Before the start of this week’s newsletter, I wanted to point out a new-ish feature. In the links area at the top of the newsletter, there is a Listen link. I know sometimes when I’m busy, I’ll put on some of my favorite podcasts and keep right on working while listening. Give it a click and you can keep dreaming about your garden, while you are still getting things done. Enjoy.

This past weekend was St. Patrick’s Day. A day to wear green, eat corned beef and cabbage, and say “Top of the morning to ya” in a funny accent. Apparently, it is also the day that the Leprechaun visits your home. As if Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy weren’t enough, there is now one more magical creature that visits our home. What? You don’t have a leprechaun that visits you each year? He’s actually been coming to see us for a few years. I don’t know where Kim first got the idea (probably Pinterest) but for a few years, on St. Patrick’s Day, Kim has put green footprints on the seat of one of our toilets and colored the water in the bowl green. The girls always think it is funny and come looking for the footprints in the morning.

This year, we’d almost forgotten that Sunday was St. Patrick’s Day when the girls reminded us and asked what a leprechaun looked like. We asked Google and not only did we find pictures, but there was a short video of some kids making a leprechaun trap. And suddenly the girls were off. We didn’t hear much from Abby as she was busy constructing, but Madeleine kept coming down the stairs and asking questions, like “What do leprechauns eat? What do they like to do?” She settled on a clementine and peanuts for inside the trap, and Abby decided that “Free Gold” was the way to lure them in. When they were finished, they had a slick leprechaun trap and high expectations of success.

In the morning, their trap was sprung, the tissue paper that was hiding the hole was broken, and Maddy came running down the stairs yelling, “We’ve caught a leprechaun.” I think she was scared to open it. So we went upstairs and opened it up together. No leprechaun, but sure enough half the clementine was gone as well as a handful of the peanuts. I told them that leprechauns were wily creatures and probably not interested in sticking around for too long. Just long enough for a snack. And the visitor did leave some footprints behind. Irrefutable proof that leprechauns are real. The girls are already planning next year’s trap. I’m a little afraid that one day I’m going to come down the hall from my bedroom to find my home booby-trapped with strange contraptions. Hopefully they are only interested in catching leprechauns and not fathers . . .

And that was the start to a busy week. Not only did we celebrate St. Paddy’s Day, but yesterday was the first official day of spring, and today is National Flower Day. It’s the perfect week for a nursery. We wear green every day, celebrate flowers every day and wish that it was spring every day. Right now, you can’t beat the weather we are having. Spring perfection. The gardening doesn’t get better than this, so plant away! This week’s special (March 21, 2019) is Encore Azaleas. Three seasons of blooms from a Southern garden classic. See our Azalea Tips and stop by the nursery to see the gorgeous Azaleas for yourself. We promise we won’t let the girls set any traps in your way.