The Planted Seeds That Continue to Grow...
I often speak of the huge role my mom's creativity played in cultivating my love for interior decorating and tribal art. However, after she passed, I have also thought about the other interests she held and how they impacted me as well.
My mom was exceptional in all things she pursued whether it was her career in Computed Tomography, decorating, collecting art or baking desserts. However, this is especially true when it came to gardening. In previous blog and social media posts, I spoke about my mom's amazing green thumb and the garden she created from a 1/2 acre of bare land. For Mother's Day, I thought it would be nice to share some of the photos taken over the years from her garden.
Lilies in all different colors were some of my mom's favorites!
Mom absolutely loved to garden and it was not uncommon for her to spend several hours outdoors on her days off to tend to her plants and flowers. She was voracious to learn as much as she could about gardening. She watched home and gardening shows on television and read magazines about plants as well. She could tell you the species names and what conditions were required for them to grow with the greatest ease. She was a plant savant!
This is one of my favorite photos of my mom. She's sitting on the sofa with my Great Aunt Gwen. Mom looks so cute here. What's funny is that I had seen this photo a zillion times before I noticed she was reading a gardening magazine!
This photo was taken before I was born. That's mom gardening on the balcony of the apartment in South Commons that she, my dad and older brother Marcus lived in before purchasing the family home. My twin sister and I were 6 months old when they bought the family home. Notice my brother is holding tomatoes that mom grew. She was gifted beyond measure.
The family home manicured by dad. The plants were all planted by my mom of course!
More and more plants everywhere you turn!
More from the garden...
Mom visited the local plant nursery practically every weekend to buy seeds or more plants. Her addiction was so intense that I recall her having to hide several plants that she bought on the side of the house until she could plant them before my dad noticed. LOL She grew tired of him complaining that she was "Buying too many plants" and that she "Had enough!" However, it was never enough. LOL My mom was fully committed to the expansion of her garden; her happy place.
A flower from my mom's garden. I don't know what it's called as I wasn't patient enough to inherit her green thumb!
Another flower from my mom's garden, demonstrating her incredible gardening skills.
Another beautiful flower from my mom's garden. I'm impressed by how full and big her flowers grew to be.
Flowers mom purchased from the nursery placed on the side of the pond my dad built.
Forever the dynamic design duo, my mom placed flowers and plants around and on top of the gazebo my dad built on the trail. My dad also laid down the pavers to create steps leading to the gazebo and a third trail. My dad also built the birdhouse on the tree.
More beautiful flowers from mom's "happy place!"
Mom and dad created so many trails in the backyard to showcase my mom's passion for gardening.
Another trail defined by pavers my dad installed. Not pictured, is a second pond that he installed to the right of this path.
My mom proudly giving my cousin Denise a tour of the garden when Denise and her sister Thea visited when Thea was in town from London.
Thea, another incredible woman who influenced me, emerges victoriously after conquering the Cummings trail in this photo!
While Denise looks on, Thea shows my mom the photos she took on her "field trip" along the trail! I think this was the year something went wrong with the grass because it's not as full here. I forget what happened to cause this.
Another view of the second trail my parents created. The house sits on a hill, so there are three trails.
My mom truly fed her passion for gardening. She demonstrated the beauty one could create if they simply committed to the process of creating something beautiful. My mom committed to the process over and over again and was not afraid of the hard work it took to one day see the fruits of her labor. She shared these fruits with all those who took notice. She shared them with me. Although I don't have a green thumb, I have inherited my mom's same work ethic and commitment to not only injecting more beauty into the world, but also sharing it with others.
Kabria
Founder, Global Attic LLC
www.globalattic.com
