Comfrey Symphytum uplandicum “Christopher Lloyd” from Marilyn R.
Written by Juliet S. and Penny H.
Iris “Eleanor Roosevelt” with Columbine “Green Apples,” both from Sue B.
A gardener’s memories aren’t always of plants, but sometimes of gardening friends, through plants. Intertwined with the memories of her plants are a late friend’s engaging quirks, anecdotes, and spirit, so that it is not possible to think of that plant, without thinking also of that friend. When we contemplate, for example, some hardy, low-maintenance geraniums that grow and spread with ease, that a friend dug for us years ago, donning her bee-keepers headgear, and driving a cart down her grounds to dig and haul for us, we always, at the same time, think of that friend.
Just as smells from our past bring back memories that hit us with stunning clarity, it is also the case with the sight of a shrub or perennial. If it has come from a friend, an avid gardener always remembers that, since we communicate with one another through our plants. We give and trade plants, and this process becomes for us a sort of language that only gardeners understand, because only we know the anecdotes and memories that a certain iris or hypericum brings to our minds. The photos here link us to our late gardening friends through our common language and love of plants.
Iris “Beverly Sills” from Marilyn R.
Daylily “Gentle Shepherd” from Sue B.
Louisiana Iris “Black Gamecock” from Lee B.
