Just For A Moment....

...stop what you are doing, I have a special friend I want you to visit with. I have done a few posts on this friend before, that you may or may not remember.

Everytime I see her, I leave in amazement and feel honored to have her as my friend.

We all have friends, we all have special friends, but some shine brighter than others.

So...about my friend....

She is a Master Gardener, loves to garden, she has 3 kids, a GREAT veggie garden, she loves to cook, and has an amazing husband. While we garden in gloves, she gardens in a Wheelchair.

You may know her as the Wheelchair Gardener, but I know her as Marilyn.

In 1995 Marilyn lived in the historic Oakleigh Garden district in downtown Mobile. She was out in her yard gardening, and went in to get a drink. She didn't lock her door back after she went into the garden. Minutes later, a 14 year old came out into her yard and asked for money, he wanted to go to McDonald's. She told him she didn't have any, and her shot her. He shot her with her own handgun that he had gotten out of her house. She laid there for several hours. Her brother stopped by, and was about to  leave when he noticed a yellow Iris blooming. When he went to get a closer look, he heard Marilyn calling to him. That yellow Iris saved her life. Marilyn is paralyzed from the chest down. She is married to a wonderful man that takes care of her, and helps her in the garden.

Today, the Hydrangea Queen and I went to visit Marilyn. She is currently on 6 weeks of bed rest due to pressure sores. They delivered her an air mattress a few days ago. Hopefully this will help, if not, she may have to have surgery.

Normally when I visit, she is out in the yard, scooting around. But today, I sat in her scooter while we visited (she told me to sit there). I hope to see her back in the garden in a few weeks. In the meantime, the Hydrangea Queen and I will be visiting once a week to keep her entertained! Next week we are going to take a few board games when we visit and play Scrabble and Monopoly.

This is the garden she and her husband work so diligently in. I promised her I would take lots of great pictures of her garden and email to her.

I have always loved her greenhouse

Look at that vibrant blue Hydrangea...the Hydrangea Queen got a cutting off of one of these.

This is a night blooming Cereus. It should be blooming any day now. She asked me to come back and photograph it when it does bloom. Her husband in on bloom watch, and is supposed to call me when it gets ready. So I am on bloom standby.

Another gorgeous hydrangea

Her husband has a nice vegetable garden, and orchard...all on a 1.9 acre lot.

These are my favorite....they are THORNLESS & SEEDLESS blackberries!!!! We sampled some blackberry cobbler before we left. Let me tell ya'll that cold cobbler is really good, especially when it is 100 degrees outside!

Look at the juiciness!

Now for all ya'll Southern folks...these aren't muscadines or scuppernongs. Nope! They are white grapes! You don't see many of those down here on a vine. Some of ya'll may not know what a muscadine or scuppernong is...but don't worry, neither did spell check ;-)

Little fuzzy peaches

Banana Peppers

Some sort of fantastic looking lettuce. Ed didn't know the names of the lettuce, he just knew they tasted good! He loaded us up with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and blackberries when we left.

Marilyn had quite a few daylilies in bloom, so I took a few shots to share with her.

Cala Lily

I hope you will go over to Marilyn's blog, Wheelchair Gardener, and visit with her. I know she would love to hear from ya'll. She is an amazing person, and I look forward to many more visits with her.

Here is a previous post I did on Marilyn

North Mobile Garden Society Garden Tour