January is not a fun month for me-for many reasons. The obvious being the weather but the lesser known is that my mom passed away 6 years ago on the 24th. I have so many things of hers that I proudly display in my garden. They give me a good feeling when I look at them. One of the ones that symbolize her and many summers in my childhood yard is this homemade birdbath/strawberry planter. Mom had to decorate and garden in a time before Lowe's or even Wal-Mart. She had a job as a private sitter for an elderly lady and the job lasted for about a year. She had become good friends with this ladys family and when they were dealing with her estate they gave mom some things she had admired- one of them being this birdbath. After mom passed, my dad steadily dug up and moved everything in the yard, which was ok since he was just trying to maintain things easier and mow. This thing is very heavy so it took Glen on a tractor to pick it up with a front end loader so we could take it to its current place of honor. It was in disrepair, in need of paint and tlc. It originally had some old marbles stuck in the top of it which were long gone. I found a jar at a flea market and replaced those. It is a whimsical piece and has seen many winters--definitely 30 but likely many more. I like the fact I can leave water in it for the birds and not worry about it freezing and cracking. Glen put some red castle rock around it and I planted the base with hosta later on. I'll post pics when it comes into its full glory in the spring. Mom, I hope you're happy...your little girl is a garden junk-a-holic just like YOU!Thursday, January 28, 2010
Memories of mom
January is not a fun month for me-for many reasons. The obvious being the weather but the lesser known is that my mom passed away 6 years ago on the 24th. I have so many things of hers that I proudly display in my garden. They give me a good feeling when I look at them. One of the ones that symbolize her and many summers in my childhood yard is this homemade birdbath/strawberry planter. Mom had to decorate and garden in a time before Lowe's or even Wal-Mart. She had a job as a private sitter for an elderly lady and the job lasted for about a year. She had become good friends with this ladys family and when they were dealing with her estate they gave mom some things she had admired- one of them being this birdbath. After mom passed, my dad steadily dug up and moved everything in the yard, which was ok since he was just trying to maintain things easier and mow. This thing is very heavy so it took Glen on a tractor to pick it up with a front end loader so we could take it to its current place of honor. It was in disrepair, in need of paint and tlc. It originally had some old marbles stuck in the top of it which were long gone. I found a jar at a flea market and replaced those. It is a whimsical piece and has seen many winters--definitely 30 but likely many more. I like the fact I can leave water in it for the birds and not worry about it freezing and cracking. Glen put some red castle rock around it and I planted the base with hosta later on. I'll post pics when it comes into its full glory in the spring. Mom, I hope you're happy...your little girl is a garden junk-a-holic just like YOU!
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Thought I was the only garden junkaholic. Maybe we should start a support group and do interventions : )
ReplyDeleteBlessings from Hickery Holler!
Hi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel, my Mother passed away 4 yrs ago next April, and like you when the house came to be sold I dug up a few plants to keep in my own garden and when they come into bloom I gaze at them and remember them in their original position in my Mams garden and think of her too of course as I do daily.
Its nice to pass things on from generation to generation be it gardening or household things.!Kathleen Howard@
How sweet! My mom passed that "junk" gene down to me also. It is wonderful you have all of your mom's old garden pieces. Wonderful memories.
ReplyDeleteA great tribute to your mom. I am glad you took the items from your mothers gardens. I got my gardening bug from my grandmother. She was in the Garden Club and very active gardener until the day she left us. The house was sold and all the gardens are no longer. Such a sad thing to see for me when I go by the house today. All her love and care of the earth is now covered with a huge garage and just grass. Sad but such is life so I wish I had dug up some of her hundreds of bulbs, plants, etc. At least my parents did take her birdbath and use it still today...
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