Not paying attention, evidently.

I have lived in West Jordan since 1981. That's when, a few months after singing son was born, his dad and I moved up to the Salt Lake Valley from Utah Valley, to a little house they like to call a starter home out on the edge of the Oquirrhs. So I know a thing or two about the west side of the south side of this valley, but until today, I had never--never!--visited one of the very best plant nurseries here in Utah, Glover's.

We've been planting our asses off hereabouts, what with the giant landscaping project we undertook (and by we, I mean "singing son and his friend, with me telling them where to dig"). We're totally in the spirit of buying stuff and planting it. So, after the highly successful front yard overhaul (FYO), the historian and I ventured forth today with the agenda being

(1) buy some stepping stones, one of the final parts of the the FYO
(2) buy some shade-loving plants for an area in the back yard known as "under the plum tree"

Our first stop was another nursery, where we bought bleeding heart, some little purple pansies I'm calling violets, polemonium, mint, shamrocks, and some ferns for under the plum tree. Also, a big brawny hollyhock plant to supplement the other hollyhocks in the FYO. They had no stepping stones at this nursery, so on we went to Glovers, where cars were parked for a half a mile down the road on both sides of the street in either direction from the nursery. "What the hell," we said to ourselves. Well, it's Memorial Day weekend, so it's time to plant stuff. High time. Apparently everyone in the greater West Jordan area felt moved to get out and buy stuff to plant it.

I could not believe this place. For years, my friends, I have been buying my plants at Fred Meyer's and also Okubo's, which is all well and good, but at Glovers, there were heirloom tomato plants, gorgeous ones, every kind of tree and shrub you could imagine, herbs--how can I impress upon you the magnitude and magnificence of this place? It's ten acres. As in 10. Acres. Of every kind of plant you could possibly dream up. Oh. My. Gosh!

Not that I need any more plants at the moment: we bought heirloom tomatoes and herbs, 300 pounds of stepping stones (Idaho quartzite, oh yeah), and a lovely iron trellis shaped like stalks of pussy willow. But I might go back there for some lily of the valley, which would probably do very well under the plum tree, unless Bruiser tramples it.