Wednesday, March 26, 2008

the flowers are coming...


new york is a funny town in the sense that there are sooooo many people, yet we are pretty good at keeping our distance. people who i know who come from small towns say that they like living in new york because it offers anonymity (sp?). i think that is one of the reasons why celebrities like living here as well. i have a neighbor who just seems incredibly interesting to me. i met her one time while she was tending to the flowers outside our apartment building. the flower pots in spring and summer outside our door are really full of gorgeous flowers, but i had no idea how they got there... was it magic. so one sunny summer day i caught her out there with her gardening tools and water buckets and i introduced myself and complimented her on how pretty the flowers always are, and i thanked her for sharing such beauty. she explained to me how while growing up she always helped her mother in their garden, so she has been doing this a long time.


though it's a small apartment building, it's relatively quiet and we as neighbors in general don't really run into eachother. since meeting the gardening neighbor last summer, without exageration i have seen her one other time, but there are traces of her existence. though i know nothing about gardening, it looks like she is 'preparing the soil' for spring flowers. when i walk outside now i can see where she has watered down the dry soil. these days the soil now is soaking wet, when during the winter it was hard and dry. i think she's getting things ready for the spring flowers that are coming.


i really love them and i told her so. she said that it's really nice to know that someone takes notice and appreciates them. i do. in a city where everyone is so busy being busy, her flowers are a sweet treat when i step outside my door or coming in from a day out on the town... bless her heart.

7 comments:

My Castle in Spain said...

nice to read your stories l'Air du Temps !
(found you through Persephone)

your last post made me smile because I also live in flat with an open patio (in southern Spain) my neighbor can see. I'm pathetic with plants. I love them but apparently not enough and the other day my neighbor told me I should put more effort into watering them !

your neighbor is very likeable

Anonymous said...

Maybe you can post some photos?

P said...

I wish I had a neighbor like yours! What a lovely thing to do - she is really enhancing the lives of everyone in the building. It was nice of you to acknowledge it, too. I'm sure it made her feel incredibly appreciated.

Jorge said...

etimologically, neighbo(u)r = neah (nigh) + (ge)bur = near + farmer. it sounds like your gardener.

l'air du temps said...

welcome my castle in spain! i'm pleased that you like my stories, this is encouragement to continue. and if they make you smile...so much sweeter.

i'm not so good with plants either so i haven't bought any, even though i love them. i think for me also i may have to take some patience and time with them...

i'll have to stop by your blog. i love spain... hope you're having fun

hi le tigre, maybe you are reading my mind... i was in the shop the other day looking at digital cameras so that i can post some more pictures, because i don't own one. this past year i am mostly learning about the wonders of technology...

the 'poet' in me thought of tech stuff as impersonal, but coming to my senses, i am now learning my way around the computer, learning about blogs and websites. on va voir...

p! i hope she feels appreciated, she does such a pretty thing. she seems so interesting... sometimes she leaves her door slightly open. pretty music seeps out, i can she her book cases (i know you're a bibliophile too) and gorgeous sheer curtains at her windows. i try so hard not to be the 'nosey neighbor' but she does seem so interesting...

hola jorge, i'm always so envious of your language ability. if i could speak many languages as well as you i think i might like that. i like very much your breakdown of 'neighbour.' definitely she is a 'near farmer' and i am lucky for it...

Nuria Cano said...

Menos mal que alguien todavía se fija en los detalles... Son muy importantes y poco visibles para la mayoría. Me alegro de que compartas los detalles que te vas encontrando por ahí.

In general people non-neoyorker think about this city as non-flowered. But this is not true. My wonderful last spring in NY taugh me how many plants and flowers there are in NY (and in Washington D.C.!!!)(at least in the non-too-poor neighborhood)

Besos

l'air du temps said...

hola Nuri, more and more i am noticing the sweet little things in life. this is a nice surprise for me these days.

and you helped me appreciate the flowers in nyc, when you pointed out all the flowers and little stores full of flowers, as well as the light posts full of arts and signs. it is wonderful to see the city through your eyes. sometimes when we are accustomed to a place it takes a new perspective to show us what we tend to miss...

gracias & besos