Leilani, in Hawaiian means Beautiful Flower.

Sometimes we do have a destiny. Close to 20 years ago, Leilani Vinnings left her corporate, world traveling work in retail fashion and with her husband Alan

bought a patch of land on Hwy 53 and breathed life into Leilani’s Garden,

a retail flower and plant business. And they never looked back.

When riding past that patch of beauty on a spring day with the windows open, slow down a bit and breathe in the ultimate smell of springtime, or even better, go in and experience the peace of a walk through beautiful and hand loved plants.

They are grown on the property in a multitude of greenhouses.

Recently they opened an on site bakery, My Daily Bread.

Several years ago Alan took on a position as market manager for the Dawson Local Harvest. The Harvest is a co op of local farmers with every thing from my favorite, fresh multi grain bread to very yummy chicken breakfast sausage. There is also a bounty of seasonal vegetables. Signing up is all it takes to be a member. On Sunday’s Alan sends out an e mail and you have a few days to place your order. Pick up is on Friday afternoons. Admittedly you can get your food from cheaper retailers but there is something about talking with the young man that baked your bread and “everythinged” your bagel... Vegetables that came from the dirt the day you prepared them... Chicken that knew a life outdoors...Eggs from hens with names and personalities. I look forward to the Friday’s I pick up my order and have the ultimate fresh foods for our weekend meals.

The day before we visited, Alan had lost his mother. The wound was still fresh on his face. It is a thing of beauty to see a person with a physical challenge lean into his other senses to navigate life without excuse. Legally blind, he spoke gratefulness for a wife that would stop anything she was doing to take him back and forth to

comfort his mother as her time grew short.

That day, it was clear to me that some of the most beautiful seeds

Alan and Leilani had planted didn’t require sight to see.....