Plants and Friends

I've realized that there is a pretty good litmus test for determining lasting friendships. Say it is Saturday afternoon, 96 degrees out and you have a couple of hours to kill. If you're the one roaming the plant aisles at the local nursery with me, then I know you are in this for the long haul. That is how I spent this afternoon with my husband, a longtime friend, and a woman I met today. She passed the litmus test with high scores.

We went to one of my favorite haunts, the downtown Farmers Market. Rows of bedding plants provide a palette of colors that any artist would envy. Chartreuse coleus, shocking pink bougainvillea, and electric blue plumbago, all contribute to the sense of walking through a Monet landscape. And if that's not enough, you can stroll through the produce shed, sampling juicy slices of pale orange cantaloupe, deep red tomatoes and crunchy cucumbers.

Today's' bounty included local grown peaches, cherries, an ichiban eggplant transplant with six glorious purple blossoms, and a bougainvillea hanging basket. As we divided up the purchases to head home, I noted my new friend had more items than me and a smile on her face. Hence the high score on the litmus test.