"I looked for grandma's garden and found my own"
this has been favourite saying,of mine for many years - it applies to me. Constantly I tried to recapture the garden of my childhood - the garden where faeries spoke to me and the garden where I knew all about herbs. I was driving my grandson to school this morning & on the way home, I was thinking of my garden - and my grandmas garden and it dawned on me that my garden had become what I wanted.
I didn't plant this dandelion, but when I noticed it in my garden on the weekend, I decided to leave it there. It looked so healthy and reminded me of my grandfather. He used these in salads and maybe, I can make some dandelion tea?
yes, oleanders are poisonous - so 'they' say. However, only if you eat them
my nan had a whole grove of them - this is the only one I have but I am off to buy a cerise one today!
an original pear tree from the old orchard. The birds usually get these before I do. I noticed about 6 or 7 half eaten on the ground today. wasteful damn things are the white cockatoos
rhubarb - oh yes, my grandma made rhubarb and apple pie to feed her 7 sons. They had lots of it growing. This sure brings back memories of my grandmas garden! the leaves are good to make an aphid spray from.
these are victorian garden edges - not reproduction. I have only 3. not sure where they are going yet, but my grandfather had many of these in his garden.... I was about 12 or so when he died. I wish I had written down all the things he taught me - I know they are deep in my memory somewhere but I sure as hell can't acccess them. Or maybe I can? maybe that is where all my garden knowledge comes from - cause I just 'know' stuff.
14 comments:
Looking at your garden pictures makes me long for mine but it won't be until May before I can even start thinking of planting anything. I'm sure that subconciously you do remember everything your grandparents taught you:-) Hugs xox
Oh! This so reminds me of my own dear Grandmother, who taught me the most wonderous things about flowers, herbs , sewing ,crocheting,quilting..making dolls from hollyhock buttons...stitching up ragdolls! I think of her lovely soul all the time! She is where I got all my creativity from! She taught me things about flora and fauna in the forest around her home! She knew all about medicinal herbs and berries! Everthing about the earth and gardening ..I learned from her! Cool, !!!!!! She knew things and I KNOW things! you are right!
I love the Oleanders, and Im sorry the birds are after your pears..we have apples..same thing , the blue jays like those.
I LOVe the edgings, maybe you can plant a special flower and make a triangle about it?
Those are lovely Ms Robyn.. :) Indeed green fingers, green toes !!
Peace, Kai.
How beautiful a post, your garden is wonderful and I'm so glad you left the dandelion. Growing rhubarb is something I want to do this summer too, unlike the rest of Canada our spring is here now so I had better get a move-on.
I'm hoping my Mom comes in the late spring to help me with the garden, she is a true woman of nature. I don't think my grandma ever had a garden.
What a lovely, fruitful garden you are having this summer!
Charming photos!
reading your post made me long for my grandmothers - especially after reading Melba's post right before this.
I love the quote at the beginning. This was a beautiful post. So joyful.
xoxo
My grandma made dandelion salad too! And when I was a kid we had wild rhubarb growing in our backyard. My dad loved it. I think the little garden edgers are so pretty.
And are there faeries at the bottom of the garden?
I adore your garden. I used to have one, with lots of rhubarb and wild flowers. and sometimes a faery ring would appear in the grass. I miss it.
xox
Oh, Robyn, we are kindred spirits! :) I adored my grandmother, and used to make 'perfume' from the Rose petals that fell from her beautiful Rose bush...
I don't have much of a garden now, but at my last house I inherited a garden that hadn't been touched for 8 years...it took 2 years to get it back to being a garden and I found a lot of those Victorian edging tiles - still in place, underneath all the rubble & weeds! It was a Victorian cottage and I created a cottage garden, with hollyhocks, sweet peas, delphiniums, lilies, all sorts of herbs....
I could go on, but this is getting ridiculously long for a 'comment', so I'll leave you with the link to a photograph of how it looked in its second summer...
http://tinyurl.com/yswakd
Enjoy! :)
Thanks for the memories! :)
Blessings & Love to you, Suze xXx
I think your garden is perfect. Just by your description I can tell it is somewhere you love. I am so looking forward to spring to see my flowers bloom.
Take care,
Connie
It looks so winterie here in North Idaho. Most things are covered with blanket of snow.
I have never done anything with dandelion. I know a person who made dandelion jelly and it was very fine jelly.
A honey taste to it.
Ahhhh...I enjoyed the stroll in your lovely garden and feeling the heat of the sun on my shoulders...Those are the biggest dang rose hips I have ever seen! I thought they were hot chili peppers at first glance! You only have one dandelion in your yard? I get millions of em in April here...grrrr! Your garden has really good energy.
Your garden looks wonderful, I have never had dandelion tea, but if I remember correctly we used to eat them when I was little, I mean me and my friends would just eat them!
Oleanders are a beautiful flower, I have never seen pink, I thought they were only white.
I can tell you find such joy and peace when you are tending your garden!
I don't think you ever forget what you're taught about plants as a child. I still remember how to make the rows, cover the seeds, how zuccini seeds have to be planted in a special way, corn kernels are planted two by two, as are green beans. A tire was rolled over the top of them to gently pack the dirt and protect the seeds from birds. They eventually just become part of you.
Now if I could just get the lesson about watering ingrained in me... I'd be set! lol
Post a Comment