Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Mamie's Garden

The picture tonight is part of my "Mamie" garden, named for my dad's mom.  She taught me gardening in the most amazing way.  Her yard was full of flowers, not a blade of grass, just stepping stones and flowers.  Out back she had herbs and fruit trees and then down a dirt road, a vegetable garden. Every inch of dirt that she could possibly grow something in, she did.  Containers were the same way, she recycled before anyone knew the word.  She had plants in cans, old kitchen containers, slop jars, tires, whatever held dirt, she used it.

If we had a cut, scape, burn, bite, cold whatever, she had  something for it.  Lard was used for cooking as well as doctoring.  I wish I had had the good sense to write down everything she did.  She used clean white sheets to dry fruits and vegetables on to eat during the winter.  She could tat lace, crochet, quilt, knit, embroider and she loved to work crossword puzzles in the newspaper.

Family members have told me for years that I am just like her.  I hope so.  My mom was exceptional and she too learned a great deal from Mamie, but never in my life have I ever met anyone else like Mamie.  Hard times and being poor never stopped her from being giving and kind.  She died when I was in my early 20's, I still miss her so much.  The plants in my Mamie garden came from her yard.
They are most precious to me, worth more than any amount of money.

I am grateful tonight for the strong, yet kind women in my life, my mom, Mamie and my two older sisters.  All four helped to guide me, to love me.  I am a lucky woman.

3 comments:

  1. For some reason your post reminded me of the Bible story of the talents. Some were given many but hid them and others with less shared them and received more. Your Mamie shared her great talent of growing and surviving no matter her circumstances. What a great legacy to leave and I think the saying that you're closer to God in a garden than anywhere else on earth is true here! Enjoy those beautiful flowers!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mamie sounds very much like my mother. She also made anything and everything with any sort of thread. She always had a garden with a section set aside for her flowers. She loved to make flower arrangements for the house. She canned and made any kind of fruit butter you can imagine along with a few vegetable butters. She even made her own cottage cheese. She drew and painted the most wonderful pictures. She also published a few short stories in women's magazines. It is such a shame that I inherited none of her talents.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Life is amazing! As we get older, we wonder why we didn't listen to our parents & our grandparents when we were younger. I thought I knew everything when I was younger. Now I'm learning that I didn't know anything. That is part of life's journey. I will continue to enjoy it and hope that I have planted some seeds among the young generation so that they will blossom as they get older, as I feel that I have blossomed as I reflect on my parents & grandparents and the words of wisdom that they have given me.

    ReplyDelete