Lily

THE HEDGE CLIPPERS handles cut into my palms as I worked the dead branch between them before hearing the satisfying crunch. If I was going to do this outdoor garden thing, I needed to get a better pair of gloves rather than the cheap fabric ones I found in the back of the shop.

Two small ornamental shrub tree things sat outside the plant shop. I learned from an official letter from the city that it was my job to keep them trimmed—something they believed I ...