My Grandmother's Garden

One of the main reasons we took our vacation to California when we did was to spend some time with my grandparents before my husband deploys to Afghanistan for the next year. I had the pleasure of working in my grandmother's garden for about 12 hours during our one week in southern California. I pulled weeds, divided some iris, divided some amaryllis, pruned all of her roses, planted a new rose, Hot Cocoa, in her front yard, and put in a low maintenance groundcover, gazania and sweet potato vine 'blackie,' beneath her roses, to help retain moisture in her sandy soil.

I had so much fun digging in her dirt, and getting to know her roses. There were some dead wood in the center of massive 30-year-old roses that was very difficult to get to, and some climbing branches well into the neighbors' yard, hidden by masses of bougainvillea that I tamed back onto her side of the fence. With the help of my husband and brother, and a few dozen cuts from the thorns, each roses was revived a bit. I grew up in my grandmother's garden, often watering for her, scouring the yard for my little turtle Peter, playing with my Barbie's on the patio, splashing in a pool on the grass. I want the garden to always shine for my grandmother, as the yard is, in many ways, the heart of the family.

On my grandmother's back porch she has a huge Hoya vine, and these are the blooms. I have a clipping from hers, from years ago, and it's never bloomed for me yet. I can't wait for it to someday. I'm patient. I think they also call it porcelain plant?

A beautiful white orchid. I took a division of this last October, and it's started to grow in my kitchen window recently.


Some yellow roses, I don't know any of their names:

Double Delight:

Tropicana:

Chicago Peace:

Some faded blooms

A not yet faded bloom

Some reds:


Some pinks, two of which belonged to my mom before they were planted in my grandmother's yard:

Royal Highness:

This is my next must have rose, but first, I have to figure out which rose it is! Oh, it smelled heavenly!!

And a white:

An orangey red:

Here's her back rose bed.

And finally here's my beautiful grandmother, sitting on her back patio in front of one of her huge Queen of the Night cacti, beneath a palm tree.

Thank you for letting me dig in your dirt grandma, I love you.