Visiting my cousins, going to their grandparents... running through rows of a Raspberry patch and having fun (age 4,5,6...)
While growing up, a neighbor, Mr. Moore, would come home from his job and attend to his vegetable garden.
He always shared his tomatoes, and I never forgot the taste of fresh picked corn, uncooked, as sweet as butter... by age 12 I dug my first vegetable garden, and I fell in love with the activity.
During that time, I wandered the fields of a (soon to be) defunct estate, adjacent to my home. Early on, it occurred to me that deliberate care had been taken to create a beautiful landscape of non-native/native trees and shrubs: streams guided, their pathways bordered with stone walls; an island with an open air hut, Quaker Ladies (Bluets) by the stream... all planned and waiting to be enjoyed...
(age 10) Meeting Jean, along with her sister, Doris, who showed me perennial/herb gardening, flower arranging, and design.
In 1978, having graduated with a B.S. in Ornamental Horticulture, I house sat/gardened for Nancy and Walter Howard, in Wayne Pa. Their garden impressed me, and I hoped one day to draw' on my own piece of the green earth.
Home is where you land after a day of being involved in a world of "other places."
What's fun about experiencing other environs, past and present: (at the right time) incorporating aspects of their design to enhance your own garden.
Some places I like to visit:
Longwood Gardens, http://www.longwoodgardens.org/Directions_1_2_4.html
Chanticleer, http://www.chanticleergarden.org/history.html
Morris Arboretum, http://www.business-services.upenn.edu/arboretum/visit_directions.shtml
Triple Oaks Nursery & Herb Garden, http://www.tripleoaks.com/
Meadowbrook Farm, http://www.meadowbrookfarm.org/
What say you?
Feel free to send this to other people...
Everyone has memories...
Michael Bruce
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9 comments:
Early garden memories include hiding in the rows of corn my Mom had planted- to the detriment of the corn crop, I'm afraid...
The best early garden memory was of my Uncle Willie and Aunt Gert's place in Holmdel. They were well-heeled, and always had a live-in cook and housemaid. Caroline, one of the most tolerant, and hence longest-staying, was from France, and had a kitchen garden she tended, which was really adequate for the household of the 3 of them. I remember my first radish, delicious berries of all sorts, tomatoes, of course. She had even coaxed an old peach tree to fruit... She saw that I was fascinated, and would let me help her gather for the next meal, when I had the special pleasure of staying there over a couple of nights [no siblings!].
Very Interesting..... Does Platts have a website ?
You have spent some time there
Very interesting..... Does Platts have a website? You have spent many hours there
Platts (indeed): http://www.yelp.com/biz/platts-farm-market-clarksboro Probably the best value when purchasing plants...
Comment deleted above is here, below, with correction to my misspelling
From a college friend, Diane Primrose Nordmark
(couldn't post to comments, for some reason; I'll investigate) I received this response:
My memories of plants began very early- my grandparents had a farm and we lived "down the lane" (Primrose Lane!) from them. I planted marigolds at about age 4 and harvested the dried seeds to grow the next year. Next were pumpkins and cucumbers on an old dirt pile...I surprised my parents when they grew and produced! My relatives nurtured my love of plants- Uncle Herb bought me pansies to start a flower bed- Aunt Helen bought the begonia for me that was a fire house dinner table decoration. Picking, pickling, canning, shelling, snapping, & eating was always going on at my Nana's during the growing season. My Pop Pop would find pussy willows in the spring for Nana, wild sweet peas in the summer, and I got SO mad when he'd chop down the bleeding heart- I loved to pull the flower apart to find the "slippers, perfume bottle & earrings". I still have peonies from their perennial bed that have to be over 100 years old. They move when I do! A guidance counsellor once asked me what I enjoyed doing & try to make that my vocation...with a name like Primrose, I HAD to go into Ornamental Horticulture! Glad I also went to DelVal & met up with Michael! :)
Thanks, Di! -- Michael
My earliest gardening memory was the building of a window box and planting morning glories in it the summer I turned 12. I went off to camp for most of the summer. One of my friends at camp confided in me that he missed his cat terribly. Since I lived in a small apartment in the Bronx on the fifth floor, we had no furry pets. I recall attempting to connect with him by telling him how much I missed my window box. (Please control any derisive laughter.) Love your site, Michael.
Mel
Two things I remember clearly. How tall cannas were compared to me; I had to crane my neck to see the flowers and the wonderful fragrance of lantana, which is in the mint family, so every time I walked by it, my hands and arms and clothes took on that rich, earthy smell. One of these days I'll post a baby picture of me among the cannas in my blog Furball Cottage Narrative. Would you like that? I also remember the white tuberoses my grandmother always had in vases in the house. It was the fragrance of heaven and church and love all wrapped in one flower. She always had flowers in the house but only white ones! There was a woman who came from the country every week balancing a tall can full of flowers on her head and she always left two bunches of flowers by the fron door, even if nobody was home. Now I'm wondering how she got paid. But I digress... That's what happens when one starts reminiscing. LOVE YOU, MICHAEL. Carmen
I think whoever JMSchnell is has a heart of gold! How can there be any derisive laughter? One can miss morning glories in the Bronx just as much as a kitty-cat in-- where? Manhattan? How did the morning glories do? Were they still alive when you came back from camp? I went to 4H camp. Don't ask. We had to kill our own chickens to make dinner and milk the goats. How's that for a city slicker kid who never learned to ride a bike or roller skate? Carmen
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