1935

Kew Gardens in London, England

The URL of my blog is http://raindancer1935.blogspot.com/ I've been asked what the significance of 1935 is. And here is my circuitous answer:

Kew Gardens in London, England

Growing up, I had a mother with a green thumb. Our house was filled with house plants, some hanging from macramé plant hangers. Our yard had a prolific vegetable garden. Our summer meals were filled with homegrown tomatoes, green beans, squash, black-eyed peas and more. My mother nurtured the fruit trees in our yard. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of plucking a pear off the tree and munching on it as I floated in our swimming pool on a hot summer day. And the flowers, oh the beautiful flowers in beds, tucked around the huge oak trees or in pots on the porch.

St. James Park in London, England

This spring my mother went in the hospital, she was improving and my friends and family encouraged me to keep my travel plans. On my trip, I took many photographs of the beautiful flowers. So many varieties I had never seen before. I could not wait to share my photos with my mother. But it was not to be. When I returned from my trip I discovered she had taken a turn for the worse. I told her all about the flowers, but she wasn't strong enough to sit up in bed and look at photos. And far too quickly she was gone.

Tuileries Garden in Paris, France

I do not have a green thumb. But now I am buying potting soil, ceramic pots and houseplants. I have an overwhelming urge to fill my house with African Violets and make macramé plant hangers. I want to plant Wisteria next spring. My mother did not leave me money, fine art or items of monetary value. But she left me a priceless gift: a garden in my heart. My mother was born in the year 1935. And I miss her terribly.

Giverny, France