“The kitchen door opened.  Marilla looked up expecting to see Mrs. Lynde.  Anne stood before her, tall and starry-eyed, with her hands full of Mayflowers and violets.

“Anne Shirley!” exclaimed Marilla.  For once in her life she was surprised out of her reserve, she caught her girl in her arms and crushed her and her flowers against her heart, kissing the bright hair and sweet face warmly.  ‘I never looked for you till tomorrow night.  How did you get from Carmody?’

“‘Walked, dearest of Marillas.  Haven’t I done it a score of times in the Queen’s days? The mailman is to bring my trunk tomorrow; I just got homesick all at once, and came a day earlier.  And oh!  I’ve had such a lovely walk in the May twilight; I stopped by the barrens and picked these Mayflowers; I came through Violet-Vaile; it’s just a bowlful of violets now–the dear, sky-tinted things . Smell them, Marilla–drink them in.”

Marilla sniffed obligingly, but she was more interested in Anne than in drinking violets.

“Sit down child.  You must be real tired.  I’m going to get you some supper.”

“There’s a darling moonrise behind the hills tonight, Marilla, and oh, how the frogs sang me home from Carmody!  I do love the music of the frogs.  It seems bound up with all my happiest recollections of old spring evenings.  And it always reminds me of the night I came here first.  Do you remember it, Marilla?”

“Well, yes” said Marilla with emphasis.  “I’m not likely to forget it ever.”

“They used to sing so madly in the marsh and brook that year  I would listen to them at my window in the dusk, and wonder how they could seem so glad and sad at the same time.  Oh, but it’s good to be home again!  Redmond was splendid and Bolingbroke delightful–but Green Gables is HOME.”

~Spring and Anne Return to Green Gables, Anne of the Island

Grace drove us to Logee’s greenhouse last week.  It was a 52 minute drive and when we were almost there she finally asked, “WHERE is this place?”  I hadn’t told her how long she would be driving just to see if she would ever mention it.  We had a nice laugh and five minutes later hopped out of the parked car in anticipation.  I asked the woman at the counter if I could take photos and she said, “Of course!”

As I looked through the many photos this morning, after a weekend of taking Grace back to college, the old Anne quote came to my mind.  Like Anne, Grace is our own dear college girl now, and it was a deep down joy to have her home for spring break.  However, we did not experience the music of the frogs, only the falling of more and more snowflakes, and a charming “Froggy” begonia which you will see in the midst of the following pictures.

Drink them in:

mature citrus trees in the green house

triggering the fly traps. . . .

I love the look of rusty iron, cool green pot, and green plants everywhere….

another carnivorous plant

mossy terra cotta 

narrowest of stone paths

curls

Here it is!  I took a baby “Froggy” begonia home with us.  I’ll share a piece with you eventually, mom, and anyone else who would like one.

up above our heads

….and down beneath the grates. . .plants plants everywhere.

the gardenias smelled divine

joyfully admiring an unexpected plant growing from a coconut shell

leaves that look like flowers or flowers that look like leaves?

they also smelled divine; grapefruits growing 

blossom with fruit

“Mom, this looks like the tree on Horton Hears a Who!”  link here

We took home a Kumquat plant.

one of those photos I could look at all day…….

charming

cascade of blooms

truly stuffed with plants and a maze of narrow walkways

Grace said, “I didn’t know how much I needed this.”

and “I want to bring all the people I know here.”

“I see you”

Grace came up close to me and brushed pollen off my nose.

oh this mossy pot

bringing to mind the lanterns on Tangled

we smiled at each other over a cute couple, also wandering around, admiring the plants.  what a fabulous date idea!

holding my begonia, with my camera

Time flies in a green house, we didn’t want to leave, but Grace had other plans for the afternoon so we reluctantly said good-bye ….

…bringing home 8 new house plant babies to nurture and fuss over.

 

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”  ~Frances Hodgson Burnett