Thanks for sharing, Sandy N. It was well-written and a fun read.

Personally, I have no gardening skills whatsoever. I love a well-kept garden, but I have no idea how to begin -- nor do I have any time to learn.

In our little neighborhood association we used to have one owner couple who loved gardening so much, they traded paying association dues for the task of personally handling all the mowing and yard maintenance.

It was heaven for me to look out my window during the temperate months, and see them happily pushing a mower, weeding and/or maintaining my shrubs, trees and the plantings that came with the house. Everything always looked so wonderful.

Sadly they moved two years ago, and a single woman retiree moved into their house.

Not that I don't like the new neighbor: She's a delight, a former librarian who serves on a handful of boards and loves to entertain. She is a fabulous cook and we often share books and recipes. I really enjoy chatting with her -- but she is no more a gardener than I am.

The new replacement mowers are a professional crew who come in with 3-4 workers, two mowers and a plan to get in and out as fast as possible. They keep the yards mowed, but they do nothing about the flower beds.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to hire someone to come in and do the garden maintenance. It's sad to see how neglected they've become.