I remember my mother and grandmother talking garden when I was growing up. It centered mainly around what kind of beans were best to grow, the sweetest corn, how many tomatoes to put in, where to put the onions. Practical stuff. We always had a huge garden, and my grandparents would come out on weekends and help with it. Canning was serious business around our house, and the kitchen would be hot and steamy from the processing of all the veggies. We never had air conditioning--that was for rich folks! I don't know how she stood the heat, but boy, the smells coming out of the kitchen would be fantastic. All the food Mom put up would last us through the winter. Gardening wasn't just a hobby, it was a necessity!
But I remember Mom having flowers too, and she always let me help with planting the garden (or at least, I thought I was helping) and she would let me have a patch to call my own. I remember the fantastic poppies along the fence row, the lilacs, and the roses. Grandma had to have pansies and johnny-jump-ups, marigolds, hollyhocks, and peonies. Mom was more adventuresome than Grandma, both in flowers and vegetables, always trying new things. I remember one year when she planted a whole row of spaghetti squash. We ate it all summer long it seemed. I thought we were going to have it growing out our ears! But, today I love spaghetti squash, and I love to try new things--in the garden, in the kitchen--in life. Thanks Mom!
This is a picture of my mother at my sister's house. Part of our vacation was to see DH's family in Arkansas, and then mine in Illinois. We take our time on the road, and stop at every antique store between here and there. We have our favorites that we stop at every year, and then new ones we love to discover. Mom went with us to a new one we discovered in Princeton. We were worn out by the time we were through, but we all had a good time and came home with a few goodies.
My sister's cat, Kitty, knows a soft lap and a gentle heart when she sees my mom. 
The rest of the pictures are of flowers from my mother's garden. I have developed my passion for gardening from her. She fusses every year that she has to quite gardening, but I think she enjoys them too much to give them up entirely. I keep telling her to container garden. Just pot some flowers on her back step and patio where she would sit and enjoy them, but I think she enjoys her wild flowers too much to give them up.
I hope you enjoyed the walk around my mother's garden as much as I did. It will have to last me until next year.
