Gardens!
She is a charter member of their local Federated Garden Club (perhaps she may have been instrumental in beginning the club). It has been in existence in this northern Iowa town of 200 or so people for quite a long time.
On July 17th, she e-mailed me with a list of lilies that were blooming and/or nearly blooming: Daylilies, "I especially like those that are large with a crepy texture, trumpet lilies, asiatic lilies, Lady Alice lilies (one 7 foot tall with 30 buds and blooms), several clumps of orienpet and orientals, toad lilies, black beauty lily and a favorite, speciosum rubrum yet to bloom."
Also, "several clumps of Mattie (the phlox she shared with me earlier this summer) (check out this link) are beacons of beauty. 'Laura' is starting, hoping it is good yet at show time, it is such a pretty phlox."
She goes on to describe a blue dahlia 'Blue Bell' that she planned to place on the altar for Sunday.
At the end of June, her town held its annual parade. Last year she was the Grand Marshall.
On July 17th, she e-mailed me with a list of lilies that were blooming and/or nearly blooming: Daylilies, "I especially like those that are large with a crepy texture, trumpet lilies, asiatic lilies, Lady Alice lilies (one 7 foot tall with 30 buds and blooms), several clumps of orienpet and orientals, toad lilies, black beauty lily and a favorite, speciosum rubrum yet to bloom."
Also, "several clumps of Mattie (the phlox she shared with me earlier this summer) (check out this link) are beacons of beauty. 'Laura' is starting, hoping it is good yet at show time, it is such a pretty phlox."
She goes on to describe a blue dahlia 'Blue Bell' that she planned to place on the altar for Sunday.
At the end of June, her town held its annual parade. Last year she was the Grand Marshall.
This year she was asked to ride in the Garden Club float.
Here is 'Lady Alice'
Aren't these beautiful?
This is an unnamed lily.
Here is the phlox (Mattie) that she shared with me!
On August 4, her e-mail described both their Garden Club meeting (at which she spoke) and their annual Show.
She wrote that last year she'd had 16 entries, but this year she had 18 entries. This year she received 10 blue ribbons and two awards of merit ribbons. The merit ribbons were received on her Tropicana Rose and 'Laura' phlox.
I'm a lot like my Aunt MEA. She is a young 90+ years old. I'm hoping to get there, too. She e-mails. I e-mail. She uses the internet. I use the internet. I blog. She visits my blog! ;-) She shops at grocery stores and greenhouses. So do I. She drives to town, buys paint and paints her steps. I do that type of thing, too!
She plays 3-handed five hundred (card game). I've played five hundred, but not for awhile. She tours her flower gardens (I betcha every day!), and I do, too! She likes to find new plants. So do I. She shares her plants and I do, too. She has a great vegetable garden. Well... I may not have a Great vegetable garden, but I've 5 tomato plants, a pepper plant, parsley, chives, and rhubarb! ;-)
She's a wonderful person and I hope to be that nice someday, too. :-)
Nothing Shady here but the shade in both our gardens.
I'm a lot like my Aunt MEA. She is a young 90+ years old. I'm hoping to get there, too. She e-mails. I e-mail. She uses the internet. I use the internet. I blog. She visits my blog! ;-) She shops at grocery stores and greenhouses. So do I. She drives to town, buys paint and paints her steps. I do that type of thing, too!
She plays 3-handed five hundred (card game). I've played five hundred, but not for awhile. She tours her flower gardens (I betcha every day!), and I do, too! She likes to find new plants. So do I. She shares her plants and I do, too. She has a great vegetable garden. Well... I may not have a Great vegetable garden, but I've 5 tomato plants, a pepper plant, parsley, chives, and rhubarb! ;-)
She's a wonderful person and I hope to be that nice someday, too. :-)
Nothing Shady here but the shade in both our gardens.
I bet you are already that nice ~ at least from what I can tell. What an amazing person your Aunt is. I hope I can get somewhere near that age and still be that busy and healthy. Those yellow and white lilies are exceptional. Beautiful post.
ReplyDeleteYou can't keep a good girl down! SHe sounds amazing! I hope I am breathing at 90 let alont gardening. Good for her and good for you to have her as an inspiration. We should all appreciate the older people in our lives as much as you do.
ReplyDeleteKathleen - I'm returning your compliment - thanks! ;-) Yes, she is amazing.
ReplyDeleteTeresa, Breathing - a good thing! lol. Yes, she is an inspiration. And I believe she's inspired you, too. :-) Thanks for visiting.
What a fantastic lady, one we all can desire to be like.
ReplyDeleteShe sounds like a wonderful role model Shady... I think you are, too! Lucky were the students whom you taught. Her flowers are fantastic...gail
ReplyDeleteHi Rosemary, Thanks for leaving a comment. Yes - absolutely. :-)
ReplyDeleteGail, She is and I thank you. You'd love to see her gardens in person.
(My parents both have the green thumbs, as well.) :-)
That's quite a role model for gardening!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful lilies and phlox!
Rosey
What role model for us all! I want to be her when I grow up. She is quite well preserved for 90+, never would have guessed that to be her age. And uses computers too. Impressive! I too bet you are already that nice. This year we planted Lady Alice as well. and she was way over our heads, in this the first year. Glad we got the extra long stakes for that one! :-)
ReplyDeleteFrances
You sure have a fun family.
ReplyDeleteGrand Marshall ? How neat is that ?
Bet a garden club is very rewarding.
Such a wonderful story! What a lady! :-) Love her zeal and enthusiasm.
ReplyDeleteCameron
Aunt Mea sounds like a treasure. It is good to meet her. All that niceness runs in the family do doubt after meeting you.
ReplyDeleteHi Rosey, I've just shared her. So you can admire her, too. :-) She does have the loveliest flowers.
ReplyDeleteFrances, Always good to have a role model. My parents also provide wonderful role models! I think I'm going to have to look for Lady Alice, too. She's impressive.
Patsi, I think there's a lot of responsibility with a Federated Garden Club, but I'm sure it must be very rewarding. (I've never been a Grand Marshall. Hopefully you and I get a chance someday!) ;-)
Hi Cameron. She's raised the bar for the rest of us, hasn't she??
:-)
Hi Lisa, I hang out with very nice people! Somehow those nice garden bloggers (like you) seem to visit, too! :-)
Aunt Mea's phlox remind me that sharing perennials is one of the joys of gardening. My daughter passed along some cone flowers for me to plant in New York City. I had given some to her once,divisions from my farm garden before I moved.What goes around comes around!
ReplyDeletewww.gardenbytes.com
Hi Ellen, Thanks for visiting me. Gardening often involves memories. :-)
ReplyDeleteShe sounds like so much fun. It's great she's still out enjoying gardening. She's more proof that age is just a number. How fun to have an aunt with so many of the same interests. I hope I can do all that too when I'm 90. I love the Lady Alice lilies!
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine! Sometimes I think the number is a typographical error! ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou've just reminded me to look up the Lady Alice lilies.
She's such an inspiration! I hope I'm that active & good looking when I'm 90. And her Lilies - they are just amazing!
ReplyDeleteMMD, Talking about garden tours. You need to come to Iowa. I'd take you up north to visit my Aunt MEA. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'll have to show this one to my husband. Part of his resistance to expanding the flower planting area has been because he doesn't know if I'll be able to keep up the gardening when I get older. There is a lady in our town who is almost 90, and she is a master gardener, very active in her gardens and the community. She can't bend over anymore, and does a lot of gardening sitting down. She answers the phone and takes a few flowers for the panel to show on a local program called Backyard Farmer. I've considered her a role model, and used her example, telling my husband I'll always want to garden.
ReplyDeleteYour aunt is a good role model, and you both have niceness in common as well as the other things you mentioned. I love her list of lilies and other flowers. That Mattie phlox has a little differently shaped petals it looks like. It's pretty, as are the other blooms.
It also sounds like your aunt has fun in the community.
Hi Sue, Looks like we both have great, inspirational role models for sure. It will be fun to watch Mattie next year! My aunt has been good for the community and her long-time friends of the community are very good to her. :-)
ReplyDelete