"I didn't realize there were so many different kinds, or that they bloomed."
Mike just shook his head, "Neither did I. Where were they shipped from?"
"California. It has taken a week for them to get here."
"How did you ship them?"
"By truck - see the u-haul." She was so excited Mike just watched her as she started tearing the brown paper from the pots.
As more plants were revealed, Mike asked, "Honey, I don't think anyone would ship something, especially live plants, across the country in a u-haul." Mike looked over the hundred are so pots. "And, you paid for shipping?"
"Only the cross country part. The seller was so nice, he said he would pay for the part from Mobile."
"It's your money and I hate ask, but how much was the shipping?"
"Oh, a little over $1000."
"How much over $1000?"
"Oh, sweetheart, don't worry. You know I have good business sense. I thought the seller was very reasonable. The final bill was $1800 for the shipping. Bunny paused, "The seller set it up so they were shipped to a place in Mobile. Then these nice men picked them up and delivered them to me."
"And, the price for the plants?"
"That's the best part, these are all very rare species, and I got them for $40 each." She could tell Mike had more questions. "Don't worry, I did some research. These same rare types sell for over $60 other places."
"So the ones the seller had pictured matched the rare types you found while looking for prices?"
"Mike, this grower is so famous, that when I looked up the rare types on other web sites, they had used the picture from his site in the article. Now that tells you he knows what he is talking about, if they used a picture of his."
"So, he said the picture was from his garden?"
"Well, no, he didn't answer that question when I asked. But, he knew what he was talking about. He told me they were from a garden at an old house. He was very lucky, he bought them from the estate. I told you, he is an expert."
Mike looked over the plants that he could see. Most of them were privet hedge - the same as the bushes behind the house that had to be cut down constantly to ensure they did not overtake the backyard. Bunny continued unwrapping the plants. One took a while due to the amount of paper around the plant. When she finally finished with the paper and could see the plant, she was a bit surprised. Instead of a small bush, it was a 6 inch seedling. Seeing Mike's reaction, she said, "Well, he said some were miniature."
"Miniature or immature?" asked Mike.
"Miniature, in fact he said most were a miniature variety."
From what he could see, most of the seedlings were English Box Woods. Mike remembered working with the gardener one summer at Belmont while he was planting new hedges. The gardener had taken time to teach Mike how to identify the different varieties among seedlings and the characteristics of each. The plants at Belmont were definitely English box woods, a variety that was very slow growing.
Before Mike could say anything, Bunny pointed to a corner in the garden, "And over here is where I am going to put the fish pond."
Mike looked toward the corner she was pointing to. "Fish pond?"
"Oh, I can't wait for you to see it. I didn't want a black pond, so the dealer found me a pink one. That will add color to the garden. Don't you think?"
"It definitely will. No doubt it will be quite the conversation piece." He just smiled. "Where is the pond coming from?"
"Well to get the 'special' pink one, I had to order it from China."
"And. . . who sold this to you?"
"Another seller on eBay. He also just happened to have some rare Koi." She paused. "You know the fancy different colored fish you see in garden ponds."
Mike nodded his head as he envisioned a pink Koi pond in the corner of the garden.
"But these are a special type of Koi. They are gold - all of them are gold - gold over. The seller said the solid gold ones were rarer."
"And, more expensive."
"Mike," Bunny said exasperated, "He sent me pictures of the fish. They really looked orange to me, but he said as they grew, therir color would change. I've never seen gold Koi before. Why, my pond will look like something out of a James Bond movie, don't you think so?"
"Definitely. I imagine it will be much more 'special' than Mary's original garden." Mike put his arm around his wife's shoulders. "Honey, I feel certain your 'special rare' box wood garden and your pond will be quite unique."
