By Anne Thomas Carr

As a child, I loved walking among my Grandmother Thomas’ flowers. The colors and smells were exciting. She truly had a green thumb. Grandmother grew the old southern flowers, saved seeds, and cuttings. She would give me a small glass jar to collect 4 o’clock (Mirabilis jalapa) seeds. They were large round black seeds that were easy to find on the bushy plant full of trumpet-shaped dark pink flowers with a strong sweet fragrance. Blooms and seeds were on the same plant. I could cut any of the flowers I wanted and put them into glass jars.

From the spring bulbs and bushes of spring to the last Chrysanthemums of autumn, there were blooms. My favorite spring flower was the bright yellow Forsythia (Forsythia suspense) shrub that grew near the back door.

In the summer I was drawn to the very tall double Hollyhocks (Mallow alcea) in shades of pink and red. A second favorite were the brilliant blue delphinium (Ranunculaceae) flowers. There were multi-colored sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) on a fence. I would pick them to wear as earrings. There fragrance was heavenly.

When autumn rolled around, her Memories of Grandmother’s Flower Gardens favorite was the Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum asteraceae). It was the star of the yard. In fact, she established a large bed with numbers of varieties and colors that she started in a makeshift green house. My favorite was the large bronze pompom blossom that smelled spicy. She preferred the lavender blossoms. As the buds opened, they were cut and placed in tall, galvanized metal buckets for a trip to a local florist. Through the season she was able to sell all the Chrysanthemums. Grandmother found a way to turn a hobby and love of flowers into Christmas shopping money.

When she worked among her flowers, she always wore a wide brimmed straw hat, cotton print dress, old shoes with low heels in the lace up oxford style, and nylon stockings. Her gardening tool was a long oak handled hoe that she owned before her marriage in 1910. With the hoe I saw her trench prepared soil for seeds, plants, and bulbs. If a weed dared try to grow among her flowers, she would chop or dig it up with her hoe. I never saw her stoop to pull a weed when tending her gardens. She worked her magic with that hoe.

Today I am the proud owner of her garden hoe. The metal blade is only half of its original width due to decades of sharpening. I use it today and think of my Grandmother Thomas and her beautiful flowers. She was truly an inspirational gardener. Some people inherit property, money, or fine possessions. My inheritance was a well-used garden hoe with priceless memories. Grandmother lived to be 93 years old, married about 60 years, had 12 children, and 25 grandchildren. I believe that her flower gardens were her expression of beauty to everyone.

 

Anne Thomas Carr, a Master Gardner since 2018 and a member of Capital City, Central Alabama and Autauga Master Gardener Associations, lives in Pike Road, AL. For more information on becoming a master gardener, visit www.capcitymga.org  or email capcitymga@gmail.com.