavenly hiking below the cool, red cliffs and overhanging maples that guard the creek there. Even remembering the nursery where I bought it in Prescott conjures memories of fun times I spent there!

Then I fertilized my red geraniums out front – they take me to Grandmother’s house! Her geraniums BLOOMED – mine show some red flowers but they’re small and sad compared to hers but the memories are good! Somehow in Phoenix she always had the most amazing flowers!

I have crimson columbine flowering in pots right now – I discovered this dainty beauty while camping in the Sierras and they’ve been one of my favorites ever since. They have delicate nodding heads and grow where fairies must play in the cool shade of the under forest! I’ve only seen them in the wild one other time, so having them in my yard is a real treat.

There are sun flowers sprouting in my veggie garden – those seeds were given to me by my mom’s best friend, Darlene, for my birthday several years ago down in Scottsdale. She has since lost her battle with cancer but her goodness and generosity are perpetuated in those seeds and the seeds they produce and on and on. It was a birthday I won’t forget – she prepared a delightful afternoon snack for Mom and me on vintage linens set out on the patio overlooking her amazing garden. And soon I’ll have her sunflowers to take me there again!

Next to the sunflowers sprouts I have one precious hyacinth bean vine, the only one I had sprout of all my seeds, and my babying is paying off in the multiple purple curls of flowers. Each one will produce a deep purple bean pod so I’ll have more seeds for next year. Mom introduced me to this mad climber on our fall trip to New England two years ago. The vines were showing off in the botanical garden in Stockbridge, Massachusetts where we discovered all sorts of northeastern trees and flowers that were new to both of us. It was a lovely cool respite on our harried week-long tour, and I’m happy to travel back there repeatedly when I tend my purple wonder.

I won’t bore you with more vacation pictures, I mean plants, but I’ll bet you have a few vacation stories you could share – just by looking out your window!