One grandmother was a founding member of her local Garden Club. The other, grew plants on her back porch and came from a family who once sold drop-dead gorgeous dahlias from their car trunk in downtown Spartanburg way back when.
Thankfully, I was able to dig up some plants from both homes before they were sold. From one, amaryllis and a hydrangea. From the other, an old-timey spice bush, daffodils, and cuttings from a rose bush that originated in my great-grandmother’s yard.
You wouldn’t know it by the way my yard looks right now (I’ll spare you the excuses) but I love my garden and the heirloom plants that have made their home here. When our roof was replaced earlier this year, I protected my grandparent’s plants like a mama bear. This fall, I plan to venture back outdoors to clean up, weed, and clip. After all, specific areas of the yard were planted with our future grandchildren in mind and a jungle was not on that list.
This weekend, I look forward to perusing the online catalog of Old House Gardens. I’ve always been delighted with both their product and customer service. It’s one of the few companies that still offer heirloom and hard to find plants.
Am I alone or was there a plant in your loved ones yard that you now enjoy in your own?
I have a cactus that was a start from my sweet Grannie's. And I have irises from my aunt and my sister's mother-in-law. I have a garden FULL of daylilies and daisies, and I hope to pass them along to my kids when they have homes of their own.
How cool is it to think that plants can pass down through the generations? Great post, Cathy!
Very cool, Susan.
We have yet one more thing in common. Love it!
Love you…
oh boy,
my garden here is nothing like my home in boise, . . . i've had to let a lot of things go . . . π
I love to see others though. π
bless you, Hester
I love to garden. Everything in the back yard comes from Mom's house and one indoor plant came from my grandma. It's so fun to keep it all growing. I love to watch it change too. Just like family does.
My husband's mother loved to garden and I have several of her plantings that I cherish. I always smile when her crocus fight their way through the snow each year.
Have a happy summer full of beauty!
Hester, your comment, I think, goes hand in hand with the verse in this blog. Flowers are beautiful, and gardens are to be enjoyed – but all is temporal compared to God's calling for our families.
God bless you, my friend. π Thanks for sharing. It blessed my heart.
What a great analogy, Ellen! One of the things I love most about having my grandparents flowers is that I think of them…and smile…every time they bloom. π
I remember seeing part of your mom's yard and it is beautiful!!!!
Thank you sweet Dee. π Crocus are pretty and the fact that they poke through snow makes me appreciate them even more!
Love to you…
Cathy, Thanks for making us your Friday Fave!
Is your grandmother's amaryllis the old red and white St. Joseph's lily or the soft orange one they called Barbados lily — or something else?
I have many plants from my grandmother, but the one I love best is a scruffy old orange chrysanthemum.
Scott, OldHouseGardens.com
Scott, what a privilege to see your comment in my inbox. π
My grandmother's amaryllis are the old red and white stripes — simple but oh so elegant!
Old-timey chrysanthemums are the best (especially scruffy orange ones!)
Thanks for stopping by. I plan to place my order this week.
Shortly after we moved into our house in small-town Brooklyn, some 20 years ago, my mother dug up some green/white striped hostas from her yard (my childhood home) in suburban Philadelphia. She placed them in baggies and into manila envelopes and mailed them to me. They survived brilliantly and are still blooming and growing. Not exactly heirlooms, but since my mother passed away years ago, they are a wonderful reminder of the family garden.
Thank you for sharing this! I remember some of the original hostas like the ones you mentioned. How special!! I'm glad they survived the trip. π
Blessings!