Flowers evoke memories

Do you have a favorite story or memory concerning a certain flower?

Here 's mine:

My dad (now deceased) would always plant the "assorted pack" of zinnias for a cutting garden. I would cut off the most vibrant-colored flower head I could find, then pick individual petals off, wet them, and place them on my nails as if I had "screaming red" nail polish! (My mom would only allow light pink or clear at that age! :) Hmmm, maybe I could have invented those Press-On nails!!!

Very cute, Connie!

My grandad was an avid rose man. He was always after the newest, most different hybrid tea. I used to follow him around as he babied his babies. Of course, what I wanted most was for him to cut the flowers for me, which he never allowed..Whine..
Except for the last time I believe I ever asked him if I could cut some roses. Imagine my shock as a 7 year old when he replied that yes, I could cut every single rose that I could find. I was sooo excited that I climbed on a chair to look out on the rose garden. What was I going to find? The answer...dead looking canes...It was December!

Bev

That's a great "O Henry" type story! I loved it!

When I was a boy growing up on the farm in southern Minnesota we had wild roses growing in the ditches next to the field. I remember on really hot summer days baling hay with our old Farmall "M" and old style square baler (an exhausting, itchy job) and my Dad telling us we needed to take a break. We'd stop the tractor and baler, get a big long drink of ice water from the thermos, and (literally) "stop and smell the roses." Whenever I hear that phrase I think of that image: my Dad (now deceased) and his pack of teenage sons, taking a break, enjoying time together, and recognizing that even a "tough" group of working guys should take a little time to appreciate the beauty of nature. I imagine we were quite a sight, over in the ditch smelling the roses, but I'm forever grateful for my father's example. Thanks for helping me pause to remember it with this thread.

This message was edited Jul 13, 2007 3:53 PM

My grandma lived with us when I was growing up and was the ultimate gardener. She also was pretty protective of her flowers and probably didn't think kids should be involved, but she would let me pick pansies - as long as I picked down close to the plant base so that the next batch would have good long stems. So pansies always make me think of her - and it is because of her, I am sure, that I am so addicted to gardening.

Great thread topic - thanks!

My grandfather (father of 12) had to grow edibles to feed his large family, so flowers were not really considered important.....except for sweet peas....because they did not take up too much ground.Everyone of his children grew sweet peas in their gardens
to remember their wonderful dad- and I grow them too because the lovely scent takes me straight back to the mulberry tree ...or the cape gooseberry patch....or the grapes or the strawberries or where ever we would find "pop" and there he would be smiling at us and letting us run around tasting everything.

Murmur...
I just passed "close" to you last week...was in Victoria, BC, then took the ferry to Seattle, then to visit friends west of Seattle! I saw your island on the map....GORGEOUS AREA!!!

Connie, how I wish we could have met - even for a minute or two! Glad you enjoyed our part of the country.

Here is a poem that I wrote about a garden where the wonderful man tought me so much about Rhododendrons, but in later years, he had to give up his wonderful lifes work, and the garden is now still and quiet where nature has taken it over.

I know of a garden where Rododendrons grow
where the breeze sways the Daffodils too and fro
where every flower wears a smilling face
because this garden is such a happy place

Within this fine garden, there stands a fine house
with a family of children, a man and his wife
they also are smilling, their happy and glad
like the flowers in the garden, they blossom like mad

Come look at this garden, the children at play
the man and his wife, who'm the sun shines for each day
these people, this garden, I'm happy I know
that the love held within it, like the flowers, will grow

The great Rhododendrons, like the man, they stands tall
and his wife, like the roses, my most favourite of all
And the children so precious, like dew on the grass
are happy and laughing eachday as I pass

Oh please, let me enter this garden so fine
to pick a few bunches of love, and sunshine
I'll creep up so quietly, I'll not make a sound
Yet all that I gather, I'll share it around.

That is beautiful Wee Nell and it just goes to show that we can indeed leave a very special gift with those that come after us....
the love of a garden and for everyone at least the love of one very special flower or plant.

Always said that to be a good gardener, you need to have a nurturing nature, a love of anything that grows, even people and a determination to make thing grow, even your kids in mind and body, Glad you liked it Chrissy, be good and take good care. WeeNel.

That's precious - may I print it out for myself?

Hi Murmar, if you like it, go for it, if you make a fortune, just remember I got your name, ha, ha, ha, glad you liked it, WeeNel.

LOL - I would just consider myself your "agent" and take a small percentage!!!

My agent, you trying to make my husband unemployed, gee you are full of confidence on my part and yours eh, ha, ha, ha. be good, Weenel.

WeeNel...what a great poem! The most I can do is to write haiku...and I just started a thread about garden haiku a few days ago... I think ONE person added to it!! So....I'm sure you can do it if you wrote a beautiful poem that long! I posted the "rules" which are verrrry simple. I'd give you a link but I don't know how to do that on here!

Connie, no worries, you sound as computer bright as I am, glad you also liked my poem, I have dozens but wont bore anyone with them YET hehehe, I will try search your site, even if just to say hi to you, good luck. Weenel.

That was awesome, WeeNel, sweet poem, enjoyed it very much. I always grow zinnias in my Fathers memory, every summer he would grow them, this year I added his annual favorite, cockscomb. No matter what else is in the garden, I will have those two because they were his favorites. I love that he passed this wonderful interest of gardening to me. I can see a zinnia and think of him!

My mother was not really into flowers or gardening, I think I got the gardening bug from my grandma but I am going to do a memory garden for my deceased mother who I miss very much. I have a very hard time visiting her grave I just find it to be too sad, but I think a ring of roses in her memory would give me a quiet place to think about her. When I was trying to decide what kind of plants would I grow in her memory I remembered an incident that happened when I was very young, about kindergarden age.
I decided that I would give my mother a big bouquet of flowers. So I looked around the neighborhood and found some beautiful roses growing at the next door neighbors. I picked my mom a huge bouquet much to the neighbor ladies horror, (we did not know this women at all!) I remember getting in a lot of trouble for that but my heart was in the right place, lol.
So now I am working on a ring of roses that I am going to call my Helen garden in honor of my mom.

Best Wishes,

Sue



This message was edited Jul 17, 2007 8:56 PM

Sue...that will be a beautiful tribute to your mom!

My grandmother would allow me to water her flowers occasionally and that was a big deal. Grandparents lived on a ranch and had a WINDMILL that provided water! When a drought would occur, the flowers would suffer, so she would tell me to count to 10, or 5, or whatever while I watered each plant, and I would have to bend the hose to stop the water between each one to conserve! The flowers I remember the most are:

her rose garden
her succulent garden ("hens and chicks") among rocks she collected, in a circle
the path up to the porch,lined with the green oxalise (sp?)
"pinks" / "Sweet William"
sweetpeas growing up the fence
plumbago

I wish we had taken more pictures, so I could see what else she grew!