Category Archives: Generations

October 17, 2021 · 9:54 pm

THE POWER OF A SEED

My mother loved to garden.

Her only problem was

That for much of her life

She lived in two different towns

At the same time.

Sometimes even two different states!

That made tending a garden

A bit of a challenge for her.

When Daddy finally retired

They added a greenhouse

To the house on the farm.

She would putter there for days.

I watched her tenderly

Prick out baby lettuce plants

And give them their own home.

Knowing that since they lived in the country

Chances were pretty good

That a mouse

Would likely enjoy more lettuce

Than she would.

But she kept at it

Year after year.

She died suddenly one summer

While we were all on vacation together

Leaving everything in her life

And her greenhouse

As something of a still life.

One glorious fall day

I walked into

Her untended playpen

To find it full of vines

Covering floor to ceiling

And loaded with dozens of

Baby Boo Pumpkins.

She had been gone

For over a year.

Yet the power of a seed

Brought her right back

To me and my memories

Of her in this place.

Perhaps that’s why

I have an endlessly

Growing collection

Of seeds.

They connect me to the past

And show me

The hope of the future.

Gail

“A seed neither fears light nor darkness, but uses both to grow.”
― Matshona Dhliwayo

2 Comments

Filed under Fall, Farmers, Gardening, Gardening Mentors, Generations, Oklahoma Gardening, Pumpkins, Seeds, Uncategorized, Wise Women

August 15, 2021 · 4:32 pm

OPTIMISM

You may have noticed

That I haven’t written much

Over the last 18 + months.

I could blame it on the pandemic

But that is really not the case.

On a glorious Sunday

In early February of 2020

I took a nasty fall

From my attic.

Thankfully I bounced off a refrigerator

And a car

Slowing my fall

To the garage floor.

Breaking

Well…a lot.

Don’t worry

With lots of good medical care

And support

I have recovered.

I will admit though, that I have not been

The cheeriest person of late.

Not the full blown depression

I have experienced

And written about

In the past,

But a kind of dullness

That is not me.

This afternoon

As I was planting what will

Hopefully be

A fall crop of peas

There it was

My old friend optimism.

I must be really optimistic

To be planting peas

In Oklahoma

In August.

Then I remembered this picture

That Kristina sent me yesterday.

Last summer

I taught my grandson, Henry

How to save marigold seeds.

He’s a quick study.

What better picture

Of optimism

Than a child

Holding a glass full of seeds.

Gail

“Sometimes when you’re in a dark place you think you’ve been buried,

but you’ve actually been planted.”

Christine Caine

4 Comments

Filed under Children in the Garden, Generations, Grandchildren, Grandchldren Generations, late summer garden, Marigolds, Optimism, Peas, Seeds, Uncategorized

Tagged as Optimism

May 9, 2021 · 8:56 pm

IT’S MAY!

There’s a line

In the title song of Camelot

That rings in my head

This time of year.

“It’s May

It’s May

The lusty month of May.”

I’m pretty sure they were singing

About a garden.

Iris

Peony

And Roses

Are hitting their stride

Just in time for Mother’s Day.

So sharing seems like

The natural thing to do.

Thanks for coming girls.

Happy Mother’s Day

To every conceivable kind of mother.

Gail

2 Comments

Filed under Flower Arrangements, Garden House, Gardening, Gardening Friends, Generations, Iris, Mother's Day, Peonies, roses, Uncategorized

January 19, 2020 · 7:02 pm

THE HAND OFF

There are some days

I just really want to talk to my parents.

This summer it will be 20 years since my mother died

And 11 since my dad.

That’s a long time.

I’ve accumulated many questions

In those decades.

I seemed to have hit an age

Or stage

Where I want to draw on their wisdom.

It goes something like this…

Many of the things in my life,

Things that have been staples,

Seem to be changing

Radically.

Institutions that have been the foundation

Of our culture

No longer have the same importance.

It’s definitely time to hand the responsibility

Off to the next generation.

But do they want it?

Did we want it

When it was our turn

To take the lead?

I don’t remember even asking myself that question.

And if we let go

We can be guaranteed

There will be change.

That word that so many dread.

So how do we graciously

Begin to step aside

Providing help and sharing wisdom

At the same time embracing their changes.

How do we hold on

And let go

At the same time?

Live with the paradox.

It’s a delicate balancing act

For both generations.

I have a great example of this

In my life

As chair of the Nurture Committee

At my church.

Five smart, talented, wise and committed

Young women join me on the committee.

We constantly seek ways to nurture our congregation

And our community.

Reaching out to young families

With new ideas and activities

And working to support the foundation

That so many have known for so long.

So how do we keep all the balls in the air?

How do we keep what matters

And still make room for innovation?

How do we decide what is important

Enough to keep

And what to let go of?

How does one generation

Graciously encourage the next?

Pondering,

Gail

4 Comments

Filed under Generations, Timing, Uncategorized

May 2, 2019 · 7:14 pm

GOOD NEWS EASTER EGG HUNT v.7

It’s become a sort of tradition

The Good News Easter Egg Hunt.

Happening on the Saturday between

Good Friday

And Easter Sunday.

John and I are the official host

But it’s actually put together by the Nurture Committee at our church.

Nurture.

I really like that word.

It is defined as

“To care for and encourage the growth or development of someone or something.”

And that is what we do

As a church

As a committee

And as individuals.

Encourage one another.

What better place to nurture someone

Than in a garden

A happy garden is one that is not necessarily

Well tended.

But well nurtured.

The difference to me is that a well nurtured garden

Is done so willingly – lovingly.

Often people walk into my garden

And remark how much work it must be.

The truth is it is not work at all

To me

It’s the place I go

To think

To sing

To ponder.

I love sharing it

With the children

And families who come every year.

There are many ways to nurture a child.

Inviting them into your garden

To romp and play

To explore and discover

To create

Is, to me, the very definition of nurturing.

Gail

Thank you to Abbey, Andrew, Beth, Eddie Lou, Katie, Kay, Keith, Mary, Megann & Tashanna

4 Comments

Filed under Easter Egg Hunt, Gardening, Gardening Friends, Generations, Grandchildren, Uncategorized

August 6, 2017 · 10:02 pm

MERCI

No one goes on a tri unnamed (2) p of a lifetime

Without the help of

Shall we say “a village”.

First in my village

Is John

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Chief “encourager”

And underwriter.

Without him

I would have spent June

In my own garden.

And Merci to Elliott

Who went from being an involved

Parent of not yet 3-year-old twins.

To being the one in charge.

Giving Kristina this opportunity.

Then come Debra & Kristina.

A trip like this should be taken

With friends

Good friends

Who are willing to share your excitement,

Travel through today’s stressful airports,

Laugh until you loose control,

Not keep count

Of croissant consumption,

And give each other a little space

When we need it.

And yes,

A mother-in-law

And daughter-in-law

Can be good friends – great actually.

Much to the amazement of many!

On the subject of friends.

We made many new ones.

unnamed

And we learned that a few of us

From the middle of the country

Had much in common with

The majority of travelers

From the West Coast.

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A late night conversation

On the first night

With Bonnie and Annette

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Proved that.

Not to mention

A few bonding misadventures

Along the way.

_DSC9059

And Merci

To Elizabeth.

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For inviting us in.

Actually drawing us in

To her dream

That has so enriched her life.

She’s going again next year.

If you have dreams of

Dew laced gardens

In the early morning light

Of the north of France.

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Au revoir,

Gail

“My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece”

Claude Monet

http://www.elizabethmurray.com

Photo credits to Kathleen Hurley, Duncan Berry, Elizabeth Murray, Debra Mitchell, Kristina Wynne and whoever else I have added to my files and gotten jumbled together! _DSC7657

CLAIRE AND CONSTANCE

On Wednesday we traveled to Vargeneville sur la Mer

On the Normandy Coast

To visit the Mallet sisters

Claire and Constance

And their homes and gardens.

Claire lives on the family estate

Le Bois de Moutiers

IMG_0282 (1)

Built by her ancestors

One of whom was a Haviland.

As in china.

Gardens and china.

I’m in double heaven.

It was designed by the then young British architect

Edwin Lutyens in the Arts & Crafts style.

IMG_0384 (1)

It’s a splendid house

A home really.

Unlike many period homes I’ve toured

This one was inviting

Full of life and light

Streaming into the house

Through large and plentiful windows

And back out with a view of the forest

Leading to the sea.

The grounds and the gardens

Were designed by Lutyens and the owner Guillaume Mallet

In conjunction with Gertrude Jekyll

The renowned English garden designer

Who brought us the perennial border

And a more relaxed feel to gardens

The garden is walled

And divided

With crisp clipped yew hedges.

IMG_0275 (1)

There are sweeping perennial borders

Doing what they do best.

Amaze and inspire.

Claire is tall and stately

And ever so gracious

Walking the garden with us

Pruners in hand

Snipping away as she goes.

She reminds me of my friend Nancy

Elegant

Full of grace.

She tells us the stories of how the home and garden

Came to be.

Of the war years when it was occupied.

Of the art

And family treasures

That have been sold

To help pay for the upkeep of the estate.

When my family was struggling with

What to do with the family farm

Hers was having the same conversation

On another continent.

From Claire’s home

We traveled to see Constance.

At 85 she gardens 4 -5 hours a day.

I like this lady.

She is shorter

More casual

And fun.

Her garden reflects her personality

Less formal

Wild in areas

And on a smaller scale.

Widowed for 20 years

With both children living abroad

Most of the year

You might think she is alone.

But something tells me

People are drawn to her.

Kristina was.

Constance reminded her

Of her own spunky grandmother.

They had a long visit

Including a tour of her home

Which is much smaller

More intimate.

She told Kristina

Her garden was inspired by Gertrude Jekyll

Since she was a friend of her parents

And grandparents.

“She was in the milk of my bottle.”

Constance drank her in

In a sense.

Gardening is a common bond

Through generations

And across continents.

Gail

“A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust.”

Gertrude Jekyll

“The lesson I have thoroughly learnt, and wish to pass on to others, is to know the enduring happiness that the love of a garden gives.”

Gertrude Jekyll

http://www.boisdesmoutiers.com/index.php

PUTTERING AROUND

You can tell that spring is winding down.

The temperature is rising slightly.

There are fewer rainy days.

And the big garden jobs are done.

The few pots I have are planted.

Tulips have been pulled.

And the plants I couldn’t resist

Have nestled into their new home.

Now comes the weekend

When there is time

To putter.

You know

Doing the little things

That you’ve been walking past

And ignoring

Till the time was right.

Digging and thinning the Iris.

Hanging the sticky traps for those nasty thrip.

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Spreading the crushed egg shells around the Hosta

Hoping to discourage the slugs and snails.

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Planting the first Zinnias in the bare spots.

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Staking, trimming and caging the tomatoes.

It’s going to be a good tomato year

Since I’m all ready seeing blooms and tomatoes

And finding time to see the world

Through my macro lens

Discovering a pollen laden bee

Inside a Hollyhock bloom.

I so enjoy puttering.

Gail

P.S. In my last blog I said that there was not a farmer in my generation.

I stand corrected and apologize.

My sister Ann took delivery on her new tractor this week.

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She’ll use it as she tends her 40 acre pecan grove.

Planted by our father.

Which she inherited

And is improving.

So she can pass it on

To the next generation.

1 Comment

Filed under Bees, Generations, hollyhocks, Hosta, Nature, spring, Tomato, Uncategorized, Zinnia

May 21, 2017 · 8:28 pm

ROOTS

I woke up this morning

Thinking about roots

A word that has a double meaning in my life

Since I have deep roots in the prairie

Being the fourth generation to

Live on these plains.

I come from a long line of farmers

My father

Both grandfathers.

The great grandfathers

Whose story I know

And likely those whose stories I don’t know.

And my mother

Grandmothers

And great grandmothers

Image (2)-002

Who farmed along side

Their fathers and husbands.

So I’m genetically connected

To the land.

It’s interesting to me

To see how this genetic predisposition

Translates from generation

To generation.

My great grandfathers

And grandfathers farmed to survive

On the plains .

During the Dust Bowl.

To provide for their large families

Who helped them work the land.

My father’s generation

Would have to be more creative

To continue to farm.

Many taking non farm jobs

To help make the farm work.

Then came my generation.

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No farmers among us.

But in me farming morphed into gardening

Serious gardening.

Rooted in a love of watching things grow.

Knowing that the weather can be

Your greatest friend

Or foe

Now comes Elliott’s generation

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In the span of a few weeks

His graceful old Redbud tree was

Frozen while in full bloom.

His beautiful Hostas were

Shredded by a 20 minute hail storm.

Only to be snowed upon the next week.

Gardening is tough

Even if or especially if you are an urban gardener.

I believe that because gardening is tough

It makes people

Tough

Resilient

Patient

Hopeful

So I’ll go to my garden

To replant dahlias

That didn’t survive the

Frigid blast of early December.

I’ll rejoice in the two purple Poppies

That will multiply in coming years,

And I’ll thank God

For the deep roots

Of my garden

And my life.

Gail

3 Comments

Filed under Farmers, Generations, Gratitude, Hosta, Poppy, Redbud Trees, Uncategorized

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