Mulch ado about nothing

two of her friends up for a cooking class today and I really must eat whatever they serve. It’s a sacrifice, naturally, but what can a mother do?“
    “What a good idea. There’s a health food store across town that holds cooking classes. I’ll give you the phone number.“ Ursula rummaged in one of her bags, dropping a computer disk, a huge pair of orange-tinted plastic sunglasses, and a tattered facial tissue on the floor, and finally came up with a scrap of paper and a pencil.
    “I sometimes give classes there myself,“ she said, handing the phone number to Jane. As Jane folded the paper to put it in her pocket, she couldn’t help but notice that it was on the back of an advertisement for naturally grown cotton made into bras by downtrodden Mexican immigrants.
    “Thank you, Ursula,“ Jane said with a forced smile.
    Arnold Waring and Charles Jones must have met up in the parking lot, because they were well into a conversation about a motion that was supposed to be coming before the town council about what color gardening hoses could be left out in front yards. They were in accord that it was nobody’s business but the homeowner’s and were each goading the other into attending the meeting and speaking to the issue.
    Stefan was just behind them and waiting patiently outside the door until Arnie and Charles finally got out of the way. He sat down behind Shelley and Jane and sorted out some files he’d brought along, mumbling to himself and putting sticky notes on some of the papers.
    Jane interrupted him to ask if he knew whether Geneva Jackson was coming along today. He replied that she’d caught up to him at the nearest stop sign and waved him over to say she was going to the hospital to visit her sister, now that Julie was well enough to fend off Geneva’s hearty good cheer, which drove sick people wild.
    Dr. Eastman finally arrived, winded from hurrying and looking a bit frayed at the edges. Jane wondered if something had happened to him since the day before, or whether Miss Winstead’s presence was finally unraveling him.
    He looked over the class and said, “Miss Jackson’s sister, Geneva, found some of Dr. Julie Jackson’s notes she’d prepared for this class. She was tidying up the office when the police finished their examination and came across the file. So instead of the material I’d prepared for today, I think we should go over some of the material she had ready for you. And after that we’ll take a tour of Miss Winstead’s garden and Mr. Jones’s. If you remember, they live next door to one another.”
    He then launched into what would have been Julie Jackson’s talk. It was clearly geared for amateurs and was far more interesting to the group than anything Dr. Eastman had said, even though he was reading it with obvious boredom with the basic essentials.
    Shelley and Jane took copious notes. The beginning was about soil conditions and was the first time Jane thought she might just eventually understand what grew in acid soil and what preferred alkaline conditions. She’d probably forget it later, but she’d have the clear listings in her notebook. Julie Jackson’s voice, coming through Dr. Eastman’s vocal cords, was clear and concise. Lists of common plants that liked acid soil in alphabetical order. What to do to alkaline soil to grow them well. Another list of sun and shade plants. Hostas, she said, could take more sun or shade than most people thought.
    Dr. Jackson was theoretically opposed to strong chemicals, but admitted everyone needed at least one bottle of weed killer and described how, when, and where to use it, and not use it, and how to protect yourself, the good plants, and the pets and children from the poison.
    Furthermore, she listed plants you didn’t want to have in a garden if children or pets might try to eat them. The first on the list was monkshood. The second was oleander.
    Jane was scribbling like mad and so was Shelley. They’d compare their notes later and fill in the blanks. Jane made a note to tell Shelley about the mystery she’d read once in which someone at a hot-dog cookout was given an oleander stick instead of a harmless one to skewer a hot dog. What was the name of the author?
    Dr. Eastman had read Julie’s speech so quickly that the class ended early on a somewhat breathless note. A couple of people wanted to backtrack and ask questions. “How do you have your soil tested?“ Ursula asked.
    Dr. Eastman explained that specialty