Blooms of the Week

Here's what's blooming this week.

Cheryl's Orchid

My sister-in-law, Cheryl, has the most amazing orchid. It has been blooming for several months and is so beautiful. Her dad raised orchids and after he passed away she inherited a few, including this one. When we were visiting I noticed that the stick where he wrote the last re-potting was still in the pot. I think that's really special. She has worked hard to learn how to care for them and is reaping the rewards. I'm sure he loves to see it blooming too ;)

My Grandma Katy

I learned to love flowers mostly from my Grandma, Kathryn Hendrickson. Her father came from Holland and once here in the U.S., he supported the family as a gardener and a stable boy for thoroughbred horses. She would always tell us about how he could take any cut rose and nurture it into a beautiful bush.

As she got older, she couldn't get outside to care for her flowers and we all tried to help. I'm not really sure if we were that helpful, but she loved to spend time with us. While we lived in Indiana, she guided me through transplanting a bunch of her flowers to my home. It made her so happy to visit and see them blooming.

When we moved to Pennsylvania, we had to move in to temporary housing for a few months and couldn't bring starts of anything with us. The year following our move, she passed away at the age of 87. Her little house had to be sold and so I had to hurry to get starts of her flowers. My mom dug up starts of anything she could find and sent them in a box of dirt overnight. I had to get them in the ground and try to learn how to care for them immediately. I think she was watching over them, because some of each kind of flower survived.

I am so thankful each time I hear, "Look mom, one of Grandma Katy's flowers is blooming!" I think she still finds pleasure watching us care for "her" flowers. Here are a few pictures from last year.

Iris

Peonies

Surprise Lilies

Want to Share?

I wanted to make sure that my family blog continued to be about my family during the spring and summer. I'm tempted to write a lot of postings about my flowers and wanted a space to post pictures where they would be viewed by those who actually cared what was currently in bloom at my house:)

I would love to have others post pictures as well. Just email me and let me know if you want to be able to post pictures of your garden's pride and joy. I'll get you set up. Now that it's warming up, something new should be blooming almost every week. I can't wait!

Here's a picture of my first few crocus. They are right at the front of my driveway and make me happy every time I pull in.