Today would have been my Grandma Char’s 76th birthday. Shortly after her birthday last year we learned that she had terminal cancer, and last February she passed away.
My mom, me and my grandma
My grandma was very artistic and loved encouraging her 11 grandchildren in their creative pursuits. When I first became interested in gardening around age 9 or 10, she gave me cuttings from her plants to get me started. I took home cuttings from her Burro’s Tail, Pregnant Onion, various Ivies and from her Philodendron. When she was still able, we would garden together. She would take me out to lunch and then afterward we’d do some gardening work at her house. She taught me about loosening the roots of a transplant and about subdividing clumps of Iris. I would often spend the night and she would read old Yiddish fairytales to me before I went to bed. I loved every second of it.
Just before she got sick, she re-landscaped her front and back yards. The end result was beautiful and very modern. She incorporated some of her favorite plants. She loved bearded irises, geraniums, gardenias, and this peculiar cactus that she had for over 20 years, maybe even 30. She hated “spikey” plants and made her gardener take out the Dracenas he tried to sneak into one of her containers.
When spending time with her, my Grandma made you feel like the center of the universe. She emanated class and graciousness, intelligence and thoughtfulness, creativity and a zest for life. My Grandma was fiercely loyal and opinionated, and she could be downright stubborn at times. She was also incredibly generous, with her time, knowledge and resources. And she had the most fantastic laugh you have ever heard.
She was a fantastic woman whom I admire and respect. I loved her so much and I miss her even more.
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Grandma would love that she had such a profound and long-lasting effect on you and your gardening.
Hi Fern,
Grandmothers are pretty special people. I lost my grandma in June 2006. She was 91, and up until about a month before she passed away, still lived quite independently in her own house. She too was a gardener. In her later years it had become difficult for her to do as much in the garden as she would have liked. Mom and I did the majority, and Grandma would trail along after us, lending a hand or a poke of her cane wherever she could. I’m smiling as a write this because that’s what I always do when I think about her. She was so cute!
I think it’s wonderful that you shared a love for gardening. As you carry on with your gardening, the happy thoughts of time spent with your grandma, both in and out of the garden, will carry on with you. I hope those thoughts bring a smile to your face as thoughts of my grandma bring a smile to mine.
Cathy
Mom/Roberta–I hope so.
Cathy–Thank you for sharing your memories of your grandma with me. All of the happy memories I have of her help days like today not be as hard. When a memory of my grandma pops in to my head it makes me smile too. When I was writing this post yesterday, I remembered what her laugh was like and that comforted me a lot.
What a great article. You made your grandma proud because you are a great gardener. We all have stories about how we started gardening and who inspired us in the first place. Thanks for sharing your story.
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