Heirloombulbgirl

Tag: Heirloom Bulbs

  • The Heirloom Garden

    When I started gardening, I never intended to become an “heirloom gardener”. It just somehow happened. I became drawn to the history. The story behind the flower. My early years were spent in Rabi and Mrs. Horowitz’s rose garden. The rose arbor in the tiny backyard was magical, and each rose had a special story attached to it. I was hooked. I’m not sure whether it was the inherent beauty of timeless flowers, the uniqueness of each flower story, or the simple fact that my mind could wander and question endlessly about the past. Feeling “rooted” to past traditions is important and vital, especially in our quick, throw-away society. Heirloom gardens preserve the past for the future of tomorrow’s gardeners.

    Heirloom, by definition, is “something of special value handed down from one generation to another.” In plant talk, an heirloom is “a variety of plant that has originated under cultivation and has survived for several generations usually due to efforts of private individuals.” Mike Bollinger, executive director for Seed Savers Exchange (a non-profit focusing on stewardship and education around heirlooms) had a great explanation for what Heirlooms truly were in Cooks Magazine. “Heirlooms tell stories from the past that may have been lost if it were not for their existence.” Heirloom plants are in “contrast to modern cultivators used in large-scale agriculture”. You might say that heirloom farmers are dedicated in maintaining a lifestyle their Grandparents or even Great-Grandparents had. I find the idea of growing a flower bulb that was deeply loved by someone who lived at the turn of the 20th century utterly fascinating. There is simply no substitute. So how does one go about creating an heirloom garden? For me, it’s all about preserving the gardener’s story.

    Here are a few very practical ways to start an heirloom garden…

    *Join an old-fashioned garden society or garden club. You will learn a lot of gardening wisdom from older generations of gardeners. You will also be able to drink tea and listen to some fantastic stories. A lot of garden clubs host plant or seed swaps. This is a wonderful way to hear about “Mema’s Yellow Iris” or “Aunt Thelma’s Daffodil”.

    *Visit the older part of your town and become friends with the folks with beautiful gardens. Gardeners love to talk about their flowers. Don’t be afraid to compliment a stranger with beautiful Daylilies or gorgeous old roses….he might just spontaneously dig a special flower up just for you.

    *Invest in some flower bulbs or antique roses from notable sources who invest their time in preserving heirloom plants. A few of my favorites are Old House Gardens, Southern Bulb Company, Seed Saver Exchange and the Antique Rose Emporium. Great folks with amazing selections of charming old-fashioned flowers.


    Heirloom gardens aren’t flashy, nor do they keep up with the last trends in garden culture. Heirlooms feature the past and quiet ways of a lifestyle long gone. Unrushed and simple. Moment to moment savored by the stillness of the garden. I walk through my gardens each day, with gentle remembrances all around….my husband’s Grandmother’s Iris, Danish bulbs passed along, gardening friends’ Snowflakes, Byzantine Gladiolus, Daffodils and Iris, my in-laws’ original “William Allen land grant Iris”, my Franklin Iris that traveled from England in the mid 1800s that settled on a Texas ranch that shared the land with Native Americans, and tear-downs saved like the beloved Oxblood Lilies, Spider Lilies and Crinum of Miss Margaret and Eugenia. The cherished list of heirloom flowers in my beloved gardens with a story attached goes on and on. I only wish I had a cutting of Rabi and Mrs. Horowitz’s rose garden, but their memory is rooted in every Antique Rose I have.

    There are two types of flowers…quick color that lasts a season and heirlooms that will out-live your Grandchildren’s Grandchildren. I pick the latter.

    Every.

    Single.

    Time.

    Happy Heirloom Gardening, my friends!

  • The Moment Defined

    There are moments in life that define us, for the better or for the worse.
    Moments that change everything in us and all around us. The moments I have seen in the devastating fires of California have flooded my thoughts. I can’t seem to look away. I understand all too well the complete and utter loss of “losing everything” in a single moment. There are no words.

    I see them.

    I hear them.

    I know them.

    I remember standing in line at the Red Cross on the morning after, with all the other “flood victims” (as we were politely referred to). An older woman standing in front of me had been visibly shaken. I found myself trying to comfort her. She sobbed and talked, and I simply listened. She told me about the boat rescue, the 7 inches of water that flooded her house and her fear of the water that came up so fast. She finally took a breath, looked up at me and asked “So what happened to you? How much water did you have in your house?”

    “Seven feet of water in less than 10 minutes.”

    She said nothing but just stared at me, as if to apologize for her own “lesser-than” trauma. I smiled, hugged her and said
    “There is no measurement of loss. It’s all the same.”

    Right then and there, I learned a very important life lesson….Loss is loss. Trauma is trauma. There is not a measurement of trauma as if “Mine is worse than yours”. Trauma holds no competition and takes no winners. We are all in the same boat together. Each one of us has our own story, but what we do *after* that defining moment is what truly matters. Will we let bitterness set in? Will we become callus or envious? Will we become trauma “victims” or trauma “survivors”? I do admit, standing in the pouring rain with only the clothes on our backs was a very humbling experience. Where was I going to get clean and dry panties? (A real-life concern) How could I comfort my family when I, myself was going through so much? Where would we even live? How can one simply start over and rebuild from scratch? All overwhelming thoughts, so all I could do is live moment to moment, salvaging anything I could. I poured into salvaging my gardens, digging bulbs at the “flooded house” every single day. The gardens saved my sanity.

    One day, as I walked along what-used-to-be my beloved “Garden of Eden”, I looked down and saw my Grandmother’s broken china with her Bible memory verse “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.” It was that moment, out of all my moments, defined me…

    Everything I had lost, He would provide.
    Everything I needed, He would provide.
    Everything I wanted, He would provide.

    I had been over and over those gardens for months, salvaging bulbs, but somehow I missed that little treasure. Maybe I hadn’t been ready to fully rely on the Lord’s provision the way sheep rely on their shepherd. Maybe I was looking for comfort in the wrong place or maybe I was just too caught up in my own minutia of trying to rebuild. Whatever the reason, I found my moment.

    ”The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake.

    Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil. For You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

    You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, You anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23

    If anyone has specific loss that you’d like prayer for, feel free to email me… heirloombulbgirl@gmail.com I don’t have all the answers, but I’ve walked through this walk and there is hope on the other side.

    If you know friends or family members who lost everything…give gift cards or Venmo for a great starting place. Be listeners not fixers. Be present through their grief and allow them time to process the loss. Their lives will never be the same, but may we all be defined in the moments after…relying fully and completely on The Good Shepherd.

    Ps….Oxblood Lilies will be shipped out to anyone who is starting over, at no cost, When you are ready, your “Redemption Lily” will be ready for you.
    Happy Gardening, my friends.