Thursday, May 29, 2008

Dad's Forget-Me-Nots

Backyard Garden

It was a long time ago now that Dad came over to our previous house with some Forget-Me-Not seeds from his own garden. I'd say that it was at least twenty years ago that he planted a few seeds from his garden into ours. Over the years, they reseeded themselves prolifically wherever they happened to land and take hold in the previous year. It was quite a display that they produced each and every spring. Although they aren't the main flower in bloom in the top photo of that former garden of ours, you can see some to the bottom left of the photo as well as toward the swing near the back right. (Note: the main flowers in the top picture are ground phlox, and all of what you see came from three little plants. Unlike forget-me-nots, they are perennials and spread through root growth rather than re-seeding. I wish I had brought some of those with me as well.) These flowers became more special in the years after Dad departed. Although he was gone, every year, Dad's gift would re-spring anew wherever it willed, and I felt connected and blessed.

I don't garden very much here, but we have managed to bring a few seeds with us. In this locale, the plants no longer seem to grow aplenty, but two came up in the backyard again this spring, and Thesha has had one come up in her garden too. Once again, I'll try to make sure the seeds have a chance to find fertile ground for next year, but gardening here is more problematic, so I don't know how much longer we'll have Dad's forget-me-nots.

Meanwhile, they very well do the job that their name implies, for they cause me to fondly remember old Dad. Although it might be said that one shouldn't require a physical keepsake to remind us of past events or former loved ones, it helps to have such souvenirs to jog our consciousness periodically. We are, after all, both physical and spiritual beings, and experiencing something with one of our physical senses can cause our spirits to feel re-connected with the past.

While I am all for living in the present and don't want to dwell in the past, I do appreciate the poignancy of certain memories, and that's how Dad's forget-me-nots make me feel — poignant, connected. Thanks Dad.

Below: this years forget-me-nots.



10 comments:

Donna said...

These are Beautiful!!! My Dad's "memory" are Iris....Happy day!hughugs

Amanda said...

The garden is beautiful and the flowers are a lovely way to remind you of you Father. Lovely post.

Amanda

Jules said...

I'm jealous - I've never been able to get them to grow like that. Could be the soil around here - and when I saw soil, I mean clay!

Beautiful gardens...just beautiful!

Pearl said...

Lovely flowers and connection. :)

ChrisB said...

That picture of your garden is beautiful. We have a lot of what I call 'memory plants' in our garden and when ever they bloom I think fondly of the people they came from including several Fuchsia bushes from my step-father's cuttings, just before he died.

megz_mum said...

What a beautiful connection with your Dad!

Ruth said...

Flowers are not a relic of the past. They show that life goes on...a great way to remember your dad.

Janet said...

It's such a sweet flower, and such a sweet memory, too. I have to admit though, that great lot of phlox just makes me want to lie down and go to sleep in the middle of them.

Woman in a Window said...

Beautiful! You're keeping more than stuff, you're keeping something alive, a part of him alive. Lovely.

Anonymous said...

I plan on visiting the garden center one more time this week. Ground phlox and forget-me-nots have now been added to my list. What lovely ground cover. How wonderful that such a lovely flower brings thoughts of your dad. I would think he would be happy to be remembered in such a way.