Lulu dug where I was digging, which was a help. Sort of.

But I was so worried about hurting her paws with the shovel that I gave up and got down on knees and dug with my paws, er, hands, too. But Lulu thought it was a game and she jumped all over me, nipping at my face and ears.

Lulu also ran off with the rose bush I was trying to plant, dragging it around the yard by the roots. I tried to chase her down, but she thought that was a game, too. Puppies think everything is a game.

She bit the heads off the daffodils. She rolled around in the liriope. She ran off with the new gallardia I was trying to plant, carrying it away by its plastic pot.

She -- ahem -- didn't tell me where she had left a calling card and, I very nearly stepped in it.

Lulu stole my garden glove. I got another pair. She stole another garden glove, and left them underneath the front porch, a spot just big enough for Lulu but too small for me.

Finally, I gave up any idea of gardening, and Lulu and I just rolled around in the grass together. I used the garden gloves, my third pair, to protect my hands against her sharp little puppy teeth.

And I was laughing like a toddler.

My advice to the Obamas is this: Leave Bo inside when it is time to work in the vegetable garden. And play with Bo in a spot far away from the vegetable garden.

The good news is, you will all be ready for a nap when the day is done.

Lulu and I certainly were.