Those first Spring days when the welcome sunlight seems to just be pouring upon you... and even though the ground is still quite cold, the feel of it on your bare feet as you stroll through your flowerbeds is quite intoxicating to say the least... Spring is a time of renewal and rebirth... I anxiously check my gardens for any teeny little sign of green... do you do that too?... I have my wish~list ready to take to the garden center down the lane which will open soon... I wait in giddy anticipation for their sign to be out that reads "We have Pansies"... the owner always tells me I am his very first customer of the season... and helps me carry my pots of pansies and heartsease to my car... he knows me well... he should... I spend many a Spring and Summers day lingering in his rows and rows of flowers... each one calling out my name... and most times I answer their call by buying them and taking them home...
Did you inherit your love of gardening... or did you acquire that love over the years?... I inherited my love of gardening... I come from a long line of gardeners... my mama tended to our abundant flowerbeds and her luscious rose gardens while daddy took care of our lawns and our many fruit trees... my grandparents on my mama's side of the family had a large country home where most of mama's roses came from, teeny little starts mama planted under old fruit jars, creating mini greenhouses filled with mist... I picture in my mind my grandpa standing out watering his gardens by hand... he loved to water this way, and to this day, I don't have sprinkler systems in my gardens... I water them all by hand... and as I do so, I know my grandpa is probably right there beside me... there was a pretty little irrigation ditch in my grandparents back yard that flowed gently in the Spring and Summertime... we kids would wade barefoot in it... squealing with excitement when a little water snake would wiggle by... wildflowers bloomed profusely along the banks of the little ditch... my grandmother would holler out "don't pick the Pee the Beds"!... and we would giggle when she said that... "Pee the Beds" are dandelions... and their being called that came from old French and English folk names that meant just that... grandmother held onto the old~fashioned belief that if you picked them, you would wet the bed that night... not wanting to chance anything, we never picked them...
My grandmother and great~grandmother on my daddy's side of the family had a beautiful little cottage garden in their backyard in Santa Fe... there, old~fashioned flowers of every kind imaginable bloomed in wild abandon... it was here that I tagged along with my grandmothers... asking question after question about all of the flowers, eager to know their names... and why they were called what they were... and my grandmothers were most obliging to this curious little granddaughter of theirs... my great~grandmother telling me stories about why foxgloves were named that because the sly little foxes would put the flowers on their hands so as to quietly sneak into the chicken coop... I can just hear my little great~grandmother scolding those naughty little foxes!... towering hollyhocks grew alongside the old gravel driveway back to the garage... it was from those beautiful flowers we made hollyhock dolls...
I always plant special flowers for my loved ones who are no longer here... although, I do know they are always close by my side and always in my heart... roses for my mama, sweet williams for my daddy, (his favorite)... periwinkle (or creeping myrtle) for my grandmother named Myrtle... delphiniums for my grandmother Delphine and cosmos for my great~grandmother Sara as they were her favorites... I feel very blessed to have been given the gifts I have been given in my life from these precious family members... the gift of my love of gardening and for all of Nature and God's precious little creatures... the two go hand in hand... I don't just grow flowers... I grow memories... and love... xoxo...
"The kiss of the sun for pardon,
the song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden,
than anywhere else on earth"
~ Dorothy Frances Gurney 1858~1932
One is nearer God's heart in a garden,
than anywhere else on earth"
~ Dorothy Frances Gurney 1858~1932
18 comments:
These is truly a beautiful post. I wished I shared your love for gardening. I say this because I love love love a beautiful garden. I love flowers. I don't love doing it myself, I know, I'm sort of strange. But I truly love having a beautiful garden - I just want someone else to plant it for me. When we first moved to our home in Missouri, it was just the beginning of spring. The former owner was so proud of her gardens and promised me beautiful flowers would appear. They did! A little here, then there, all colors one more beautiful than the next. Luckily for me, they kept coming up year after year. I sure miss that about our home in Missouri. Here in Arizona, it's quite different. Thanks for sharing and I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures of your blooming flowers.
You definitely have the bug if you are trying to get out and plant things. :) I guess you would say I did inherit my passion for gardening as did two of my brothers.
Cher Sunray Gardens
Oh my goodness my friend- you are really in the mood for spring! Your photos are so colorful and beautiful-- they make me long for spring also. Fingers crossed it comes soon!
Your blog header is fabulous!!!
Thank you so much for visiting me-- your visit meant the world to me!
Hugs to the nest babies--
Vicki
What a very sweet post! I can see why you love flowers and gardening so, having these great memories and mentors.
My mom didn't have time for gardening, at least I like to think that, with 7 kids. When we visited my grandfather, walking into his backyard was like stepping into a magical wonderland filled with flowers. He loved to take us for little tours of his flower beds and borders...I vividly remember that he loved zinnias and had them in every color of the rainbow. I wish I had him in my life longer so I could have learned more, but I know I did learn my appreciation for the beauty of flowers.
Have you gotten all of your blog books yet? I haven't had a chance to really look at mine, I have so much going on. Did you get your purse yet? I am so in love with mine. My hubs laughs because I normally put my purse on the floor of the car and I won't do that now!! lol!
Hope you had a wonderful and romantic Valentine's Day with Jack and Tessie!
XO,
Jane
A lovely post ! I cant wait for spring , I do the same thing go and check my gardens for signs of growth and I see my Daffodils and my Hyasinths have already poped through the ground HURRRAAYYY ! I will be making a trip to my local garden center at the end of next month ! Our temps are warmer , snow is melting and it will be raining tomorrow !Have a wonderful day !
Hello sweet friend...
My momma wasn't good at gardening although she tried her best I think. My gramma did it best and could grow anything. It's to her credit I can grow ANYTHING at all.
Gardening isn't my strength. But, like my mom I try and try. Steveo isn't great at it either. That said...we spend a lot of time looking at pictures to get ideas and also visiting our local Home/Garden show every year at the FairGrounds. It's pure love.
Sweet post full of love.
xoRebecca PS: Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Mine was quiet and I was alone. My guy had to go out of town so I spent the evening with my MoMo Mollie. xoxo
This is so beautiful. You have such a way with your words of sweeping me away to easier, happier times. I can smell your flowers and long to see their pictures very soon.
I know that little verse so well, and it is so near and dear to my heart for it was my Nanna's favourite quote, and today it is mine. My Great Grandfather was a gardener by trade, a working man who tended the gardens of several local estates, and his green thumb is handed down through the generations. He tended the Italianate garden at a local estate, grew grapes in the greenhouse of a local coaching inn, was the groundskeeper at the Cathedral, and grew vegetables and flowers all together in his little cottage gardens, first at Sunny Bank, then later at Evergreen Cottage. What a garden we had at Evergreen Cottage. Although I never knew him, I know him well through the legacy he left across the village.
Gardening is in my blood, but it is also something I love dearly. I wish I was better at it; already the fingers are itchin' and twitchin' to get out there, even though the ground is rock solid with winter frost! One is, indeed, nearer God's heart in a garden.
My love of gardening has grown in the past several years. What wonderful memories you have in the garden. My family dabbled in veggie gardens before my Grandma and Granddad became winter birds...
We are anxiously planning our garden now!
Oh I love this post-I am a learn as I can gardener.
I have always tried to learn more and more each year as I go. A lot of experimenting for sure.
love to plop wild seed or a small cutting and watch it grow. My friends say I have a great green thumb and love that.
Love the story about dandelions,(lol)I know I would have never picked them for sure.
Thanks for sharing
Hugs sweetie
Hi Julie Marie,
Oh I am so inspired for springtime with this lovely post. I love that you too plant something in memory of your loved ones passed. We do the same. Best guy and I have planted trees and scrubs in honor of our family who have gone to heaven. We have done this for years.
I can't wait to see your gorgeous garden this year. Your grandparents are so proud of you to carry on the love of working the earth and producing gorgeous blooms. I worked in the garden with my nana too. She had a green thumb, grew all their vegtables and flowers. She new how to pinch a rose stem with leaves of 3, stick it in the ground and a rose bush would grow. It was amazing. She also grew Poppies beautifully. All learned from her mother in Italy. Thank you for sharing this post giving me thoughts of the past with special memories too.
Hope your Valentine's Day was special. We had a nice dinner at home and relaxing evening. Our son stopped by with flowers and candy and a toy for Miss B.
Have a great weekend.
XO Celestina Marie
My mom was from the N.C. mountains and they were very poor. They grew what they ate. She could grow anything and in the poorest soil conditions. She never bought potting soil in her life. I think of her often when I am digging in the dirt. Her brother was a farmer and he also can grow anything-still.
I am sending get well wishes your way sweet girl. Holding your precious birds until you do. Hope to see you soon. Love ya!
My love of gardening came naturally -- I did not grow up with any real instruction.
Love your beautiful flower photos. Spring is not far away!
Good Morning Julie Marie~
I have not done a lot of gardening in my life mostly because it is so difficult here in the desert. I guess I could make a massive effort to plant flowers like my Dad did, but the scorching summer sun fries everything! So my appreciation for gardens like yours is overwhelming. I love traveling into Utah, California and Oregon where the soil is rich and everything grows so naturally. Have a wonderful time planting & digging and being with God. xoxo Amy
Good morning Julie Marie....I can hardly wait to see your spring garden this year....as you always paint such a beautiful picture with your stories.
xo
Jo
Oh my Julue Marie, your pic's are gorgeous, my mom lovessss to plant her flowers and spends her spring days in her front garden, me I do a little on my end of my home, I'm a winter and fall lover.....shhhhhh don't tell anyone.....lol
Love to you sweet friend~
Mari
Hi, Julie Marie,
Your love for gardening is very evident in all of your posts. I, too, love a beautiful garden. Since I sold my Bunny Cottage and beautiful rose garden, I am now gardening with pots on my small patio. I am growing roses, geraniums and some pretty ivy. As soon as I moved in to my small apartment home, I went to the garden center and bought flowers to brighten up my patio. I, too, am looking forward to spring and the promise it brings. Loved your heart felt post! Love, Vicki
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