Quarantine planting therapy - get your play in the dirt supplies CURBSIDE!!!

by Audra H Anders for The Aha! Connection

I’ve been chatting with my mom a lot more lately during quarantine and she told me the other day that the thing she misses most about not going out is being unable to get out to the nursery to buy flowers. Like mother like daughter.

Just before the quarantine I went to my favorite Pike Nursery (Holcomb Bridge) with my youngest son. The seed section actually got him all excited and we bought several packs of cilantro and onion seeds in addition to my many packs of assorted zinnia seeds. Walt has been germinating cilantro seeds in red solo cups on our sunny front porch. He ran in our front door from a Rent-a-Teen gardening job yelling “Mom! Mom! We have a cilantro sprout!!!!”. He’s supposed to be playing his final year of varsity baseball, but we are instead finding joy in cilantro vs RBIs and stolen bases!

Fast forward to the middle of quarantine and I NEED (yes, desperately need) more plants. I grow basil, onions and tomatoes every year plus grab a few annuals for window boxes and back deck decor. Plus, I “need” mulch and more potting soil. I found myself wondering….Is Pike even open? Would the Mayor consider gardening an “essential business” or am I going to get arrested/fined for going to Pike?

I had seen (and avoided) the crowds at Home Depot a few weeks ago and knew that wasn’t an option for me. So, I went to the Pike website and discovered to my ultimate joy that they are offering curbside delivery. I was able to place my order online with the promise of a call back to discuss my order and obtain payment. Rebecca went shopping for me then called to discuss what she had pulled for me. We made a few changes after discussing the size and colors and I added a few forgotten items like mulch. She took my credit card information and told me that I could drive to the front of the store and give my name and they would put the purchases in my car.

I folded my seats down to make plenty of room. I drove to the front of the store, gave them my name through the passenger window, pushed my hatch back open and they loaded my purchases into the car. I pushed the button to close my hatch so that they never touched my car and drove off with my therapy for the day. Actually, before driving off I texted our fabulous Mayor and asked her if what I was currently doing was legal or not. Really, I did. She assured me it was perfectly legal and sent me an article entitled “Panic Buying Comes for the Seeds” from the NY Times. She also gave me permission to encourage y’all to get your therapy from Pike….curbside of course!

I hope you enjoy the pictures from my very therapeutic Sunday while sheltering in place in my yard. My mom is so jealous not to have this service available to her in Opelika, Alabama.