Give a Plant and Grow a Friend

                                 GIVE A PLANT AND GROW A FRIEND          

                                                            

                                                                 By

                                                Janet Baird Weisiger

      “When you have a minute, stop by my garden.  I’d like to introduce you to all my  ‘friends’,” Lois called across the lawn.

      Soon after my husband retired we built a beautiful new home in the country.  Lois lived in our new neighborhood and I was delighted with her gracious invitation.  Since I am a passionate gardener, I was intent on designing our new garden beds as soon as possible.  The south side of the house was the perfect location for laying out curved and shapely areas for perennials.  I had experienced enough gardening to recognize the dependability and long-lasting beauty of a perennial bed.  Challenged with virgin land surrounding our new home, and blessed with a woodland border, I was convinced these new flower beds would be the epitome of garden design.  What a delight to discover my new friend Lois shared my interest in gardening.

      Thus it was that on a warm, sunny July day, I accepted Lois’ invitation to meet her  ‘friends’.  Expecting to meet people who were members of her garden club, I was introduced instead to plants and flowers.  The ‘friends’ were not people.  Lois’ ‘friends’ were the horticultural specimens growing in her garden!  And what a garden!  She had extensive established garden beds in the English cottage garden design.  Flowers of all varieties harmoniously blended together in an informal pattern.  I marveled at the neat and well-tended gardens because I knew Lois was well into her 80’s.

      “I have the most unusual names for my flowers,” Lois told me.  “Here, let me show you.”

      We started walking through her lovely garden.  Cheerful petals of Shasta daisies, brilliant hues of red and pink Monarda, blue spikes of Jacob’s ladder, intermingled with tall stately spires of white and deep blue delphinium.  The heavy scent of oriental lilies hung in the air.  The soft pink flowers amid fuzzy leaves of lamb’s ears bordered the walkway.   It was beautiful!

      “It must have taken you many years to develop this garden,”  I commented.

      “Well, as I said, this is a special garden.”  Lois smiled. “The plants all have special names.  Here let me introduce you. This lovely one is Marian, my very first friend in this town.   And this one is Evelyn Stokes…..she always won the ‘Best in Show’ at our flower shows.  Over there is Phyllis.  She could create the most beautiful arrangements.  And see the blue spire?  That is special and I’ve named it Angela.  Angela died of cancer 5 years ago…..  dear lady….”

      Lois paused, as if recalling a precious moment.

      We moved further along the path.

      “Now, these are such a special joy.  This one is Rob…he grew the best tomatoes!   And see there….that tiny flower…well that one is Mary.  Mary has been president of our garden club forever, it seems.  She is the sweetest person, only about five feet tall but oh!,…. you should see her garden.”

      Confused, I shook my head.  “But I don’t understand.  I thought I knew all the horticultural and Latin names of flowers, and I don’t seem to recognize these names.”

      Lois laughed.  “I doubt if you would.  You see, all the plants and flowers in this garden came from someone else.  So I’ve named them after those dear friends.  Why some of these perennials are over 20 years old.  Some of the people who gave them to me aren’t even alive any more.  But when I walk through my garden I feel like I am surrounded with scores of friends.  People I’ve met over the years….People, well, like you, who just love to garden.

      “You see, when I first moved here, all I had for a garden was space.  No flower beds.  Just weeds and earth.  Gradually I met people….oh, in plant nurseries, or in town and we’d start to talk about gardens and flowers.  And before I knew it, people would say,  ‘I have to separate my peonies, or my astilbe, or my daisies’…and in no time at all I had a garden full of friends!

      “So I started calling the plants by the name of the person who gave it….Sort of a way to remember them.  To tell you the truth, I couldn’t tell you the proper horticultural names for most of these flowers.  But to me, they are my friends.

      “I like to continue that idea and that’s why I invited you to my garden.  I’ve dug up and separated some of these perennials. You know it really is healthy for those perennials to be divided every few years, and I want you to continue this tradition. 

      “You can call them Lois or whatever you want.  But that way you will always remember me.  And when it’s time for you to divide some of your peonies, lilies or daisies or whatever, you can give a plant and grow a friend.”

The following year, Lois passed away.  But she had left a legacy.  All over our county, her flowers and plants bloom and grow in hundreds of gardens.  Lois gave away the memory of her friends to be planted in other gardens and in doing so, she gave away herself.