Gardening--It's in our blood!

  

Ever since I was a little girl, I've been surrounded by flower gardens.  My mom's mom, (Oma to us grandkids) was an amazing flower and vegetable gardener.

  Here's my mom and grandmother (Oma) showing off an arrangement made from one of their flower beds.  (This picture was a pre-color photo).

     When we were young, my little sis, Arlene and I would stay with Oma for a week each summer and "help" (I use that term VERY loosely) with her gardens.  She'd show us when the carrots were ready and would pluck one fresh from the black soil, dust off that dirt and bite in, then share a bite with us.  How sweet.
       I wish I had pictures of those times but sadly we didn't have instant access to I Phones, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and all those other goodies.   But, my grandma taught us to appreciate flowers and vegetables and berries fresh off the vine.  Oh what sweet innocent times.
     My mom definitely inherited her mother's green thumb. This picture is looking out at one of Mom's many gardens but sadly I didn't capture flowers, but believe me she always has some in bloom.

  When I was younger, I always told people that I inherited a "black" thumb and couldn't even 'grow' artificial plants, but I always loved looking at them and enjoying the sweet scent of fresh blooms.  After, my dad passed away and Mom had some health issues that prevented her from being as active as she used to be with gardening, I felt God blessed me with a love for gardening and an amazing family inherited 'green' thumb.  I started helping Mom garden and found a new joy in watching what I planted grow and bloom.

         I love that there is beauty even in imperfections like this rose from our garden.  This resonates to so many aspects of our lives, which is why I find gardening somewhat philosophical (or it's just a good excuse to wax poetic!).
        Of course, me being the antique/junker I am, I cannot garden without mixing in some fun garden junk both in the way of planters and good ole junk, objets d'art (which is probably an oxymoron, but let's not get technical!)  Now, let it be noted that both my mom and boyfriend DON'T get my vision of beauty in junk... BUT I'll excuse their lack of perception! lol.

      When I purchased this cool speckled enamel bowl, the seller apologized for the holes, but I merely replied that it was perfect for one of my succulent gardens.
    Succulents are not something that my Mom is into, but I have fallen in love with these easy to care for almost impossible to kill plants.  They're perfect for junk containers and I've had fun creating fun mini gardens with them.  Here are some of my results:

Colanders are great for drainage and the old aluminum tea kettle catches the excess water



My latest planting is using a large chicken feeder for lots of succulents.

I bought this chicken wire basket in Fredericksburg and always felt it should be a succulent planter... solution for holding dirt... just add moss!

                              An abandoned hibache grill worked perfectly as a cool junk planter.

One of my objet d'art... formerly a lamp base!

THis is one of my favorite garden projects that my sister, Arlene helped my with... My bed of flowers!
       This blog is also my tribute to my inspiration for gardening, my Mom, Evelyn, who celebrates her 88th birthday on Monday AND she still gardens! Happy Birthday, Mom!

Betsy of Sisters Treasures