I’m sure that I am not the only one that has memories of gardens from their childhood home and the homes of other relatives, such as grandparents. I distinctly remember my mother’s garden as well as my grandmother’s garden. My mother had beautiful irises growing along one side of the garden. There was a giant patch of rhubarb in the garden, and sometimes as a special treat, she would give my sister and me a stalk of it and a little sugar to dip it in. We also had some vegetables. The gardens at my grandmother’s house were mostly flower gardens, but they were magnificent. She was active in a horticultural society and had many beautiful varieties of roses growing in gardens throughout the yard. The sweet small of roses was always in the air in her back yard. My favorite thing about my grandmother’s gardens, though, was the white raspberries. They were more of a soft pink color than white, but their sweet, delicate flavor was simply divine.
Now that the weather is nice, many people are turning their thoughts to gardening. Have you ever wondered where the garden at your house got its start? If you live in an old house with an old garden, there may be some fascinating stories about the origins of their contents. If you are lucky enough to live in your ancestors’ home that has been passed down through the generations, you probably know the stories behind all of the plants in your gardens. No matter where you live, if any of your ancestors were farmers or gardeners, you may want to explore that aspect of your family’s history by including some “family favorite” plants in your own garden if they are suited to your climate and soil type. At my house, we have a small vegetable garden which we created a couple of years ago when we bought this house. Last year, I was not all that excited about the vegetables and this year I would like to try something different. This year, I am going to turn the garden into a berry patch. I love blueberries, so there will be some blueberry bushes in there. Also, in honor of my grandmother, I am going to grow some white raspberries like the ones that she had at her house. With any luck, my family will be able to enjoy fresh home-grown berries this summer along with some berry, er, very good memories.
Photo by jak on morguefile.com.