My Name Ain't Mary

(Oh....how my English profs would hate to see that.
That's what they get for making me read "Ulysses.")

My mother grew up on a farm....well, actually many farms. Her father was a tenant farmer during the depression. My grandmother was an amazing woman. We share a number of things in common. For one, even though she was a farm wife, my grandfather said that she did her best sleeping in the morning. Haha.... My father and husband know very well that the women descended from her also do their best sleeping in the morning. They've tried to wake us up!!! Another thing he always said about her was that she could stretch dollar farther than anyone else he knew. I think I fall short in this area, but I try hard. She was an amazing cook. Boy, did she have a gift!! Ask anyone who ate at her table and I am sure they would agree. But one thing I am SURE I did not inherit was her ability to grow things. She grew the biggest flowers I have ever seen in my life. I loved to go out and look at her garden and marvel at those flowers.

My first attempt at plants was at the knee of my other grandmother...aptly named Flora. She grew large and beautiful peony plants. Bushels of bluebells and daffodils...which she encouraged us to pick to deliver to our ever grateful teachers. And almost without fail, she sent me home with an African violet.

This grandmother lived in a house that was built before the American Revolution. It was gorgeous!! The windows were incredibly deep. And in the windows, among the sparkling cranberry, milk, and carnival glass, were nestled delicate and flowering violets. When she felt I was old enough, she told me how to care for these plants. She told me how to water only from the base. She taught me how to root a leaf. I listened and went home with high expectations. But almost without fail, when she asked me how my plant was doing, I'd hang my head in shame, refusing to meet her eyes as I had to admit that it had died.

At least my uncle must have learned a thing or two from her. He grew baskets full of all kinds of veggies in a seemingly tiny plot of land. Every year, he grew giant ears of corn, beets, tomatoes, beans, kholorabi, and more!! He was always giving things away from his garden.

Convinced that I had not acquired a green thumb from either of my gardening grandmothers, I asked my mother for a cactus. I was sure I would succeed. But once again...it died. Yes, folks....I have killed a cactus. So ended my foray into plants.

When we bought our first home, vines grew. Trees grew...and fell. Grass grew. And....while the yard was too shady for a garden, I tried to grow a thing or two. I think I grew five beans in total. Even back then, it wasn't enough for our family. I planted some black eyed susans not long before we moved. I'm not sure if they ever grew back. However, I did plant some zinnias in the front yard. Ah....I figured out that Lilliput meant small. You's think someone who has a BA in literature would know that. Even though I was disappointed in their size, they seeded and came back the next year!! I also planted Sweet William by the walk. It amazed me by appearing for three years in a row!

The first thing I planted here was probably cilantro. I don't know why. We're not big fans. But the caterpillars that found it munched happily on it and turned into pretty butterflies. I planted a rosemary in its place. Unfortunately, I didn't realize how big they can grow. It is still alive and growing, but I keep it trimmed very small.

I dug out an overgrown bush that I didn't like I plopped down Black eyed susan again. They seemed to work before. I put more by the mailbox. A few years later, my mother in law planted a clematis. Halfway through it's first summer, it took a turn for the worse and I thought it had died. I just left it there hoping...maybe....and then I discovered that the new growth grows on the dead growth. Lots of patience and it has grown!!! I am always so pleased every spring to find huge purple bud on my plant.

Two springs ago, I decided I wanted something pretty outside my dining room window. A bush I tried to plant, finally died -- a victim of teenage boys and balls. I needed a tall plant so I chose purple cone flowers. I didn't have tons of money so I planted some seeds. When they were a good size, I transferred them to my pathetic little plot. About this time, a neighbor gave me a few cannas. I planted them all along my window. To my amazement, they have flourished there enjoying the full sun. Now, I can open my curtains and watch the bees and butterflies come and visit my flowers.

Finally,for the past few years, I have had a vegetable garden. I use a large plot of raised bed because the soil is yucky here. I also use containers to enlarge my garden. It is modest. Nothing like my uncle's. I definitely don't have his talents and gifts. But things are growing!! I walk out there twice a day and I am never disappointed. I always am finding something new. New growth. New flowers. I've bought some plants. Others, I planted from seed. I am utterly amazed that from a tiny seed, a plant with twisting vines and fruit emerges. And I've learned which sprouts are my plants and which ones are weeds. I don't care all that much how much it produces. It is just fun to watch it all grow.

I don't think I will ever be a master gardener....or even an accomplished one. But I am proof that even if you don't think you're capable of growing things, that just maybe you can. And in case you were wondering, the first two pictures aren't mine, but the rest is. I will never be Mary who, for the life of me, I cannot understand why she is so contrary. And if it weren't for the bugs, I might just become addicted to growing things.

I think my grandmothers would be pleased!!