Yard work has been consuming me for about a week now. I’ve been cleaning out flower beds and planting flowers in the pots on my porch. I’ve been down in the dirt working hard to make my little corner of the world beautiful. The late spring planting is my favorite time of year. I love to have my yard and porch overflowing with flowers.
Yesterday I transplanted some pansies and cleaned up another flower bed. As I worked I tried to think of the flowers my grandparents usually planted. I was able to remember a few things.
My dad’s parents had several rose bushes and they would plant impatiens near the back patio. My mom’s parents moved quite a bit and I only remember one outdoor plant – the lipstick plant. My grandma called it that, and so that is the name I called it – fun name right? I didn’t know for many years that it is actually called fuchsia. It’s interesting to me that of the flowers I can remember from my grandparents homes, I have planted them all. I planted one rose bush in the front yard of the first home we purchased. In our current home I plant impatiens and fuchsia in pots all over my porch. I often think of my two grandmothers when I tend my fuchsia and impatiens.
As I was caring for my pansies yesterday, I wondered if I had any photos of my grandparent’s flowers and found this photo of my great grandfather near a flower bed filled with pansies and small rose trees. I have planted pansies every spring since we moved into our current home. They are frost hardy so they make a good choice for early spring in Utah. After looking at the flowers in this photo I imagine that next spring when I plant my pansies I will be thinking of my great grandparents.
I wonder what other flower choices my ancestors made?