"If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere."
- Vincent van Gogh
When I was a little girl, my Mother saw an advertisement for a house that was for sale. What caught her attention? The house was on two acres and it had a solarium on the back with a 180 degree view of the surrounding English garden. After reading that, she just had to see it, so we drove out to the country to look at it.
The house was owned by a retired English sea captain and his wife. After his death, the wife couldn't continue living there alone, so she had no other choice but to put the house up for sale.
It was one of those houses where once you see it...you know you will never be happy living anywhere else. My Mother fell in love with the house and the English garden. However, my father took one look at all the yard work and wanted no part of it. My Mother assured him that he wouldn't have to do any of it, "Bethie and I will do it all."
We knew nothing about gardening!!! We didn't know the difference between a flower and a weed. The most valuable thing the previous owner left with the house was "The Wise Garden Encyclopedia" with a copyright date of 1951.
I can't tell you how many hours we spent in the garden looking up each plant to determine if it was a flower, to let grow, or a weed to pull out. I'm sure we pulled out more flowers than weeds that first year...but we learned.
We learned about trimming boxwood hedges, clipping English tea roses, pruning fruit trees and raking leaves...lots of leaves. At the end of summer, we learned about picking fruit and vegetables from the garden and how to can and preserve them.
We learned so much during those few years and the best part was...we learned together. My Mother instilled in me the love of gardening and a connection with nature. She also taught me the importance of being self-sufficient, self-disciplined, having perseverance and most important...not to be afraid of hard work. These lessons have followed me throughout my life and I have tried to pass them on to my son and now my grandsons.
I never thought I would ever find another house like that one, it was "one of a kind." However, a few years ago, I found a small townhouse. It's nowhere near the size of that house, but it has the same "feel". The front yard has the 40 foot trees and rolling green lawn. The back yard is small but it's my "bit of earth". I have room for fruit trees and a garden, where I can teach my grandsons the difference between a flower and a weed.
This year the peach and plum trees produced so much fruit we had to make peach and plum jam. I was able to teach the boys about canning and preserving food. The boys play an important role in the garden by selecting and planting the fruit trees and deciding what vegetables we plant in the garden. This fall they will be helping Grandma with pruning the trees and composting the garden for winter.
All the things my Mother taught me...I'm passing on to my grandsons. And yes...I still have "The Wise Garden Encyclopedia", copyright 1951. I'll be passing it on to my grandsons too, along with all the stories behind it.
