The Rural Voice, 1997-08, Page 49Gardening
Remembering lessons from a life-long gardener
By Rhea Hamilton -Seeger
Louise Brindley was a generous
gardener and a generous friend. I first
met her at an auction. She had bid on
an eclectic box of odds and ends; bits
of china, odd cups and saucers, an
assortment of vivid plastic flowers.
Louise would work magic with these
pieces when she filled them with
flowers from her garden. She entered
local flower shows and fair exhibits
and won numerous prizes for her
work.
When finally'I got to visit her I
was agog with her home. Louise is
like me, a bit of a pack rat. Anything
that looked like it might have a
purpose or be recycled in some
creative way (and what doesn't look
that way), was saved.
Louise was once a very active
gardener as indicated by several small
homemade greenhouses. By the time I
met Louise these glass houses were
deemed storage areas that housed an
assortment of pots, vases and
ornaments for both home and lawn
and garden.
Louise also enjoyed small animals.
Crowded around the door and lurking
under the shrubs was a beautiful
assortment of calico cats. You don't
often see real, colourful calico cats
like these ones. Kittens would
scamper away from you while the
older more knowledgeable ones
would purr around your legs while
you walked through the garden.
Louise also had a house full of
small dogs — I believe they were
Pomeranian. They would bark quite
loudly and alert her to company at the
door. Her older dog would come to
the door to walk in the garden with
us.
Louise was an active member of
the local garden club and took great
delight in plant sales or exchanges.
She was not above checking out the
local garden centres for new plants.
Her garden was a veritable jungle
with houseplants tucked in here and
there for a summer of rain and no
fussing. Two years ago she devoted
several rows in her vegetable garden
to bachelor buttons and nasturtiums. I
never had a chance to ask her if she
took many cut flowers into her home.
We always had some discussion
going about how this plant would do
here or how to cure some ailment in
the garden.
Another feature of Louise's home
was a huge cactus standing outside
the front door. In the winter it stood in
the kitchen. In fact Louise had a hole
cut in the ceiling to accommodate its
growth.
As we would walk about the
garden she pointed out new plants and
old favourites, nipping off slips here
and there to pop into my pocket. I got
my first bit of variegated wooly apple
mint from her. It spread quickly in my
garden!
But her greatest accomplishment
that reflected her pride in her garden
was her dahlia collection. Three
quarters of her front yard was devoted
to the cultivation of dahlias. They
were simply gorgeous. There are not
enough words to describe the riot of
colour that blanketed her front yard.
Anyone having the good fortune to
drive down the quiet little country
road would think they had stumbled
upon a piece of the rainbow. There
they were in precise rows, carefully
staked. Louise loved the cactus
variety but her big ribbon winners
were the dinner plate varieties. I once
asked her if she bought many dahlias
and she admitted that she tried to buy
at least two or three new varieties
each year.
As time wore on Louise began to
feel the same ailments that affect a lot
of other seniors. She had knee surgery
and later hip surgery and still she
persisted with her gardening. Her son
and grandson made sure the ground
was worked up well in the spring.
Once everything was sown, Louise
had short stools strategically placed
throughout the garden complete with
a hoe with shortened handle beside
each one. With her hip and knee
problems weeding was a real chore
made easier when she could sit and
hoe from her stool.
Louise died this past winter and
has gone to a greater garden. Even
days before her death she was already
planning how many loads of manure
she would need for her massive dahlia
collection. Her family has divided her
collection and planted Louise's
dahlias in their gardens around the
community. It will seem like a bit of
Louise will be with them and with
anyone who stops to enjoy their
colour.0
Rhea Hamilton -Seeger raises two
children, and is a skilled cook and
gardener.
0
N
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August 1997 45