Gardens

Nice rain today--my gardens needed it.

Gardens in my life--

When I lived here:   July 1957

All I had were those two planter boxes my Mother made for me.


Then I moved here:     August 1959

and had this spindly one for the first couple of years. I was always pregnant (3 kids in 4 years) so there was little time for flower gardening.  Although I did have a big vegetable garden in back.


Then I moved here:    1967-1988

and put a perennial garden all along the frontage--to the right of the Tulip tree, and up the side toward the house.  A cottage garden up by the back porch, a spring bulb garden all along that side of the house and an enormous vegetable garden to the left of the driveway/lawn.

The perennials I got were from the gardens of my great grandma, grandma and mother.

Then, I moved here:  and took roots from my garden with me.                        1989

...and although I had my gardens started, I did not live here long enough to see them flouish.

Then, I moved here:  and took roots from the upper gardens with me.         1992-2003

I lived here for 12 years, so I had a lot of time to plant gardens and watch them grow into beautiful spaces.

Then, I moved here:     2003-present

As you can see, there wasn't a flower garden in sight.  I brought roots from my previous garden with me.

I have been here for 12 years and:

                                                  

2007

My "Momma" Iris, that my Mother planted in her garden in 1968, is in my front garden.

This Iris, at one time, bloomed in my grandmother's garden  back in the late 50's, is in my front garden.

A Lemon Lily my mother had in the early 50's.

This is the only perennial I had at my first house.

When I moved to my Grandma's farm, I took a clump of roots with me, and is in my front garden.

My little woodland garden to the side of my porch.
All plants came from the woods where I used to live.
From the same plants of the wildflowers I picked as a child.

All the perennials live on at my "now" home base. About all I do now is buy and plant annuals in my porch planters.                                             2014

What I have tried to portray in this post is.......I have to have my gardens, wherever I live.  I have to have my ancestor's plants in my gardens, to make wherever I have lived, feel like home.

I have had enormous gardens that took an hour or so out of each of my days to maintain.  I loved it.  I could relax and think while I gardened.

Now--I can do it no longer, but.........my plants are here, in a smaller format.

May 3, 2015