Blooms and memories

Fond memories are treasured possessions.  Spending time walking through my yard  takes me down "memory lane" Years ago when my husband and I  bought our first home, which we named Locust Lane Farm, there was  a flower garden in the shape of a horseshoe in the front yard.    A gated driveway opened to passage over  a cattle crossing and a driveway lined with stately maple and locust trees.   A grove of  black locust trees framed the back of the house.  Locust trees are common in the Ohio landscape, and  this sweet scent continues to evoke fond and  lingering memories of the farm.     Twenty seven  years have past since we moved away, but these fond  memories remain.

The view from the front porch extended a half mile  to the north shore of buckeye lake, and included hundreds of acres of corn fields and  pasture where Angus beef grazed directly behind the house.  It was not uncommon to fall asleep to the lowing of  cattle.  We bought the property just before the blizzard of 1978. I remember snow drifts looming above the top of the car and traveling the last mile to the house  to  by snowmobile when the car could no longer progress in the  deep snow. 

The farm included  not only extensive flower beds but peach, pear and apple trees, two  grape arbors, and a vegetable garden that was 100' x 33'.   Organic gardening  became a regular subscription.  Gardening was a delight yielding  a constant supply of fresh vegetables and fruit and flowers  from spring to fall.  I fell in love with the spider wort plant and this  flower the has traveled with me over the years  and currently thrives in my garden. A curious little flower, it opens with purple blooms by day, and closes at night. It transplants easily and thrives in partial sun.

Blooms  bring back memories. Today  favorite scent is the lilac which evokes  memories of the days I spent with my grandmother cutting fresh flowers and greens from her garden.  She always had a bouquet of flowers on her kitchen table.   I  transplanted her lilac bush and over the years I have added several varieties  to my garden including Miss Kim lilac, planed in memory of my father,  and dwarf Korean lilacs outside the bedroom windows.   Their scent sweeps  through the house each spring during the bloom.

Click to see additional pictures of Lilacs