I arrived at my brother’s Lakewood (Denver) house to a warm welcome late Tuesday afternoon and settled in. Phil had already planned out our next day together. This morning found us standing at the grounds of the Denver Botanic Gardens. His son, Ross, is a horticulturalist on the staff there and is responsible for certain areas in the huge garden complex. Wednesdays is volunteer day so Phil and I were shepherd by Ross to a popular garden walk that had rows and rows of plantings along the side. We were given assignments along with about a dozen other volunteers. I quickly became aware that this was a group of people who had worked many hours and days together. They were a great group of folks. My job was to deadhead butterfly plants along with my partner, Ginny. We chatted and worked the whole morning side-by-side. Ross was working right along with the group. So when someone asked him about leaving a group of plants or to take them out, he replied “If they aren’t bouncin’ and behavin’, take them out.” Translation: if the plant is lying down or not up to snuff, trim it out. So his comment became my mantra for the day.
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