Flower Power

We live in a little university neighborhood that is, quite frankly, less than charming.  I'm not talking about one of those cute little college towns with lots of unique shops and restaurants and fairly nice, older homes.  No, no, no.  We've got the older homes--lots of late 19th century and early 20th century Victorians that have fallen into disrepair and are now used and abused by 21-year olds playing beer pong through the night.  Also, lots of the older homes have been burned down for insurance money or razed to make room for rip-off apartments geared toward undergraduate students at the university just a few blocks away.  Overall, there are very few owner-occupied homes in our 'hood--most are rented out to students and other assorted characters (drug dealers, old washed-up hippies, the like.)  

Despite the shortcomings, we love our neighborhood and will be sad to leave it in a couple of weeks when we pack our bags and head Up North for a new adventure.  Plus, we feel like we've given a little back to our less-than-charming 'hood through our garden.  This year, we decided to expand the garden into the front yard, lining the little front walkway with snapdragons, impatiens, marigolds, lilies, and daisies... Oh, and a pair of tomato plants that sprung up from last year's seeds.  We also planted sunflowers in front of the house, several of which are now blooming!  Granted, it's no rose garden, but we love it all the same.  The good news: other people love it, too.  We've gotten several compliments on our flowers from neighbors and passers-by, many of which seem downright flabbergasted that two students--renters!--would actually take care of their yard.  Shocking, right?  We're hoping our pretty little flower garden starts a trend.  Who knows, maybe when we come back to visit, there won't be any more burnt couches on the sidewalk and trash everywhere.  On that note, I'm not quite as sad about moving anymore.  Let's hit the road.