Pee-Knees

The neighbors have planted 5 or 6 peony bushes outside our dining room window, they're just starting to bloom.

This neighborhood just keeps getting better and better.

Flowers I get to enjoy, without putting in any work.

This is what grandparenting is going to be like I think.

Comments

[HouseofJules]

Congrats on the pretty flowers that your neighbors planted. I love it! Several years ago I bet my brother-in-law that I'd never do yard work. Not because I'm princess-y, but because I have terrible allergies and I spent too many Saturdays of my childhood weeding underneath the huge magnolia tree in our front yard. Making that bet was one of the best things I ever did because I always have that as an excuse, strictly on principle. "Sorry, can't mow that grass. If I do, I'll owe J a whole quarter!" (Yes, we bet a quarter. Awesome.)
Jules
House of Jules

[Erika]

Isn't the only reason to have children is so you can enjoy the grandchildren?

[Susie]

Every time you post something about your neighborhood, I feel a bolt of happiness for you. Even with the temporary lapse in "crazy medicine," it seems there have been a lot more "Good Days" posts coming from you this past year. You've worked hard for those good days, and in my opinion, you deserve every one. Good on you.

[Assertagirl]

Wouldn't it be lovely if the neighbours let you cut some to bring indoors? They'd be lovely on a dining room table. They smell so fresh and pretty.

...

I think I need to go to the garden centre today!

[Katie]

Pretty! We have a pink peony but since we're renting, I didn't stake it and the heavy heads are on the ground being eaten by ants. Oops.

[Maren]

Hey, can I come over to your neighbors and steal those? I need white flowers for decorating for a wedding this weekend. It is totally more economical to drive to Michigan from Wisconsin for flowers than to buy them, right?

[ErinSlick]

Pretty.. every woman in my family can grow these except me. I've finally decided I'll stop trying and wait until I'm an old lady. Open your dining room windows, the white ones smell amazing.

[Shannon]

You're funny I think.

[Astrogirl]

Yay! You've just discovered an important concept in landscaping - that of "borrowed landscape". It's a Japanese idea (called "shakai" in Japanese) where you incorporate the view beyond your garden. Frederick Law Olmsted (whom you probably remember designed Central Park in NYC) was a proponent of this concept; many of his designs utilized it (for example, Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle was built along the city's waterways, so residents could enjoy the view of the water). Enjoy your "borrowed landscape", and maybe your neighbors will plant more things for your benefit :).

[ksmaybe]

Ahhh. Peonies. Which just for the record is pronounced "pine-ees" where I come from :)

[janey]

I love peonies. And the fact they come back bigger and better every year. Your neighbors rock :)

[Jenn @ Juggling Life]

Truly the best kind of gardening.

[janey]

No, sorry, the correct pronunciation is Pee-On-Eees. At least where I sit here in Canada :)

[Kristin]

OOOH peonies smell so good. If you bring any in be sure to float them head-down underwater for about five minutes to get rid of the ants.

[Cecilia]

Peonies are my absolute favorite and a critical standard by which I decide on whether someone has good taste. They are beautiful, complex but never formal or stuffy.
I attended a wedding in metro Detroit last month where the wedding party all had peonies and the groomsmen had an unopened bud in the flower spot on their tux.It was spectacular and fit the theme of their wedding perfectly: Which was, we are so glad all of you are here to celebrate with us (as opposed to "it's all about us" "this is MY day and I get it all the way I want it!")Bet you never knew a peony could say so much.

[Maggie]

Not so fast! I am a grandparent and my daughter moved back home with her newborn. Liam is now 3 months old and I must say I feel like deja vu all over again! You can read about what it's like to be a young grandparent with three generations in the house (which I believe is now becoming the trend) at: www.liamsgrandma.typepad.com

Love your blog. I also live in the Metro Detroit area.

- Maggie

[kitty joe]

about ten years ago i inherited a brooklyn backyard (rare!) that stunned me all spring-long as i discovered new things shooting up out of the ground. when the peony buds came out i called a friend (who did not share my black thumb) in despair. "they're covered with ants! i think they're eating them!" she told me that without the ants the peonies wouldn't open. what a beautiful display of teamwork in nature, i thought then. now it sounds like a bedside story told to calm down a silly brooklynite. whatever. it worked.

[The Girl]

I have been similarly blessed by my neighbors...except they don't exactly tend to their flowers. I sneak over to their patio and do a little clip, clipping myself...voila! Yellow roses meticulously-placed-in-used-beer-bottles for the kitchen table. Sounds dirty. Maybe it is...but they would let them all die. That's what I say to myself when I'm in mid-theft.

[paige turner]

Call me when the neighbors put out a vodka fountain.

[Toasted]

My kids' Nana has a sign in her mudroom that says, "Children are for loving, and grandchildren for loving you back." Apparently, grandparenting is every bit worth the years of angst and insanity we spend rearing cultured and responsible citizens of the world. Bring it on :) -- and the vodka fountain, too!