How many of you were in a band of some sort in high school/college? I don’t mean marching band or concert band, but a garage rock band. Grunge-style, like Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, or Red Hot Chili Peppers (weren’t the 90s great?). I was, sort of. Never to any level of performing, but I did have a good time jamming with friends every now and then through my college years. And I definitely pushed my finances to the limit to buy an enormous amplifier with 2 giant speakers and 300 watts of power to assault you with a bass line.
But I’m thinking it’s time to start a band again because I now have a guitarist in the family. For some reason a few months ago, Maddy decided that she wanted to play the guitar. I’m guessing some of it is the Taylor Swift influence! Kim told her that her grandfather might have a guitar he would lend her, and so that very night she called and asked if she could borrow it. Within 30 minutes she was in her room strumming a 1960s Gibson that Larry bought at a music shop in Seminole Heights, maybe when he was in his garage band days.
We got her some Taylor Swift music so she could learn chords to songs she already knows. At night after we’ve read a good book, I’ll play some of the songs so that she can sing them with me, or I’ll play some of the songs from my past like Interstate Love Song, Stairway to Heaven, or All Along the Watchtower. I kind of wish I hadn’t gotten rid of my amps and basses, but I thought my rock days were behind me. Turns out, I’ve got a little Frank Zappa in the family, or at least that was how she dressed up when she was “going to be a rock star.” I am not entirely sure where she got the idea for the get-up, but it has definitely been fun to hear her playing the guitar late into the night, crooning her favorite songs. And I’ve had fun strumming with her and reminiscing about the days when I wanted to start a band.
These days, it’s less hard rock and bass lines, and more dig-in-the-dirt and shovel-rhythms for me. And even though we are well into the heat of summer, there is still lots to do in the garden. Of course, you need to make sure your new and established plants are getting plenty of water in between our heavy rains (Kerby’s Watering Instructions has the details, including our “How to Water New and Established Plants” video). But I think the thing I love best in the summer, especially during the heat of the day, is to dream about my next garden. Whether it’s veggies and herbs, natives and pollinators, or the next addition to your tropical paradise, those dreams help you pull your plans together and create amazing gardens.
Speaking of planning, we are busy at the nursery getting our fall series of events together. Classic seminars to get all of your different gardens started, flower arrangement Make & Takes to have fun, Yoga in the Garden to keep your mind and body in balance, and coming up soon is our third annual Plants and Pets event. I guess my only problem now is to figure out how to work band practice into my gardening schedule!
