A few nights ago, I was invited to an impromptu star-gazing/wine-sipping in my friend’s garden. Karalina and Stan have created an incredible English-styled garden in the middle of small-town, rural Texas. I’m not sure how many fruit trees and other beautiful plants they have, but let’s just say that even garden shops in other states or countries are on first name basis with them. My friends don’t just love their gardens, they LOVE their gardens with a capital L. We sat amongst the beauty of the gardens, talking about this and that….Then my ears perked. Karalina mentioned the heirloom bulbs she got from the flooded house.
“I never really thought about bulbs at all, but now they have become symbolic of my Grandmother’s time. Heirloom Bulbs are like a link to the past.”
I just had to smile….another one hooked on heirloom bulbs. 🙂
Karalina put into words the feeling I’ve always had for these lovely flowers. It’s hard to explain to someone how special a 100 year old Oxblood Lily is, or how amazing the bloom of Ellen Bosenquat Crinum is. I simply can never get tired of the beauty of an Heirloom Bulb….but it’s more than just beauty. It’s a link to the past.
Gardens were different 100 years ago. People were different roo. Times were slower, friendships were deeper and families were closer. Sunday meals were spent watching cousins play as the pot roast cooked in a dutch oven. Picket fences lined with roses and Iris out-lined the yards, and neighbors still shared flowers and freshly-canned Mulberry jams. Times were simple. Days were long and people cherished the beauty of a simple bloom that happened just once a year.
I long for days like that.
Somehow, Heirloom Bulbs bring back the nostalgia of days of old. “A link to the past”, as Karalina put it. I can’t stop time or bring back the days of my Grandfather’s Danish farm in Nebraska, but I *can* live with intention and find my own links to the past to feel grounded. I don’t have to buy into the rat race or the big-box stores. I can nurture a 100 year old Oxblood Lily flower bulb that traveled with it’s gardener from Germany. I can preserve and protect the gardens of the past for generations to come.
Happy Gardening, my friends!