I remember a time when walking around someone’s backyard to view the flowers and shrubs they had planted was a part of visits to the home’s of friends. Touring the yard was the prequel to my Grandma Minnie’s delicious home cooked meals. If we were lucky she would give us cuttings and seeds for some of her most outstanding flora and my mother would plant them here and their in our own backyard. 

Once I was an adult with a home of my own one of my favorite places to visit was the childhood home of my dear friend, Linda. I always knew that such times would include a tour of Mrs. Daigle’s backyard which was always a delight to see. Just as with those journey’s to my grandmother’s house I would leave with pots of delightful specimens to try out at my home as well. Those plants were quite special because I had always delighted in being with that sweet lady.

My grandmother used to say that shared plants were always better than the ones purchased at a nursery. They were gifts that would remind us of the people who provided them for years to come. I can attest to the fact that gifts of nature are a forever delight because my own backyard is testimony to that idea. 

I have a rose bush from my friend Marita that reminds me of her every time it blooms with its deep red flowers. She also brought Easter lilies to the celebration that I hosted for years and to this very day they bloom each spring. Marita has been gone for many years now but she comes back to life through those gifts that she so graciously brought to festoon my backyard.

One of my prizes is a matching set of potted ferns. The originals that I had came to me from my friend Linda on the day of my youngest daughter’s birth. They originated in New Orleans, a place for which Linda and I share a great love. I tended my fern year after year repotting it when it outgrew the original container, then dividing it into two parts when I no longer had a big enough pot for its amazing growth over the years. Sadly we experienced an unusually cold and lengthy freeze one year and even though I had brought the fern into the garage for the winter it was not able to overcome the days of subfreezing temperatures. I was devastated when the pride and joy among my plants refused to come back to life. Of course, Linda is the best kind of friend possible and when she heard of my sorrow she quickly brought me a new specimen trained from the original stand of fern. Now it too has moved from one pot to two and serves as the focal point of the place where I find daily peace and harmony. 

My husband often told my mother that he likes blue flowers and yet we had none in our backyard. She came bearing two Blue Plumbago plants as a gift for him shortly after she had heard him pining for such a shrub. I was wary because I had never been able to grow plumbago anywhere that I lived but my husband was so excited that we plunked it down and forget about it until it was flourishing and boasting the kind of lovely blue blooms that he had wanted to see for so long. 

My husband’s Aunt Elsie was quite the gardener as well. She had a stand of maiden’s hair turn on the side of her home. I loved the fragile and elegant look of it but once again seemed to have a difficult time getting the ones that I purchased from a nursery to grow. It was only after I received a clump from Aunt Elsie’s house that the fern grew like a weed so much so that now I have to thin it out regularly. 

Aunt Elsie also had a lovely growth of lilies on the opposite side of her house. Most of the time nobody ever saw them but they kept blooming and increasing in spite of all sorts of horrific weather. I gathered a few of the bulbs one year and before long I too had a lovely grouping of that reminds me of how lovely and sweet Aunt Elsie always was. 

I have two ivy plants that were gifts when we moved into our present home twenty one years ago. One came from my son-in-law Scott and the other from my long time friend, Adriana. I just keep them trimmed and full from year to year and smile when I think of the love that came with them. They live on beside other plants that were gifts from my daughter, Catherine, who knows how much I enjoy flora of every sort.

I talk to my plants. They are living things that like to be spoiled with water and food and good soil. They are homes to the birds that flock into my backyard building nests, setting up households and dining on the three feeders that I have. I can sit for hours enjoying their antics and thinking of the wonderful people that I have had in my life who understood how much I enjoy the greenery that makes my home and my yard like a haven of nature. My grandmother was so right when she boasted that the best plants are the ones that came from people that we love. I think of all of them often as I gaze on the beauty that they helped me to create. I hope they know how grateful I will always be for their friendship and love.