Posted: 01/01/2013 at 12:58
My mum was a very keen gardener and my childhood memories were of our backgarden filled with dahlias, roses, and lots of bedding plants in the summer. My dad always loved the lawn to look prestine and we had a beautiful large pond filled with koi carp. Our front garden was very long it it was planted with white alison, red salvias and blue lobelia. I also remember we had burning bushes which I think were also annuals. I did not really get into gardening until I had my own garden when I got married in 1986 and it was just a very small patch. Sadly my mum passed away when she was in her early 40's but so many plants remind me of her. We had moved to a new family home and she had planted a flowering cherry tree but sadly she never lived long enough to see it flower. Therefore I always plant a flowering cherry in my gardens as a memory to my mum and obviously its a very dear tree to me. I love every aspect of gardening. I too remember my mum watching GW Percy Thrower but I have to admit in those days I found it all so boring. It is not until you get your own little bit of garden and you want to turn it into something beautiful and you realise what all the fuss was about. It saddens me when I think of all the happy gardening times I could have had with my mum. My sister and I visited Chelsea Flower Show last year and both said how lovely it would have been to have taken our mum with us. So looking forward to 2013 and the new gardening year, cannot wait for spring to arrive.
