The story is that they were starving, but Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma had planted a garden and knew there was food to be had. His parents nearly starved during the siege of Kimberly in the Second Boer War. Grandpa was born in the early 1900s in Kennelworth South Africa. His compost pile, at times, was so tall that he had to walk up on top of it - about 5 feet in the air - to dump his compost bucket. He rotated crops, planting and harvesting three vegetables per season in the same rows. His entire back yard in Norman, OK was dedicated to a garden that he started harvesting in February (potatoes) and finished harvesting in late fall (turnips). Grandpa’s peonies started blooming yesterday. Thank’s Grandpa and Grandma!Īuthor betharichardson Posted on SeptemCategories Grandpa, Ordinary time, photoblog Tags flowers Leave a comment on Grandpa’s Peonies - 2011 Grandpa’s Peonies The colors are so intense this time of year.Ī riot of blooms on Easter weekend.
I love the little yellow things in the middle of the flowers. These are the old-fashioned, single-bloom peonies. I like that little shape that you see before the peony opens up. The ants love the nectar produced with the budding of the peonies.Īnd, finally, this little triangle of color. (I love to rub those leaves!)įinally, a little peony bud - and some ants. And in the lower right part of the photo, you see the Lamb’s Ears. Behind the peonies, the lilies are starting. Now they’re all leafed out - and hiding the ugly stuff. (You can see all the things they hide during the summer - the hose, down spout, etc.) Here they are after the peonies started coming out of the ground. When they bloom, Grandpa and Grandma Wilson are right here with me. After his funeral, I dug up a little clump, put them in a grocery bag, and brought them home to my front flower garden in Tennessee. I call these “Grandpa’s peonies” because they came from Grandpa Tom’s yard in Norman, Oklahoma.
These photos span from around March 17th through April 23rd. They bloom early in spring before much else has started blooming (even the other peonies) and every time they bloom, they bring me delight. This year’s spring was cool, so it took over a month between when the plants started coming up until when they bloomed. I wrote about Grandpa’s peonies a couple of years ago, so this year, I thought I’d document their growth. Author betharichardson Posted on Categories Blessings, Grandpa, The Saints Tags gratitude, peony, spring 6 Comments on The Color of Memory Grandpa Tom Becomes a Citizen Find more of my prayers in my book Christ Beside Me, Christ Before Me: Celtic Blessings.