FYI: Sometimes I post stuff on Facebook, including photos, that don’t make it here onto my blog.

This was two years ago today.

On Saturday morning, C, G and I were at Lowe’s for some supplies when we happened across a display of flowers in the garden section that looked like something straight out of Willy Wonka. These were plate-sized, candy pink, daisy-looking flowers on giant, thick stems. They looked good enough to eat, and too pretty and over the top to possibly be real.

I pushed our buggy closer and saw that these insanely happy flowering plants had a tag on them reading “Lollipop Gerbera Daisies.”

The little girls were as captivated by these huge pink flowers as I was, but they weren’t cheap, and I already had everything we’d come for, so I talked myself out of buying one of the plants and we headed home to put what we had bought into the ground.

But I couldn’t get those absurdly lush, giant, pink daisies out of my head. I am already a hug sucker for all kinds of daisies and coneflowers, and gerbera daisies have always been my favorites. And these were like the Mother of All Gerbera Daisies.

After the kids were in bed, I did a little googling and discovered that I was not the first gardener to think “Willy Wonka” upon first encountering these crazy looking,ginormous flowers. I also learned that these extra large gerberas are more properly known as gerbera jamesonii, and these double petaled “watermelon lollipop” plants at Lowe’s are some kind of mind blowing hybrid.

Well, I’ll bet you know where this story is heading…

I woke up this morning certain that Henry’s Garden absolutely needed a couple of these giant, pink, overpriced flowers. So G and C and I headed back over to Lowe’s.

One of the blooms fell off in the cart, so C held it and suggested we take it to Aunt Betsy, who is still really sick, and convalescing at home. So we did. But look how HUGE these things are!!

We got them home, along with a few other plants I wanted to add today. (I worked on the garden A LOT) in the past week.)

And here is one of these giant new gerbera daisies in my garden. It makes me happy every time I see it there.

What do Oxiclean, a specific type of jeans from Old Navy and eyebrow threading all have in common?

Well, they made the list over in my latest Babble blog post of the 18 goods and services that even when I am majorly paring down my budget or decluttering my life, I cannot and WILL NOT give up.

I’d love to hear what kinds of stuff would make your list.

Our family worked HARD today – painting, digging, planting and even hauling large rocks.

So C and NC definitely earned an ice cream break.

Here they are BEFORE

And now for the big reveal…. Here they are as of today.

I decided to go with a cherry red. They could definitely use another coat or two – and will get them – but there’s enough color on them now to give you an idea of the general look.

Here’s another angle.

Well, whaddya think?

Also, if you look at that side of our porch & the area right in front of it in the “before” photo as compared to the pix I took of the painted chairs today, you can see how much dirt-diggin’, flower-plantin’, and porch-improvin’ I’ve been trying to stay busy with lately.

I’m puttin’ C & NC to work.