Woman cited for attempting to shoplift at Walmart store

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Mele’s Musings: Dad jeans: notable for being remarkably unremarkable.

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Thanks to the grapevine and the baskets of ferns and flowers hanging from a pergola, you can step onto Joe and Lyn Brice&#8217;s patio deck and imagine you&#8217;re on vacation in Italy.</p><p>&#8220;It reminds me of Tuscany,&#8221; Lyn Brice said. But, she added, &#8220;Who needs a vacation when you&#8217;ve got this?&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;This&#8221; is a fairly compact backyard filled with a wide variety of plants, including day lilies, bee balm and rhubarb that got their start in a garden tended by Lyn Brice&#8217;s mother, the late Edith Wilson of Waymart, Wayne County.</p><p>The Brices carefully transplanted those heirlooms each time they moved &#8212; to Ashley, to Lily Lake and, finally, to Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>Here, Joe Brice is in charge of the vegetables, from Brussels sprouts, eggplants and peppers to onions, cucumbers and beans.</p><p>&#8220;I would be a farmer if I could,&#8221; he said.</p><p>&#8220;But we&#8217;re not moving again,&#8221; Lyn Brice said.</p><p>The husband and wife, who devote a lot of time to their garden now that they are both retired, recently worked together to install a small pond where they used to have a shed. Now a statue of Buddha gazes serenely at the fish while, a few feet away, a statue of St. Francis of Assisi presides, surrounded by yarrow and johnny jump-ups.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve got an angel out front,&#8221; Lyn Brice pointed out yet another symbol of holiness. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got it all covered.&#8221;</p><p>Speaking of the front yard, the Brices are pleased with the vibrant blue of their hydrangea flowers. &#8220;Hydrangeas are acid-loving plants, just like azaleas and rhododendrons,&#8221; Lyn Brice said, explaining the commercial plant food Miracid helped achieve the color.</p><p>Next door neighbor Deborah Harvey, who nominated the Brices for the Times Leader&#8217;s &#8220;How Does Your Garden Grow?&#8221; series, has a great view of their garden as well as the colorful flowers they helped her college-age daughter, Eryn, plant between the houses. The Brices share their gardening expertise with patients at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, too, Harvey noted.</p><p>And, they don&#8217;t neglect the animals. They grow catnip for their pets to eat fresh in summer and dried in winter and, when Lyn Brice is relaxing out back, she keeps a stash of peanuts for the squirrels.</p><p>&#8220;They eat right out of my hand,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And they tease the (indoor) cats, as if to say, &#8216;Hey, you can&#8217;t get me!&#8217;</p><p>&#8220;Then the cardinals want some, too,&#8221; Lyn Brice said, explaining she has to give them peanuts as well.</p><p>&#8220;Cardinals can get very vocal.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Joe and Lyn Brice of Wilkes-Barre are pleased with the blue color of their hydrangeas. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_lyanngarden01.jpg</photo0><caption0>Joe and Lyn Brice of Wilkes-Barre are pleased with the blue color of their hydrangeas. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_lyanngarden02.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Joe Brice is in charge of the vegetable bed in the Brices&#8217; compact garden. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_lyanngarden02.jpg</photo1><caption1>Joe Brice is in charge of the vegetable bed in the Brices&#8217; compact garden. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_lyanngarden03.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bumblebees visit the flowers in Joe and Lyn Brice&#8217;s prolific garden in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_lyanngarden03.jpg</photo2><caption2>Bumblebees visit the flowers in Joe and Lyn Brice&#8217;s prolific garden in Wilkes-Barre. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_lyanngarden04.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A butterfly lands on a flower in the Brices&#8217; garden. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_lyanngarden04.jpg</photo3><caption3>A butterfly lands on a flower in the Brices&#8217; garden. </caption3><photoCredit3>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_lyanngarden05.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Day lilies in Joe and Lyn Brice&#8217;s garden got their start in Lyn&#8217;s mother&#8217;s garden in Waymart, many years ago. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_lyanngarden05.jpg</photo4><caption4>Day lilies in Joe and Lyn Brice&#8217;s garden got their start in Lyn&#8217;s mother&#8217;s garden in Waymart, many years ago. </caption4><photoCredit4>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_lyanngarden06.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The hanging plants and grapevine help give the Brices&#8217; patio deck an ambience that makes Lyn Brice feel as if she&#8217;s in Tuscany. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_lyanngarden06.jpg</photo5><caption5>The hanging plants and grapevine help give the Brices&#8217; patio deck an ambience that makes Lyn Brice feel as if she&#8217;s in Tuscany. </caption5><photoCredit5>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_lyanngarden07.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">St. Francis of Assisi presides over one portion of the Brices&#8217; backyard. The statue once belonged to Lyn Brice&#8217;s mother and was in her garden in Waymart. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_lyanngarden07.jpg</photo6><caption6>St. Francis of Assisi presides over one portion of the Brices&#8217; backyard. The statue once belonged to Lyn Brice&#8217;s mother and was in her garden in Waymart. </caption6><photoCredit6>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit6></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_garden.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The Brices&#8217; peach tree is bearing fruit. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo7>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_garden.jpg</photo7><caption7>The Brices&#8217; peach tree is bearing fruit. </caption7><photoCredit7>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit7></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

How does your garden grow: Under a shady grapevine, a little touch of Tuscany