Hello and Happy Friday! I hope you had a good week and are looking forward to the weekend! Today I’m so excited to share with you this story of how I met my friend Sheila through our mutual love of gardening.

The silver lining of the pandemic. I made a new friend 🥰🌺

If you ask me nothing positive came out of the pandemic, but then I think back to how I became friends with Sheila, and truth be told, if it weren’t for the pandemic I would never have met her – the universe works in mysterious ways.

The sweet peas that gave me courage to introduce myself to a stranger

The year was 2020, the month was March the pandemic was official and everything shut down in California. Gyms, retail, restaurants, life went quiet. My exercise routine also went to zero. After feeling down and depressed for a few weeks, I decided I could sit at home and do nothing and put on pounds, or start getting exercise by going for walks in my hilly neighborhood.

I would go on a 4-mile walk every weekday early in the morning to beat the heat. I walked past so many beautiful homes and gardens but one home would always catch my attention because it had the most glorious sweet pea blossoms growing in their front yard. The month was April.

I finally meet Sheila tending to her garden

I walked past this charming home and garden for weeks always stopping to admire the sweet peas, and hoping that one day I would catch the gardener working in her yard so I could compliment her. And then 4-weeks into my walking routine I met Sheila tending to her garden!

It’s the early part of the pandemic – do I say hello? Can I talk to someone without spreading germs? What to do, what to do?

I was so thrilled to finally see the gardener in charge of this charming cottage garden! I put on my mask and as I stood there admiring the sweet peas again, I took the courage to say …

“Hello! Good morning. I love your sweet peas! I’ve been admiring them for weeks when I walk past your home.”

To my pleasant surprise Sheila smiles back and replies “Thank you. Do you like sweet peas?”

I took the smile to mean that this could be a friendly conversation and asked Sheila how she grows her sweet peas – from seed or from seedlings from the nursery?

We chat across the fence for 30 minutes with our masks on

She and I stand 8 feet apart and chat across the fence about gardens. Sheila then offers to share her sweet pea seed packet and her favorite veggie seed packets for me to take a picture and places it on the fence at a safe distance apart. I took this as a positive sign!

We continue chatting about gardening, and I tell her where I live in the hills not far from her, that I walk on weekdays past her home every morning. We chat about gardening and how the pandemic seems unbelievable. We talked for more than 30 minutes! And it was slowly getting hot, I told her I still had 2 miles to head back that I should be heading home.

I actually gave a stranger my number and asked for theirs in return

I bid her good bye and told her it was so great to meet her, and then as I was about to leave, I took the courage to ask …

“Would you mind sharing your name? My name is Kalpana.”

She replied “My name is Sheila.”

I then asked if it would be okay if we exchanged phone numbers to chat more about gardening 😃🌺? To my delight Sheila agreed! And we exchanged phone numbers!

Family is mortified – you gave a complete stranger your phone number? Are you crazy?

I was so happy to make a new gardening friend I literally skipped my way back home 🎶. First thing I did when I got home is to tell the family “Guess what? I made a new friend!” The perplexed looks on the kids and Hitesh’s face was hilarious. The next exchange was even more hilarious.

Kids reaction was “Mom, are you crazy! You can’t just give a stranger your phone number!” and Hitesh chimes in “If I say anything she gets mad, I’m glad you girls feel the same way.”

“Well.” I replied “She already has my number now so nothing I can do. Besides she is a gardener, we are going to be gardening friends 🌺😊.”

As it turns out Sheila’s daughter had the same reaction… “Mom you cannot give your number to a complete stranger!

And just so that Sheila didn’t think I was a fly by night – one day walk by friend, I texted her to let her know how I really enjoyed meeting her and hope to see her on my walks. Sheila responded back! She said if I had any questions about seeds or gardening to text her and she will be happy to share her knowledge.

And so began a gardening friendship that has lead to true friendship

Sheila and I started chatting more often over text. As the summer approached she would drop off veggies from her garden. As the pandemic continued we would chat about the day when we could see each others face without our masks!

Two years after we first met we finally meet without our masks

Then almost two years after we first met, after we both got vaccinated we decided to meet at the park and chat like normal people. We have been friends now for four years and we meet often for coffee or lunch. We chat about our lives now, not just gardening 😀.

“I’m so glad I walked past her home.”

I’m so glad I walked past Sheila’s home four years ago! Sheila and I have become good friends meeting often for coffee or lunch. We share stories of our travels, our kids, recipes, and of course gardening – the topic that brought us together in the first place!

Sheila’s Sonoma style garden oasis

Now I’d like to share pics of Sheila’s beautiful Sonoma style garden oasis. Her garden is hot like Sonoma yet she makes her little patch of garden heaven look so lush and beautiful.

Sheila’s pride and joy – her veggie raised beds

Sheila is an avid vegetable gardener. She grows most of her veggies from seeds supplementing them with seedlings from the nursery. All varieties of lettuce, tomatoes, green beans, snap peas, eggplant, squash, and herbs.

Sheila’s backyard oasis

The times when we’ve met for lunch we have sat in Sheila’s gorgeous backyard courtyard. Folks, this little oasis is truly out of a magazine! And you know what? As I found out Sheila was a window display designer for the likes of Nordstrom and garden stores such as Smith and Hawken!

Garden artifacts tastefully displayed

Sheila explained that many of her garden artifacts are from second had markets that she and her husband refurbish and display in their garden.

A garden paradise in the heart of our neighborhood

Sheila’s garden is mostly in the front yard. Here is where most of her veggies and flowers are grown. I for one am so happy we all get to enjoy this garden gem as we walk by!

The sweet peas that introduced me to my dear friend Sheila

I hope you enjoyed a tour of friend Sheila’s garden and the story of how we met.

Recently when Sheila and I were chatting over coffee and catching up, she looked at me and said….

“I’m so glad you walked past my home! ❤️ “

Wishing you a fabulous weekend!