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Friday, January 11, 2019

Gladsome Gladdies

A warm summer's day welcome to all you lovely lovelies♥ Alas, I am waxing lyrical yet again about some pretties that have gracefully popped up in my garden. The reason for my giddy delight this last little while, is the Gladdies. Oh, pardon me, that darn language barrier again.....I mean the Gladiolus, Gladioli etc. etc. Here in the garden these tall, floret-filled spires have pushed onto the stage towering over the other flowers, reaching up to the blue, blue sky. And, the very sight of these gorgeously elegant stems has caused me to bubble over with cheery cheeriness.......and may I say gladful gladsome-ness.

Here in Australia Gladdies became synonymous with Dame Edna Everage (the alter ego of comedian Barry Humphries)  who was rarely seen without a few stems clutched in her hand and indeed often felt the need to share these lovely flowers with her stage audience by tossing them to her adoring fans at the end of each performance. 'She' has retired from the stage now but these striking old fashioned flowers will bloom forevermore.

Last Spring a beautiful friend of mine (actually....she is one of this sweet life's treasures) gifted my husband and I with corm after corm of these gorgeous flowers. She had dug what seemed to be hundreds up from her garden and asked if I would like some. On second thought, I cannot remember if she asked me or if I dived  onto the ground where the Gladdies lay, clutching them to my chest asking, pleading.....if I could perhaps have a 'few'. Whichever way the story goes, they came on home with my good husband and my good self and are now showing off in spectacular fashion in the garden. My husband dotted a few here and there throughout the garden but he decided they would strut their stuff better if they were planted en masse  in a garden by the pond. Flowers planted en masse always dazzle.

We have a variety of colours.....the brightest of shades; red, orange, yellow to the softer spectrum; lemon, pink, mauve, apricot. I have never thought about Gladdies in the garden before but seeing their elegance in the garden I will definitely be purchasing more colours next Spring.









Magical reflections mirrored in the pond.

As the sun sets on yet another week, I sit here in the garden watching the fading sun cast a suffused glow on the pond  with rain drops gently puddling  on the water. The end of another magic Summer's day. Another Summer's day drifting into a balmy Summer's evening. Another Summer's day sprinkled with magic moments spent in the garden enjoying the bounty of flowers..........the gladsome Gladdies. Enjoy a beautiful weekend. May you find delight and a little beauty in your days.♥


Until the next time.........


72 comments:

  1. Wow, aren't your gladiolus beautiful? There are also almost black flowers, velvety and soft, which I find so fascinating.
    How sweet of your friend that you got these amazing flowers.
    Hugs♥

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    1. Yes, the red Gladdies do have the look of velvet about them. So pretty up close and personal. My friend is sweet....and very generous. Thank you for visiting me and the Gladdies, lovely Loes. Have a beautiful weekend. Kim Xx

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  2. Hi Kim wow you have such an amazing garden,love the glady's one of my favourite flowers,enjoy your beautiful garden my friend xx

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  3. Sometimes you just need that glimpse of summer on the other side of the world

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    1. Yes, sometimes that is all one needs to put a smile in a chilly and wintry day. =) Hope you enjoy a lovely weekend, Kate.....try to stay warm. Kim Xx

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  4. I love glads too. I just appreciate your photographs since it is cold and wintery here in the US. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  5. Beautiful. lol. I can picture you diving to the ground for the promise of even MORE flowers. :-)

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  6. We are just in the beginnings of winter, but you warmed my soul with your beautiful garden post.

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  7. Your gladdies are heavenly beautiful Kim! And yes, that is heaven all right, peeking out from every single picture of yours!

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  8. Oh they are pretty! In mass is the way to go. I've never had them in my yard, and after seeing yours...It's got me thinking...I have a good spot in the yard to put some, they would grow nicely in my area and wouldn't that be a nice surprise for hubby? (He loves to garden)

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  9. Those are just gorgeous. My grandmother would grow thousands of them each year and share with all of the churches in town. I am always reminded of her when I see them.

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  10. Oh aren't they LOVELY! I might have to put some in this year! I'll put them somewhere very sunny so they'll get a good boost.
    When I was a child they were a staple wedding flower.
    In June sometimes the grocery store has them in huge bunches and I always buy some.
    God be with you, lovely Kim! I love your summer.

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  11. I need the help of your magical hands in my garden. I can't grow anything well. I'm even having a hard time keeping my houseplants alive. Your garden is splendid. I could sit on that bench and take in the beauty all day. The gladiolas are a wonderful pop of natural beauty. I love it all your photos of your gaden and pond.
    xx Beca

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  12. Your Gladdies are beautiful and now I want some in my garden. Perhaps 2019 will be the year I add Gladdies to my garden. Thank you for the inspiration.

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    1. Yes, seeing the Gladdies en masse does tend to make one want them in the garden. I am amazed we didn't think to plant them a lot earlier. Now that we have I look forward to the colourful parade each year. For such beautiful flowers they take very little effort; they just stand tall and beautiful....excellent value if you ask me. You must plant some Gladdies in your garden, Sherri....you will not be disappointed. Thank you for visiting my little place. Kim Xx

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  13. Oh my word, what a glorious sight to behold are your gorgeous gladiolas!! They look so regal and stately, lined up around your pond. How kind of your sweet treasured friend to share the bounty with you! I can just picture you walking along the path and enjoying the beauty!

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  14. Amazing flowers!So special your friends gave them to you!Wonderful garden...

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    1. My friend is so very generous and sweet. Thank you for your beautiful comments, lovely lady. Kim Xx

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  15. Beautiful Gladdies dear Kim! Your photos are stunning. Oh what I wouldn't give to sit awhile by that gorgeous pond of yours. Just magical. Have a wonderful weekend my dear friend ... turned Oh SO Hot here now! Just frying weather. Xxx

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  16. Just had to stop by …
    Your gladdies are beautiful, lovely colours.
    I enjoyed seeing all of your photographs.

    All the best Jan

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    1. Thank you so much, Jan. Gladdies do come in beautiful colours, don't they. I think I will get some blue and purple ones just so I have a rainbow-filled parade of these pretties. Kim Xx

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  17. Your Gladdies and your Garden are quite magical. I never knew that about Dame Edna - what fun it must have been to catch one of her florals from the stage. Your pond is so beautiful too, Kim. Blessings to you. ♥

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  18. Those flowers are so pretty, and they look so gorgeous near the water. Looks like a wonderful garden.

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  19. A favourite of my mother’s. They are beautiful and your garden is a delight for these dry, heat ravaged eyes.

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  20. Oh Kim how wonderful to have so many different colors in them, and they look great around your pond. That sunset on the pond is gorgeous also!! So sweet of your friend to give you those, I imagine you think of her every time you see them.

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  21. That's a lot of eye-candy on a cold cloudy day. Thanks for the virtual garden walk .

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  22. Gorgeous Gladdies! I do love them planted en masse with a variety of colors. It looks lovely and warm there! 11 degrees here this morning!

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  23. Kim, what another treat you’ve shared! Thismorning, I am waking up to TONS of snow! Our area of Missouri usually gets a couple of snows a winter of about 1-3 inches. Over the last few years though, we’ve been getting one HUGE snow every one or two winters, as well. This weekend is one of those times. 10-15 inches!! Although pretty and much needed to help grow our colorful flowers come summertime, your “gladful post” is MUCH appreciated!! My mother loved her gladiolias, pink, coral and white being her favorites. I do believe I have some of her pink ones in my gardens. Your photo of the pink one (with the pedal tips in a bit darker pink hue) looks just like them. Again, thank you dear Kim for sharing your gorgeous gladiolias! They have brought not only color to my day but dreams of gardens to come! Hugs, Zenda

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  24. Thank you Kim. Gorgeous pictures too. We love gladdies and have lots around the garden. I always plant a few rows in our veg plot too especially for cutting. Have a lovely week. xx

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  25. Pretty flowers as usual! Enjoy Australia warm and sunny weather ;)

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  26. What a feast for the eyes! I love your Gladdies. They are such a perfect fit for the areas surrounding your lovely lovely pond. I should think a few stems of these beautiful flowers might possibly end up in cloth stitched ever so perfectly on one of your gorgeous quilts. Happy summer to you!

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    1. That is very kind of you....thank you. I think a stem or perhaps two will find their way onto my flower quilt, though in saying that that is a lot of petals one has to hand applique. =) Kim Xx

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  27. The gladiolas are beautiful. They are my favorite flower. Growing up my late father always gave my twin sister and me a bouquet of gladiolas for our birthday. Enjoy these beauties. We try to plant some but the squirrels always tear up the bulbs. Thank you for sharing these lovely photos.
    Marilyn

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    1. I think I might have to put the Gladdies near to the top of my fave list. They are beautiful aren't they. How wonderful for your father to have gifted you a bouquet of these pretties every year for your birthday. About those squirrels digging up the corms.....can you somehow cover them with netting or something similar?? Thank you for visiting my Glad-filled little place, Marilyn. Your sweet visit has cast sunbeams into my day. Kim Xx

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  28. Oh your flowers are lovely and have warmed me up! How I miss summer. Enjoy it!!

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    1. Thank you, Kim. Summer will be heading your way soon....I hope. =) Though that would mean Winter will be heading my way....not too happy about that. Thank you for popping into my little place. Kim Xx

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  29. Kim, your gladdies are so perky and bright! As they grow taller, do they need to be staked or are they strong to stand on their own? I can imagine how beautiful your garden must smell with all the different floral scents. xo

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    1. I do need to stake them if the wind blows too strongly, Gina....they do tend to lean and even fall over. Some of them are over a metre tall. The garden is smelling mighty pretty at the moment. =) Kim Xx

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  30. Such beautiful colour in your garden and to just sit there and take it all in.....amazing. xx

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  31. More lovely Summer photos! I wish I could magic myself to visit for a cup of tea and some sunshine surrounded by your glorious gladdies :)

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  32. Your gardens are positively gorgeous! I would find it hard to accomplish inside housework if I had that kind of beauty surrounding me and calling me to the out doors.
    Gladdies are my dear mother's favorite flower.
    When we lived in Canada they were quite plentiful and you could purchase them along the road side at the farm houses. People there are trusting of leaving them at the road side with a money box.

    Thank you for sharing your beauty with us ♡

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  33. What a stunningly beautiful garden. It would be very relaxing to wander around. Love your gladdies down near the pond.

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  34. Spectacular Glads, Kim.I adore your garden. Thank you for the stroll. I will stroll through again if you don"t mind. :) Such a gorgeous break from the chill up this-a-way.

    P.S. I hope you don't get three of these, my iPad(the dissenter)seems to have other plans about what it wants to do today.

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    1. Thank you, Dixie...you are always welcome to stroll through my garden whenever you please♥ Aah....modern technology, but you need not worry only one copy of your beautiful words arrived. KimXx

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  35. Gorgeous photos Kim, love seeing those beautiful gladdies adorning your garden. what peace and beauty.

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  36. the best part about your story today, is how the gladiolas came home with you. i love when people share their gardens - when you see flowers in your garden and you know they came from a special place - that there is a story about how they got there!! yours are so beautiful, every color is represented...

    i always have trouble with this beautiful flower falling over, they always have to be staked. but seeing yours today, i may have to give them another try!!

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  37. Your Glads are beautiful. When I was a child we had a Gladioli farm down the road from us. They raised them for the bulbs, but in the summer when the field was in bloom, they would let you come in and pick bouquets for so much a dozen. I remember going with Mama and walking through the fields picking these gorgeous flowers.

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  38. Kim - radiant Gladdies, every one! I actually like your two final photos by the pond - the gathering darkness seems to make the flowers pop even more. I hope you are enjoying your week!

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  39. LOVE this happy and gorgeous post, love gladdies too but a bit too tropical here I think and they don't seem to like the humidity in Newcastle, especially this week the heat...
    Plan a trip to Tassie so may say HI to you..
    Oh am your latest follower, come bye and follow me if you wish...
    [aussie aNNie blog] ♥ ♥

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    1. How lovely to have you visit my little place....a lovely welcome to you. Yes I suppose Gladdies wouldn't like the humidity of Newcastle, though we used to grow them in western Sydney which was very humid and they didn't seem to mind. Sometimes I just think flowers have a mind of their own. =) I hope you are enjoying a lovely week. I hope it is not too unpleasantly hot up there. KimXx

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  40. Your glads are gorgeous, Kim. Glads are definitely one of my favorite flowers. Hmmm...what flower do I NOT like? Can't think of a single one. :) Two things are tough when it comes to glads here in the Heartland of the USA. First, they get so tall and so top-heavy that they topple over or need to be staked. Second, the bulbs are not winter-hardy so that means they need to be dug in the fall and replanted again the following year. Check - yours certainly don't look like they are falling over - are you able to leave them in the ground all year? It's so lovely to think you're enjoying the glads while our ground is covered in snow. :)

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  41. Hello Kim,
    How wonderful to have such a generous friend to gift you with so many lovely glads! They certainly look gorgeous in the garden, framing the pond and the amazing sunsets. And you have water lilies.....so wonderful. My grandmother, Beatrice Euphemie, grew glads in her garden in New England. I remember them so clearly - she loved yellow glads - I can't remember another color. She grew them in large clumps in the corners of her vegetable patch. She would send us home with armfuls whenever they were in bloom. I think of that now and realize what a lovely gift that was! My Mother would keep them in a very large vase on her dining room table. Isn't it amazing how flowers bring back such sweet memories? I hope your glads bring you sweet memories, too, already of your dear friend and her generous gift :) Enjoy your summer days - we can only dream of them here. Hugs xo Karen

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    1. Hello lovely Karen, It seems everyone's mum or grandmother grew Gladdies. They are such a beautiful old fashioned flower which is back in vogue, not that they ever have been out of fashion here. I always wondered about the name of your blog 'Beatrice Euphemie'...how lovely you named your blog after your grandmother. My blog was named after my two nanas....Sarah and Elizabeth. My friend is always gifting me with gifts from her garden....she has the most beautiful Irises which a few of them might just come home to live here. I am enjoying long, sunny and warm days down here. Your dreams will turn into Spring in the not too distant future. I am supposing the bulbs up there are beginning to pop up, if only slightly. Thank you for your sweet visit, lovely lady. Hope you are enjoying a pleasant week♥ Kim Xx

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  42. They are truly beautiful. I have yet to succeed with these beauties in my garden! But until then it is good you can get the cut version. Anna x

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    1. That's no good Gladdies won't grow in your garden, Anna. I suppose all is not lost as long as you can get a bunch of cut Gladdies. Try planting them again.....this time you might be surprised. =) Thank you for your sweet visit. Hope you are enjoying a lovely new year. Kim Xx

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  43. Beautiful flowers, Kim. Gorgeous photos. We are in the middle of winter in Greece but there are sunshine days and the temperature is around 15 Celcius degrees. Hugs, my dear friend.

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    1. As long as there is sunshine, lovely Mia, then chilly winter days are bearable. =) Thank you for visiting my little place. I hope you enjoy a pleasant weekend. Kim Xx

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  44. Oh Kim, it is so cold and grey here at the moment, your pictures of summer and your beautiful flowers really lift my spirits.

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  45. Oh Kim how beautiful they are in your delightful garden. Looking at your lovely pics brought to mind how utterly silly I was a couple of years ago, when I dug up a huge amount of iris’s that had gotten out of hand and spread their roots under my roses. I didn’t realise that I had forgotten the few gladdies that I also dug up and threw away. It wasn’t until they didn’t bloom the next Summer I realised my mistake. Sooooo come Spring after seeing your beauties I will be planting more. Xx

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  46. A lovely warm Summer's day welcome to you, lovely Jeanette♥ Yes, you will have to plant some Gladdies in Spring as they would look beautiful in your cottage garden. Such a shame you accidentally dug them up. There is just something about Gladdies towering over all the other flowers in the garden. They add a beautiful dimension. Hope the Summer heat is not causing havoc in your garden. Thank you for visiting my garden. Have a beautiful day. Kim Xx

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  47. Hi Kim, Your Gladdies look lovely en masse! I mentioned to DH we need more Gladdies but he reminded me that our mad cat eats flowers so we have to be careful what we plant! So, we have two Gladdies, one in our front garden and one in the back (hoping the mad cat doesn’t find them!) which were planted before we rescued our latest two cats (luckily only one loves plants, and a weird collection of plants it is too!).
    Hugs,
    Barbara xx

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  48. Oh, my sweet, sweet friend...what glorious pictures, so full of beauty and joy. We are supposed to get snow later today and your pictures were just what I needed to get through the "gloomy" day {{smiles}}

    It's always such a blessing to visit your charming place, my friend. Love and hugs to you!

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  49. Oh Kim...I am so glad you shared your gladsome glads with us! They are truly one of the most glorious of God's floral designs! What a beautiful little slice of heaven you call your home! Sending much love and hugs to you!

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  50. Wow Kim, these glads are beauties! All of the colors are gorgeous but that pink one in the 3rd photo is amazing! My dad used to grow them in his flower garden and they are just magnificent, aren't they! Your photos make me long for spring and summer months! I need some bright, warm sun! Enjoy your beautiful flowers!! hugs, Linda

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    1. Thank you, lovely Linda. I rather love the pink Glad too, and there is a mauve one which has popped up this week which is rather lovely. I am willing to share a little of my bright and warm summer sunshine with you. Kim Xx

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  51. Hello Kim,
    Wonderful woodland!
    These flowers are beautiful.
    Thank you for visiting the house.
    Continuation of a beautiful month.
    janicce.

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  52. Marvellous gladdies and your pond is an idyll.
    I have no luck wirth gladdies, we musttook it from the earth in autumn and in spring, when the plants are still small and fresh, come the snails and eat them up, sigh!
    Sorry, that I so rare come to visit you, since last summer the care of my mother (92) is a full time job. Had given up blogging, but just I try to continue - I urgent need a little creativity in my life, although of that all!

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  53. The beauty in my days often comes from visiting you! My mother always grew glads and seeing yours made me think of her. Out of curiosity - do you leave the bulbs in the ground year-round? Here, of course, they have to be brought in when the weather starts turning cold, and re-planted in the spring.

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  54. My mother used to plant gladiolias (spelling?). They are too much work for me as they have to be lifted here and replanted. I'm a lazy gardener!

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  55. Beautiful flowers. My mother always planted glads in her garden. She would have loved to have seen your flowers. Maybe I'll plant some in the spring.

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