One hot day last Spring in Oklahoma, my 95-year-old mother and I went to a big Lowe's in Yukon, Oklahoma to look for plants for my mother's garden. Helping her out of the car, and finding a shopping cart that she could use as a rolling "walker", we ambled around the rows and rows of flowers. In this world, most of us have become used to not finding sales people to help. We are used to that, but my mom still thinks that sales people are readily available, and most of all, knowledgable about what is for sale. We were outside in the sunshine, where there were 40 aisles of plants, and, gazing longingly at this vast array of plants and shrubs, my mom said to me, "I'd like you to ask if they have any Mexican Heather." This is one of those little things--her sweet voice asking me to look for something--that I will remember for the rest of my life. "Mexican Heather?", I thought to myself, "are you kidding??"
I left her teetering on the edge of disaster, clutching on to her shopping cart, while I walked the rows and rows of plants and tried to either find a Mexican Heather display or a sales person. Finally, I asked a clerk at the check out counter inside, who looked at me like I was nuts. Another clerk overheard my request and said, "I think we're all out of Mexican heather."
On the way home, we stopped at two other nurserys looking for Mexican Heather for my mom. By this time, she was too pooped to get out of the car, so I just ran in on my mission for heather. No one had any Mexican heather. At the last place I went in, I bought a lovely large hanging basket of assorted flowers for her back door, hoping this would ease her disappointment.
Back here in Boston, months later, George and I were walking through a Home Depot, and there hanging up in pots, marked down to $6.99 each, were big beautiful Mexican Heather plants. He loved them, I loved them, and we bought three, which we have been enjoying for a month now. They are hardy, green, and we have to laugh that, of course once again, Mother knows best.
Here is a picture of our Mexican Heather. Have a great day.
