Violet the Horticulturalist

Tonight we all rode bikes to the park after dinner (Hayden was in the bike trailer).  Hayden and Violet swung on the swings, went down the slide, and ran down “the hill” at the park.  You might be saying to yourself “Where is the hill at the park?”  It is a mound of dirt next to a Bilco door that is about 2 feet tall.

After doing that for a while, it was time for Hayden to go to bed.  As Libby took Hayden home in the bike trailer (we won’t go into details about how THAT went) I took Violet down the bike trail on her bike for a bit of a bike ride.  As we were riding, she asked to stop and smell the flower tree (Plant number 1).  From the looks of it, it is some sort of ornamental cherry.  When I asked her what it smelled like, she said it smelled like stinky garbage.

After examining the flower tree we got back on the bikes.  Next we came to a more fragrant tree that had white bell shaped flowers.  When I asked her what those smelled like, she said they smelled like honey.  She then decided to call this tree the stink pot tree (Plant number 2).  After riding a bit further, we saw something that resembled mint at the side of the bike trail.  When she asked be what it was, I said I don’t know, but Grampa Ray probably would know.  She said that Grandpa Ray wasn’t here so we should ask the villagers in the forest (Houses behind the biketrail); “They will know” (Plant number 3).

All in all it was an educational bike ride for me.  I now know of the flower tree, stink pot tree, and to ask the local villagers in the forest as to the genus of any unknown vegetation.