Ivy made a point to stop by the Community Garden as often as she could. It was her baby, a project that meant a lot to her. It wasn't quite the right time of year for the outdoor garden. Especially not in New York. She probably could have gotten away with it back in Felton, but here she needed to be careful. So it was greenhouse only for now. Not that she minded. Everything had its time and it was best to respect that. The plants were always happier that way.
Of course, her plants were always happy. It was a gift.
She held Hazel's hand as she walked through the plants, the toddler babbling happily as they explored the garden. They'd go and get lunch after this, then maybe go to the park. She hadn't entirely decided the path her day would take. She'd just see where the morning took them. While she could be a terrifyingly organized person when it came to things like business and keeping her house in order, she'd never been one for strictly regimenting her time.
The greenhouse was organized precisely, with an area for flowers and another for fruits, one for vegetables and a separate space for herbs. The food was donated to those who needed it, either given to food pantries or taken by people who visited. The flowers were just because she loved them and she wanted people to have something beautiful to look at. Sometimes it was nice to just have something to make you happy.
This never failed to make her happy.
She knelt down next to one of the flowers, an impatiens plant that seemed to be struggling, and studied it. "You poor thing," she said softly, more to herself than anything. Nobody was around, so she stroked her fingers along the leaves and smiled as the plant immediately perked up and looked healthier and happier. One flower dropped off and she picked it up, never one to turn down a gift. She tucked the flower behind Hazel's ear, her smile growing brighter as her daughter giggled.
"This one is an impatiens," she explained in gentle tones, knowing her daughter didn't quite understand but in the habit of telling her all about the plants. "They're also called touch-me-nots or jewelweeds...though I would never call such a pretty flower a weed. And these over here are gazanias. See how brightly colored they are?"
She continued this way around the greenhouse, checking on the different plants and helping along those that weren't quite managing on their own. It wasn't long before Hazel decided she was tired of walking and Ivy lifted her up to rest against her hip. Once her survey was done, she grabbed a watering can and began watering the plants that needed it, careful to keep them all to the levels they preferred.
She enjoyed hard work, so long as that work had a purpose. It was what had drawn her to working with Dante in the first place. She worked hard keeping the garage running, but that hard work paid off and was appreciated. It was the same with the garden. She put in a lot of effort, and she got to watch the results of that effort in the form of happy plants, happy people and food going to people who needed it. There was nothing in the world she enjoyed more.
"Now," she told Hazel, "we're going to plant some new things." Walking out to her car, she popped the hatch on the yellow bug and pulled out the new seedlings. She'd gotten them started at home so she could keep an eye on them, but it was time for them to join the other plants here. Setting Hazel down to walk again, she took the seedlings inside and settled down to replant them in their new home. She didn't bother with gloves, enjoying the feeling of dirt on her hands. She could wash them when she was done. She had been careful to grab smocks first though, one for her and a smaller, child's one for Hazel. No sense getting dirt on her clothes.
Pulling Hazel into her lap, she began to work, moving the small plants to their new homes and making sure they were comfortable and happy. This could be stressful for the little ones and she wanted to make it as easy a process as possible for them. She worked carefully and deliberately, not wanting to rush and cause undue stress to her plants. She began humming as she did, laughing softly as Hazel began to babble along. Every once in a while, she'd let Hazel help, guiding her tiny hands to put one of the plants into its new space, always careful in how her daughter handled them. She was still a bit too young to do this on her own, but Ivy liked to let her be involved. She wanted her daughter to love nature as much as she did.
They managed in a reasonable amount of time, and she gave the new plants a bit of encouragement before getting up. They would settle in well. Wiping her hands on her smock, she picked up Hazel and took her over to a little station in the corner to clean up. Once that was done, she picked up her basket for the final part of the day's work. Gathering fruits and vegetables to take to the soup kitchen. She picked the plants that looked ready, careful to leave a fair amount in case people came by the greenhouse itself, and placing them in the basket.
"Alright Haze," she said, settling her daughter on one hip and the basket on the other, "time to go. Say bye-bye to the plants."
"Bye-bye," Hazel babbled, waving her little hands at the greenhouse as they made their way back out to the car.
Now to drop off the food and figure out where the day would take them.