The best gifts are unexpected. The sunflowers are a gift from my mother, for my new office. She thought they’d remind me of France. They do. The office isn’t quite ready yet and so for now they’re cheering up the dining room at home.
And then there are those gifts that come from the past. This mini gardening set belonged to my grandmother. She used the watering can for her house plants, of which she had many. The tools she kept in her bag, for those occasions when she saw a plant she liked and ‘took a cutting’. This included public parks and other people’s gardens. I was very little at the time and I’d stand behind the garden wall, half laughing and half terrified we’d be discovered. The mini gardening kit was always in her bag, along with her Polo mints and assorted bags of cuttings. I’m so pleased that they’ve come to me. Though I won’t be using them in quite the same way.
Thanks so much
This blog made me smile, my partner and I have started ‘taking cuttings’. There are some lovely plants that grow on the Fallowfield loop, part of the appeal is every successful cutting has a memory, a story of it’s own from when we found it, and of course it’s appealing because my garden is becoming like the path, a daily part of our levenshulme life. Lady levenshulme is one of my favourite sites so thank you
Hi Jack. I’m so pleased you enjoyed reading the post and that it made you smile. I hadn’t thought of it like that before but you’re right. The ‘cuttings’ are like memories. My grandmother used to have them in jars on her back window. She only had a small back yard but it was always full of plants and flowers. Is the Fallowfield loop the cycle path? I would be interested to know. We often go for walks around there, especially in the autumn.