A smile and a scent...kind of miraculous.
The first time I took a whiff of a gardenia was when I received one in a corsage from the guy who took me to the homecoming dance when I was a sophomore in high school. He was on the varsity football team. From that moment on, whenever I catch that scent I am immediately taken back to that moment. When Carl and I chose a landscaper to makeover our backyard this is one of the flowers I wanted. And it's one of the plants that still remains over twenty + years ago. I've been watching my gardenia plant for the past seven months. And it has not been fun. The plant looks scrawny, leafless, and not good at all. (The photo was taken some years ago of the same plant, when it looked much better.) The thought had crossed my mind to toss the plant. Maybe I had killed it. Maybe it just got tired. But - maybe didn't get it done..so I didn't do anything. But this Tuesday...the gardenia had blooms on it! They are small but fragrant. And once I walked by it I had to sto