A Tribute to My Grandma Rimmelzwaan

I find myself thinking about my grandma a lot these days.  She was an avid gardener.  Her farm home and the home my grandparents built when they retired from farming were always surrounded by beautiful flower gardens.  When I was a child, she would take me to greenhouses shopping for flowers to plant and then other times when I visited, we would just go for a drive, find a garden centre and just wander around.  Every single time I visited her home she would want to take me on a tour of her gardens and talk about new and old plants, names of them and when they would be at their best.  She worked hard to maintain her gardens and my grandfather would help her when they grew older.  In the last few years of her life the gardens were much smaller but no doubt there were still flowers to look at and enjoy.

Once I had a home of my own, she would give me shrubs and flowers for my own gardens.  I have a beautiful garden rock with "Welcome" painted on it near my front door which was a gift from her.  My love of plants comes from many influences in my life but the influence of my grandma has been strong.  I will forever have those memories in my heart and it makes me happy... and sad at the same time.  I wish she could come for a visit and I could take her on a tour of our farm and then maybe she could give me advice on what I could do with my own gardens.  She knew so much about what different plants needed to grow to their potential and she wouldn't hesitate (in her younger years) to just get down on her knees and get rid of a few weeds.

I have a vivid memory of her long row of peonies along their farm's front lawn.  My brother and sister and I played a lot in that front yard... it has beautiful, tall trees and a lush lawn... perfect for running and playing.  When her peonies were in blossom, it was a beautiful sight; something I will remember forever.

My grandma passed away last August (2013).  As a tribute to her, I am planting a row of peonies on my own front lawn.  I planted one peony plant a few years ago and it is strong and tall but I have added a few more and hope that someday it will be a tall, beautiful row of peonies and I will tell my children and grandchildren about why I planted them and tell them about my own grandma.  She was very special to me and I hope that I can pass on at least some of her wisdom to my own children and grandchildren.

It is just a start but I planted 5 plants along this side of this building.