Pocket Full of Memories

I was poking around my desk, looking for a certain pen, when I brushed past a little artifact that made me smile. You know those little odds and ends that you just can't throw away, and end up planted in the back of your desk drawer due to months of neglect? I was very lucky this little tidbit didn't sprout itself as it hid there. What looks like a little wadded up piece of fabric is actually a farming family's piece of ingenuity.

When my grandfather passed away in 2006, the natural estate dispersal ensued. However, when we were about to leave for the last time, I noticed this little piece of fabric sitting behind the electric outlet mechanism in the basement. It was dusty and covered in cobwebs, but when I picked it up the memories flooded over me quite suddenly. I knew that my grandmother had placed this little bundle of leftover corn seeds in the basement, in hopes of using them in another season. But the fabric she used to keep these little seeds inside was no ordinary piece of fabric. It was a pocket she had recycled from one of grandfather's old work shirts.

Long before the days of Ziploc or even recycled 35mm film canisters, families used whatever they could think of as containers or receptacles. This was a small piece of that left over farm life that I remembered, and I knew I could not throw it away. Not only did the memories associated with this little bundle involve planting the vegetable garden with both grandparents each summer, but it also involved the shirt that provided the pocket. Growing up, my favorite place in the world was my grandparents farm in Bourbon County Kentucky. At 165+ acres, I could roam as much as I wanted and each visit included some new farm related adventure. Each summer, I watched 'Pappa' (pronounced Pah-Paw) go out to the dairy or out to the field in one of these light blue cotton work shirts. It is remarkable how holding something tactile in your hand can bring back the memories so clearly. In this case the seemingly unimportant little piece of fabric is a much larger representation of the first environmentalists. "Waste not want not" was the order of each day. Life was a bit tougher, but the rewards for a days work were felt even more as the day drew to a close.....complete with iced tea and a homemade desert.....ah, those cool summer evenings on the porch looking out over the fields.....how I miss those, and the loved ones who sat next to me.

Primitive Daffodil Mystery

Old abandoned farms and fence rows are wondrous places. Each spring and summer they bring forth echoes of those country gardeners who came before us. Many of my antique roses were discovered on the side of the road in hidden nooks and crannies of our Central Kentucky counties; long abandoned, but still true to their original planting form. On some occasions, the discovery leans toward a mutated or primitive version of what was planted years ago. I have such an example that we dug up about ten years ago, along a back road fence row in Bourbon County. Upon first sight, these daffodil like plants in no way resembled the current popular form. They had the correct stalks and shoots from the ground, but the blooms resembled a regurgitated green mass of twisted petals. They appeared to be the green rose equivalent of the daffodil world. Despite their very unattractive appearance, we dug them up and brought them home to our garden. The bulbs were very deep, and not easy to extract, but once we let them grow for a few years in their new home, they morphed back a little into yellow regurgitations with twisted petals. Over the next ten years, we moved them, divided them to create more clumps, and in perfect harmony, each batch has transformed into the following form:

This was their first appearance in early March just as the snow was melting. (see previous post for exact date)

The next two photos demonstrate the bud formation just as they are beginning to open...note the strong green appearnce.

This looks like a very angry bud to me.

The curling green around this bud is a wild onion...evidence of my needing to weed. And yes, growing right alongside our Easter Bonnets with no crossing effects.

And so you have it, our mysterious primitive daffodils in all their glory. This photo shows clearly the early stage as resembling something from Little Shop of Horrors, complete with teeth, while the more mature blossom is an explosion of petals, with much of the green faded away. If any of you have similar garden inhabitants, please share. Or if this resembles a variety you are familiar with, that would also be interesting. I'm sure some of you may also be able to fill me in on the parentage of current varieties that might help solve this little mystery. However, keep in mind, this little beauty is from a very old abandoned farm.

And on a side note: I apologize for having been such a lax blogger these days. My semester is over in about three weeks so I will be a much better blogger in May! I greatly appreciate all of your comments, but am way behind on responding to many of them. And welcome to all of the new bloggers I noticed as I take a small break to check in with my favs....it's springtime in blotanical as the new arrivals burst forth!! Sure wish I had more time to read them...Hoping May comes quickly!

Happy spring gardening! It's finally here!