I love drawing flowers and looking at flowers but I want nothing to do with knowing their names or growing them. My father used to always point out the plants and trees and try and quiz us kids on the names. I always failed. My brother is now subjecting my nephews to the same harsh treatment. Did other people have to go through this testing madness?That planter you see hanging outside the window has been empty for about five years now. Sad I know.
My parents always had a large garden and they would make a little plot for each of us kids and we could grow what we wanted. My siblings thought it was great and they too now enjoy gardening. I lasted one season.
My father's thing was roses. We had amazing roses and I'm talking roses on the prairies not roses here where you stick anything into the ground and it just flourishes. Roses in Saskatchewan needed a lot of work and babying. At one point we had 90 rose bushes in a profusion of colours. They were incredible and so beautiful but the amount of work was mind boggling. Every winter they had to be protected and my father would experiment with different ways of trying to make sure they survived the winter. A popular method was to build little wooden structures for each and every one of them, fill them with sawdust to insulate them and then cover them with plastic. Crazy.
Our entire backyard was a garden except for one small patch of grass that we could laze around on.
This little trip down memory came about this morning as I was out walking and taking pictures of flowers. I discovered there's a special button on my camera for taking flowers so I have gone a little crazy. I had to force myself to limit myself to only posting five. Hey, it's my blog I can do what I want. If flowers aren't your thing there's no point in scrolling any further!
17 comments:
tc...those are beautiful flowers shots - glad you found that setting on your camera! I just learned how to use mine too (after trying to take close ups of flowers last year - I couldn't understand why they were all so blurry yet other people's so clear and focused).
My Dad is a fanatical gardener. When he was knocking on death's door after his surgery for cancer, the only concern he had (other than his family, of course) was "how am I going to get my calla lily bulbs planted in time?". He unplants every bulb and then replants them each year. People stop and admire his lilles, and he usually runs to his "supply" and gives them a few bulbs. Most in the neighbourhood know him as "the flower guy". (I'll post pics later).
I really enjoyed this post (and the picture of your kitty....that's the life!)
Deb, your father and my father would get along great. I can just see the two of them kicking back and going on and on about gardening and how to do this and that.
Look forward to seeing your pictures later.
The magic button. Beautiful pictures.
I tried to get my kids interested when they were younger. Potatoes intrigued Clint one year because they were fun to dig up. Amy loves tomatoes but it's me growing them.
I like tanning in the sun so gardening works out perfect. I have a radio on in the background, a cold drink on a concrete block and I'm ready to go.
My Bulb of Burden (get it - ha) is dahlias. They are have nice red flowers, bloom all summer, and reproduce. I have more each year. I need to dig them up and let them dry before we get a continued hard frost.
I drag them down to the basement in plastic buckets. They are dormant till spring. Once it's warm enough, they start sprouting on their own. I then have to replant the bulbs.
It's alot of work but once again, I enjoy it.
Busterp, I'm tired just reading about all the hauling of buckets of bulbs up and down the stairs!
Having a yard full of dahlias would be nice though.
Now the tanning with the radio in the background stretched out on a lawn chair with a cold drink in my hand sounds likes heaven.
I was never quizzed on flower names, but geography and math always seemed to surface at the dinner table and that was never good for business. I think thats why I'm afraid of maps.
My mother plants roses and clamatus and does a beautiful job of stringing them through the fence. I kill most flowers. I have bamboo and a catcus I have yet to harm though. Okay, its just a catcus now.
Allison, we weren't quizzed on geography as such but we certainly quizzed on world politics. My parents were big believers in knowing about the world we live in. Still are and they still quiz us.
I love clematus by the way. That's one of the few flowers I actually know the name of.
Leazwell, in some ways it surprises me too because I love to be outdoors but I find I would rather be walking or biking than pulling up weeds and digging around in the dirt.
Those are lovely flowers shots but even lovelier is Sammy Jo making the best of a good situation.
My parents always had a HUGE vegetable garden and made us toil in it endlessly. I hated gardening with a passion. And then one day, I planted a flower in my own yard and then went kinda nuts with gardening for about 5 or 6 years, but now I have come to realise that it's actually work, so the garden is on its own.
I've always liked plant names, but I like disease names too, so.
Barbara, I had forgotten you were into disease names. I remember that now. I'm pretty lucky that right now there's another tenant that is really into gardening and she decks our stairs all out in plants. She is welcome to it.
Change in plans (if you read my blog over the next few days you'll know why) and I'm coming to your town for a visit tomorrow (wed.). I'll call you and we'll laugh like demons over what's gone down lately.
Small town teacher, I can't wait to hear from you. I am so damned curious right now!
tc...you heard about the pet food recall, right? Just making sure because I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to your buddy.
Those flowers are beautiful and i love the first picture... the life of a cat is pretty cool isn't it?
My Mom was an horticulturist for a long time... i'm so happy that she never quizzed us on plants (and she is not doing it today!)... if we ask, she'll tell us the name of the plant but no quiz!
aaaah look at the kitty!
so not my family. our joke was my mom could kill plastic plants. i personally have killed a cactus. although as a kid, i did have a rose bush and i cried when we moved and i couldn't take it with me.
Deb, thanks for the recall notice. Sammy Jo and I appreciate it. I've looked at the list and I'm pretty he has never had any of the recalled cat food.
Evelyne, no quizzes is definitely the way to go. Growing up was your place filled with nice plants?
668 you killed a cactus! I'll take the trees outside your house over a garden anyday.
Those flowers are so pretty. We just got snowed on today so I am a little jealous but very glad for you and glad you shared:)
Faith, snow? We're pretty cold here but thankfully no white stuff.
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