Fresh Pict from the Garden

Several weeks ago I finally pulled my sweet peas. Planted this past February, they sprouted, grew, bloomed, bloomed some more, and then became garden monsters, entangling everything in sight and simultaneously blocking out the sunlight.

When my sweet pea vines soared over eight feet height, and I could no longer reach the blossoming stems to cut fresh flowers without getting on a ladder, I realized that I had reached that sad but inevitable moment: they simply had to go to make way for more summer produce.

I cut every flowering stem within reach and filled glass mason jars with dense handfuls of their tender petals and tendrils. The scent of sweet peas (my favorite) filled my house for a few last days.

My neighbor also picked a bouquet of sweet peas, which he took to his father's grave for Memorial Day. "I never realized that sweet peas had such a wonderful fragrance," he said.

They truly do. I have tried so many sweet-pea scented soaps, candles, and lotions, and none of them are anything like the real deal. Try as the chemists might, they just can't replicate the simple wonders of Mother Nature.

I snapped a few photos of the arrangements around my home, wishing all the while that I could send a bouquet, that very day, to everyone I knew. And I realized that, while I couldn't send the actual flowers, I could send the next best thing.

It occurred to me that, with a few clicks of the mouse, I can upload photos of my fresh, seasonal flowers and produce and turn them into greeting cards with a little help from my favorite digital photo site, Shutterfly.

Voila! I'm now creating my new line of greeting cards, "Fresh Pict from Pocket Square Farm."

You never know... you might just find a gleaming ear of corn or a bushel of sweet peas coming to a mailbox near you!