Vintage Gardens

When the wind decided to pick up and the temperature decided to drop today, the central Kentucky gardener had no choice but to flip through seed catalogues, garden magazines or pick up another hobby entirely. As a point of relaxation I decided to look through some old family photos. Naturally, pictures containing flowers or gardens caught my attention. Somehow it is comforting to see gardening in Kentucky is still flourishing as it has for generations...here's a peek at some proud flower moments in our Kentucky family's past.

For our first selection, I have chosen cousin Ralph Quinlan. He was my great Grandmother's first cousin on the Cox side of the family....only important for those of you interested in the family tree...but get a load of those gorgeous sunflowers! I hope Ralph appreciated those beauties....I know his cousin Nellie could grow a mean hollyhock, but I had not heard of Ralph's gardening prowess.

Speaking of Hollyhocks, this is little Evodna Johnson standing in a garden with some pretty ones just taller than she was. The stone walkway is also quite cute, which suggests a small garden near the house. Sadly, I'm not sure where Evodna fits into the family, but I'm at least pretty sure she is another member of the family in the Northern Kentucky region. We have a death photo of an infant Johnson that died in 1923. The countryside in that photo is consistent with the Pendleton and Bracken counties that our family seemed to permeate like a moss.

I will now take this opportunity to introduce Christine Scott, another mysterious person in our family photo collection. I have not come across this person in our family research, and I really can't even see a family resemblance....but she makes our vintage garden line-up due to her beautiful collection of graduation flowers. Even the vase holding one of the rose bunches is beautiful.

For one of our last selections in this vintage garden post, I will include these little boys in front of a very unique trellis. Note the ribbon edge cut at the end of each support. With the white trellis against the dark siding of the house, this had to be quite a showstopper! Besides the skimpy rose bush growing on the trellis, it looks as though a nice stand of zinnias are on the end - although, on closer examination they could be a stand of roses, but ones with a heavy petal count. The boys are unidentified as well, but my mother has identified the little blond as "Uncle Jay"....another Pendleton County boy. Until next time, keep thinking happy spring thoughts!