A few weeks ago, my daughter sent me a gardenia bonsai, “Just because I love you, Mom.” What a lovely surprise it was, and I stood it in my kitchen, read the instructions and waited for the buds to come out. I was supposed to mist it daily, keep the pebbles moist in the tray and make sure not to water it too much. Not that difficult really. My daughter was disappointed when she saw the photo, because in the brochure, it showed a bright red pot with many flowers already blooming.
I followed the instructions religiously, but all that happened was that a couple of buds fell off. Then I had the bright idea to stand it outside in the humidity instead of inside in the air conditioning. Light bulb moment! The very next day, my first flower started to appear and now it’s looking gorgeous.
The fragrance is wonderful and takes me back to when I was a teenager in the 60’s. For Christmas, my very favourite aunt bought me my first bottle of perfume, which was ‘Gardenia’ by Goya. I can still remember how excited I was when I opened the bottle and dabbed a couple of drops behind my ears.
Tonight we’re going to see the fabulous Judy Carmichael performing at one of our local theatres. I wish I could play piano just like her. Tomorrow evening, we have dinner and dancing here at the club, so that should be fun too. Wishing you all a very happy weekend.
