Life Grows On

A private sanctuary is my back yard. Filled with the spirit, memories, remnants and traces of friends and family that have left this earth. Over the years people have given me seeds, cuttings and bulbs, advice and inspiration.As a child I remember my father and his little vegetable garden. He would work the soil and weed and water and sit in his lawn chair with a cocktail and watch it grow. An Azalea plant brought home from the memorial service of my sister and planted in the yard blooms in two colors at the oddest times of the year.


Frieda, my old neighbor, had given me some of her prized Peruvian Scilla also called Caribbean Lily or Cuban Lily. It was passed down from her mother. The spiky blooms are a deep blueish purple and the bulbs multiply so I can share them with others. She would have liked that as she used to have me drive her around town bringing large bouquets of whatever was flowering at the moment in her yard like blooming shrubs and flowering tree branches from her gardens placed in big buckets to share with her friends. Many would roll their eyes and smile as we would leave a trail of pink cherry blossoms or earwigs in the doctors office's and living rooms we visited.

Wanda was my first friend here in Oregon It has been so long ago I forgot what she contributed me but I feel her when I am outside working. The Princess trees that Erlene and Tom Carson gave me cuttings of have grown now into trees and blooms in beautiful deep blue flowers.

My dogs Jasmine and Buzz loved playing outside while we worked and are still with me in spirit. I still find old toys and bones buried for a rainy day. It is a peaceful feeling and never am I lonely working in the yard.

Others who have contributed. Not gone or forgotten. My friend Katie who helped me plant new things and pull weeds. My mom always willing to roll up her sleeves and get working with her clippers. Wow can she prune. Erin had been a big help in the past. Erin's lawn mowing expertise is sorely missed. I am looking forward to harvesting her recent additions to my herb gardens.

My sister Chris gave me the star jasmine that adorns and swallows a good chunk of shed. Jock has added some Yukon gold potatoes and helped recently by weeding beds and advising me on what works and what doesn't. Micky Rose and Bob are inspiration and example of good gardeners. Peat and Darlene with their cuttings and shared bulbs and cut flowers for vases. My thumbs are green in spite of my reluctance. My slugs and snails are well fed.

The birds fill my yard at different times of the year getting drunk on the ripe Pyracantha berries and wiping clean a cherry tree that is now a memory. The robins pull huge worms from the soil with amazing expertise. Stellar Jays squawk at my window demanding the peanuts they know I have stashed for them in my cupboard. Hummingbirds flit from flower to flower and buzz by the big window.


Favorite trees of mine are two cedars that came from the Forest Service booth at the County Fair. They were all of about ten inches long - both are now well over 10 feet tall and replace two beautiful pines that were mercilessly cut away from a neighbors yard (without my permission or consent- the nerve!) changing the landscape and feel of six back yards. So sad when it happened I was ready to move away but decided instead to just replace them in my own yard. My next additions will be two apple trees in to be planted in January. My favorite flowers, sweet peas, will grow up the wall of my shed fill my home with sweet scents when they bloom. My seeds have not yet peek through the soil this year but soon should.

My lawn mower continues to defy and challenge me and a local skunk family stops by occasionally. I have new dirt mounds that can only be a mole or gopher. It is my own little piece if paradise. I just hope I can keep up with the work and maintain this special place. Gratitude to my landlord . . . and those that have influenced, aided and abetted on this horticultural trip.