Memories of My Grandmother's Garden

For me, I suppose the love of gardening was a part of me from conception. Gardening has always been a big part of my Mother's side of our family. I remember so many trips to my Nana's house as a little girl, and each visit would always include a tour of the gardens. Most of her backyard was dedicated to a vegetable garden and her entire yard was bordered with flower gardens. Huge trellises graced each side of the garage displaying beautiful roses or prolific vines of gourds. My Papap spent countless hours keeping the insect population at bay. It seems like most times that I saw him, he had a can of kerosene in his hand into which he would drop each Japanese beetle that he plucked from my Nana's rose bushes. At the conclusion of those treasured visits, my Nana would take me into the garden with a little shovel and I would pick out a flower or plant seedling to dig up and take home to my own flower gardens. Over the years, so many "Johnny Jump-Ups", as we called them, found their way home with me. No wonder they are one of my favorite flowers to this day. Not only did I treasure these colorful violas, but also the hostas, lambs ear, lilacs, forget-me-nots and snow mound that also that became the beginnings of my adult gardens. Today, I am happiest when my hands are in the dirt...a common theme thoughout my entire life!