SHOWER

Up ahead this coming Sunday we have the much-anticipated baby shower for our daughter. With more than forty people due to descend upon us for the afternoon, the preparations have begun. There are both advantages and disadvantages being married to a perfectionist. I admire Ellie's insistence that everything be just right, but I'll confess it also drives me a little crazy. One of the great features of our Los Angeles home is the big deck right outside the living area, overlooking the lower garden and with a view of the Hollywood Hills and the city of Hollywood itself. It has been six years since we worked on the potted plants that grace this area, and the time had clearly come--especially with the shower approaching--to freshen it up. Many of the plants have become compacted in their pots, some have seen their best days, some have simply grown fatigued or died. They get a great deal of sunlight, sometimes very hot, so it's hardly surprising that some have done a losing battle with the elements. Bottom line: they needed expert care and attention.

Enter Shelley and Ken of World Wide Exotics (this one, from their website...

... perhaps a shade too exotic for our deck! Looks like a dinosaur to me)--and their quietly industrious assistant Marcos...

They have their own nursery out in Sylmar, and came armed with big bags of soil to replenish the dirt, and new plants to replace some of the old. They have been working on the project for a good part of the day and--because they got lost on their way here and arrived considerably later than planned--they'll need to come back tomorrow to complete the job. Meantime, some process pictures:

This corner, I think, is done...

It looks like we'll have a beautiful--well, still more beautiful--deck for Sunday. It's always a pleasure to watch experts go to work, and these guys certainly qualify. There is a passionate quality, too, that is delightful and infectious. We ended up the day much pleased with what is shaping up.