Friday, August 27, 2010

My Mother's Garden: Beauty in Neglect

Cinquefoil, potentilla
I was not expecting to be in my mother's garden today. I spend an hour weeding and deadheading … having dirt under my nails takes away some of the anxieties of the past week. Was it only a week ago that I left the U.S. for England after received a phone call that she had fallen?  I am immensely sad to see signs of neglect in her previously immaculate borders. She was too unwell to tend her garden for some time; at 91 it is amazing that she did it for so long. But there is always beauty in a garden.

In my mother's garden August is the time for crocosmia and fuchsia. They are blooming around every bend.



Crocosmia





Fuchsia


The delphiniums are fading but they are still making a bright-blue statement among the fuchsias.



I love the way Mom's hydrangeas have several colors on one shrub.







Berries are appearing on the honeysuckle, speaking of a glorious summer and the promise of autumn.



The tree in the center of the neighborhood green, seen from Mom's window, is also bearing berries. I don't remember it's name, but I am sure one of my blogger friends will be able to identify it.



I remember the sundial from when I was a little girl. There is weeding to be done around it, but it is still a favorite spot of mine:



The rose garden is particularly neglected.  Mom can no longer remember the names of the few remaining blooms ... Rapidly advancing dementia, that terrible affliction, is robbing me and this garden of the lovely lady we knew.







A very cheerful sunflower has appeared outside her window. Flowers have a way of volunteering their beauty where they are most needed.





Hedges of quinces, with their apple-like fruit, border the front garden.



Oh, and I am so delighted to see, at last, the gorgeous sculpture I won when I entered Jo's competition at The Good Life. The delightful bird has given my mother so much pleasure and I can see why. I thank Jo again for her generosity.


Tomorrow, I plan to tidy the garden some more; maybe mother will feel well enough to sit on a bench and watch me at work. I hope so.

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I took these photos and wrote the text on August 15, 2010, Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day hosted by Carol at May Dream's Gardens.  There is no internet link at my mother's house, so I was not able to post them until I reached an airport on my flight back to America.

I am sorry I haven't been able to visit your blogs lately. I look forward to catching up on your gardening news in the near future.

Love to all my gardening friends,

Pam x


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