It was hard to believe but the first day of Spring has finally arrived. Dahlia was so excited she was unable to fall asleep the night before. She spent her entire sleepless night planning her garden. How could she possibly sleep when she had so many decisions to make. It was true that she had worked diligently during the long, cold, and dark winter perusing all the seed catalogs and the internet.

She had drawn and redrawn the plans for her garden.

Dahlia didn’t know how many years she had left in her life. But she knew that as long as she had breath in her body that she would spend whatever time she had left either planning her garden or working in it. She could think of no better way to wile away the time she had left.

Dahlia could not comprehend why everyone wouldn’t love gardening. Working the soil with her hands, breathing the fresh and fragrant air all around her, and feeling the warm sun on her back. As she knelt in the rich soil and planted her seeds, seedlings were truly a gift. She could not imagine any other activity that would make her feel more alive or more in tune with nature.

She tried to explain to her friends why and how much she loved her garden. But those who never gardened couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to spend all their free time kneeling in the dirt and out in the hot sun. And all of her friends who loved gardening as much as she did couldn’t imagine not loving every minute of it.

Dahlia referred to her garden as the Garden of Earthly Delights. Because every moment she spent in her garden or thinking about it she was completely fulfilled and happy and in harmony with nature. Her mind would empty of worry and calm and focus on the tasks before her. All worry would disappear.

Last Spring and into the Summer Dahlia planned her Koi Pond. She had always dreamed of adding one to her garden and last year after saving for almost five years she was able to hire two young men who lived in the neighborhood to install one in her back yard in front of her back porch.

And she only had to walk down her steps and she was able to stand over her pond and watch the beautiful Koi and Shubunkins and Comets swimming gracefully in her pond. It was the most beautiful sight she could imagine.

Dahlia planted yellow Water Lilly’s. She loved to see her beautiful Koi poke their faces out of the water and try and capture the dragonflies as they touched upon the water ever so lightly. This year Dahlia planned to plant a white Hydrangea behind the pond.

One afternoon as she was weeding her garden in the backyard she heard a little voice call out, “Hi, hello, could I come into your yard and see your Koi pond? My mother said I couldn’t come over unless you said it was OK. And you were here. She’s afraid that I’ll fall into the pond and drown. But I wouldn’t because I would be really careful. Can I come in?”

Dahlia smiled at the little girl who looked like she was about five or six years old. She had long, blond hair that hung down to her shoulders and when the sun shined on it her hair looked like it was made out of gold. “Of course, let me come over and unlock the gate for you.” Then Dahlia walked over to the fence and smiled at the little girl. Her smile would light up the darkest of days and her eyes were a shade of blue that is hard to define. Somewhere between the color of the ocean and a cloudy day. “What’s your name, dear?”

“My name is Iris. My mother told me she named me that because my eyes were the same color as her favorite flower, the Iris. And that she carried a bouquet of blue irises when my mommy and daddy got married.”

“Really? Why they are my favorite flower too, what a coincidence. I’ll tell you what before you leave I’ll cut some Irises for you to take home to your mother. How would you like that?”

“Really? I would love that. It would make my mommy so happy. We just moved into the house at the end of the corner and there are hardly any flowers in the yard. My mom loves flowers and was sad that our new house didn’t have any flowers. But, I said, that I could help her plant some. Maybe even some blue Irises.”

“Oh, I’m so happy that house finally has a family living in it. It was empty for a long time. There was an older couple living in it for a long time. But they had to go to an assisted living residence.”

“What does that mean, assisted living?”

“Oh, sorry that just means a place for older people to live where they have people that help take care of them, if they can’t walk too well, or they are lonely or something like that.”

“Are you going to have to go to that place? I hope not because you’re the first friend I made so far and we’ve been living here for almost a week.”

“Oh, a week isn’t that long. Before you know it you will have a whole bunch of friends. There are a few children your age on this street alone. Plus when you start school you’ll make a whole lot of friends, don’t worry.”

“Really do you think so?”

“Of course Iris, I have no doubt you will make many friends in no time at all. How about we take a little walk and you can meet some of my fish. I’ll give you some fish food and they’ll come right up to the top of the water, you’ll see.”

As they walk across the yard towards the pond, Iris became more and more excited. “Can you introduce me to your fish? Do they have names?”

“Names, of course. You stand over here for a minute while I get some fish food. Don’t get any closer to the edge of the pond. It is really deep in some parts. OK? I’ll be right back. Dahlia double-times it to the porch to get some fish food and then all but ran over to Iris, she was afraid she might fall in the pond.

“OK, here we go, hold open your hand and I’ll put some fish food into it. The little girl smiled and opened up her hand. Dahlia couldn’t remember the last time she saw such a tiny hand. She rarely was around any little children since she and her husband were not able to have any kids.

“Alright, just drop some of the fish food into the pond, be careful near the edge. And then we’ll wait for a couple of minutes and the fish will start coming up. Iris did as she was told and before she knew it she saw the gaping mouth of a fish. He swallowed the food in a flash. And Iris laughed and said, “oh can I do it again? Who was that what’s his name?”

“Oh, that’s Finley, he’s my Koi, isn’t he beautiful? After he gets to know you, he will come right up to you and you will be able to drop the food into his big mouth.”

“Oh, here comes another one. He’s really fast.” And at that moment a fish jumped up out of the water and then went back in a blink of an eye. “What’s his name?”

“Oh, that’s Haley’s Comet. I named him after a Comet because he is so fast. And because he is a Comet which is a type of Koi. Throw him some fish food.”

Iris dropped several fish pellets into the water. And before you knew it Haley’s Comet had devoured the food and jumped back into the depths of the pond.

“Oh, I see little tiny fish in there. Are they babies?”

“Yes, there are quite a few, but I’ve never been able to count them because they swim around too quickly. Iris, does your mother know where you are? She might be wondering where you got to since you’re new to our neighborhood. How about we go and get your mom some Irises and then I’ll walk you back to your house. And I’ll say hello, and introduce myself to your mother?”

“Oh OK, I know my mom will be happy if you give her the flowers. She just loves them so much.”

“Alright, how about you come over here next to the deck and wait while I get some clippers to cut the flowers.”

Dahlia, grabbed her clippers from the back porch, and then she said, “Iris, why don’t you pick out the six Irises for me?”

“Really? OK.”

And then Iris stood there for a couple of minutes and carefully picked out the biggest and most beautiful flowers. “Oh, my mom will just love these.”

And then Iris and Dahlia started their short walk down the street to Iris’s new home. “Here it is, here it is. Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Yes, it is a truly beautiful new house. I know your family will be happy living here. It is such a friendly neighborhood and soon you will make some friends.”

“Oh, I already met my new best friend. It’s you, Dahlia.”

“That is the nicest thing anyone ever said to me, Iris.”

And before they knew it they arrived at the front yard of Iris’s house and her mother was standing outside on the front sidewalk.” Iris I was beginning to get worried about you. You shouldn’t have gone off without telling me where you were going? Oh, I’m sorry I should have introduced myself. I’m Iris’s mother. And you are?”

“I’m Dahlia, I live three houses down the street and Iris stopped by to say hello and she met some of my fish, in my Koi pond. I’m sorry if you were worried. I just wanted to stop by and say, “welcome to the neighborhood. I hope you will be very happy here. And I am so happy to meet Iris. She is welcome anytime, as long as she lets you know where she is going. And you are welcome anytime as well. Iris told me how much you love flowers and I would be happy to share some with you. Once you get settled in and have time to work in your garden.”

“Really? I did notice your house when we first came here to check out the house and we drove up and down the street. And I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful your garden is. And I’d love to stop by one day and take a look at all your beautiful flowers and of course your Koi pond as well. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself to you. My name is Rose, so I guess that is something we all have in common. We were all named after flowers. And we all love them.”

“That is funny, please feel free to stop by anytime. I warn you in advance I have a tendency to go on and on about flowers. One day after you get settled in, and have some free time, please stop by and see my garden and I’ll tell you where the best plant stores are located around here. I better be on my way, I’m sure you have tons of things to do and get unpacked. I look forward to your visit. Bye for now. Bye Iris, thanks for coming over. I hope to see you both soon. Dahlia waved goodbye and went on her way back to her house. She had a big smile on her face. It had turned out to be such a wonderful day. Rose and Iris waved bye to her as she turned to leave. And they were smiling as well.