I live in Fargo, North Dakota with my wife and two children. And there's a reason my wife's been humming the melody from an old classic, "You Don't Bring Me Flowers Anymore", sung by Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond. It's because I don't bring her flowers anymore. She put a halt to it. She stated that with the high price of flowers these days, especially her favorite roses, we had to put our money on more practical things.

I know she misses seeing the flower delivery person's smiling face, though, on Valentine's Day or her birthday. I don't want to brag, but I was a bit of a master when choosing just the right arrangement for her. And don't think I'm talking about just when we were dating either. I continued to bring her flowers long after we said "I do". The arrangements were always vibrant with her favorite color yellow and had such a lovely fragrance that I know it was difficult for her to give them up.

Then one day I woke up. Even though we live in a climate where we have spring and summer for only about five or six months out of the year, I figured I could still give her a "gift of flowers", but it would just look a bit different than what she had become accustomed to. I would plant a lovely garden with her favorite flowers in it.

Now, how to get such a project started? I knew that unless I could make it affordable, my wife would still be singing that same old tune when it came to how much it cost.

To this point in my life, I had never grown anything. I was determined I could learn. I started out by planting one of her favorites, Shasta Daisies. I found out the particulars on it this past summer, took a deep breath, and started my garden. Here are the specifics on the flower seed I decided to plant, you need to find out the same information on whatever you decide to plant: *She has a yellow center (maybe only important to my wife, I admit).

*She grows from early spring through September and is known as a perennial (meaning this flower grows back on its own from year to year). Wow; I'm picking up some new vocabulary words already.

*She doesn't need a lot of water just in case, as a novice, you forget to water her.

*She takes only two weeks to start growing.

*She will stay fresh after you've picked her for a big, beautiful bouquet for at least two weeks.

I know it seems silly that I am talking about this plant as if it was a human being but this garden was becoming "my baby".

And, one more thing; I forgot there were some garden tools I would need, like a hoe and rake. Don't get your "grubby" clothes on and then remember a trip to the hardware store is needed before you can "break ground".

It was great fun that first summer watching all my hard work paying off with those beautiful flowers growing in my garden. I presented my wife with a beautiful bouquet for her birthday in July. That felt great! I definitely plan to continue this new hobby of mine. It sure is odd how some of the more negative events in each of our lives end up bringing us the most fun and rewarding experiences.