Legacy
(a brief garden update)
My father watches over the garden from another place now. At least I’d like to believe that, even though my spiritual notions hover in that vague realm between nothing and slightly Buddhist. In the weeks before he died, we’d wheel him out to the deck so he could see the flowers and see what small progress I’d made, weeding the beds, laying tarp on the main vegetable area to rid it of grass and dandelions. Sometimes I’d ask him to identify plants, but it was difficult. His eyesight wasn’t what it used to be, and there were days when just looking up and out, away from his lap, was a chore.
Closer to the end, when he was unable to leave his bed, I described the plants to him:
We’ve got nasturtiums now, I said. Lots of them, and I’ve bought two big half-whiskey barrels to put over the septic lids.
There’s bronze fennel to go in the middle, then nasturtiums — the trailing kind — around the edges. When they bloom, it’ll be glorious.
Oh, and we’ve got dill, and two kinds of thyme, and savory, and sage. And I’ve found those wonderful metal spirals to keep the tomatoes in line. And spinach and zucchini, and Walla Walla onions, and the chives and rosemary look amazing.
And you’ll never guess what we found between two of the blueberry bushes. A volunteer potato plant! It even has little baby spuds on one of the roots (which I quickly reburied, of course).
These past few weeks, after he left us, I worked like a demon. It became an imperative with me — as if I’d be dishonoring his memory to not end each day with cracked, dirty fingernails and mountains of progress.
I came home from our brief trip to Portland to find more flowers in bloom, the vegetable starts flourishing (except for the onions which have become bird lunch), and a single lily in the fish pond.
I’m not quite sure if all is right in the world yet, but I know all is right in the garden. This one’s for you, Dad.
May 26th, 2005 at 6:49 pm
My sympathies to you Mrs. D. And I know how you feel. The pictures of the garden are beautiful and I’m sure that, from where he is, your dad enjoys looking at it.
Please keep posting pictures of your garden. I look forward to seeing them.
May 27th, 2005 at 1:08 am
What a lovely post…thank you for sharing. I’m so sorry for your loss, Mrs. D.
May 27th, 2005 at 5:38 am
My sympathies also Mrs. D. Thanks for a wonderful post on my mother’s 90th birthday, who is also slipping away to another hopefully wonderful place.
May 28th, 2005 at 11:01 am
Miz D,
I’m sorry to hear about your father, but glad you got to do the garden for him.
I was struck by your photos and thought you might enjoy some by a friend of mine:
http://www.macdisk.com/galerie/index.en.htm
Kevin
May 28th, 2005 at 9:56 pm
Your father was very fortunate to have you as a daughter and I am sure he knew that. God bless and keep you and make his face to shine upon you with love and caring as you grieve your Dad’s physical loss.
June 3rd, 2005 at 4:15 pm
Thank you everyone for your kind comments. I will definitely be posting more garden photos as the season progresses.
Chefdoc — my best wishes for peaceful journey for your mother.
Kevin, your friend’s pictures are lovely. I see he too has a fondness for catching bugs on flowers. :-) Thanks for sharing them.