The friends that stuck by me through what I refer to as my "idiot stage" and the months that followed as I tried to pull myself back together and remember who *I* was, will forever be in my heart, and I hope, in my life. The end result of those tough months is that through a chance meeting online, I met the man that I believe I am destined to walk beside through this final chapter of my life. The best part is that he and the man I walked beside through the first chapter have become incredible friends, so I didn't lose a husband, I gained a best friend that I get to keep for life.
Although I am gun shy about starting a business, the three of us are banding together to follow the dream that I have had for many years....we are investing in a commercial sized greenhouse and will be opening an herb business in the near future. I hope to combine my love for history with my love for plants, and focus on unusual heirloom plants as well as the staples in any herb and vegetable garden.
I'll use these pages to share with you what I'm learning as I go along. One thing that I have learned without doubt is that the more I learn, the more I know I don't know! And I am overwhelmed with the process of ordering seeds and plants and filling up this enormous space. The fun part is that sneaking suspicion that it will fill up in record time and I'll be wondering how best to spread out!
We're beginning to have some chilly nights and I'm dreading the morning I walk outside and all my tender annuals are ready for the mulch pile. Right now, the begonias are blooming their little hearts out, the basil is putting on new leaves as if it knows there may be no tomorrow and the scented geraniums have more scent than they have had all summer long. I don't plant many annuals, it has to be something fairly spectacular or useful for me to bother. Perennials have my heart, having doors close in their face every fall, and then after a cold dark winter, that window of opportunity opens and they start spreading their arms to the sunshine again, ready for another wonderful growing season.
I used to sit in my chemo chair, hooked up to chemicals with compositions so deadly that I would be afraid to use them to unclog my toilet, trying not to be fanciful eough to believe I could actually feel the cells dying as the poison chugged through my veins. I looked around at all the other weary faces around me, and I got the notion that we were all like a flower garden headed into fall. We were facing near-death (for certainly a bout with chemo is as close to death as you can come without ceasing to breathe) but for a lot of us, with enough hope and dedicated doctor/gardeners, we would soon be spreading our arms to reach out to the sunshine again someday. Some of us wouldn't make it through the cold nights, and there would be no springtime, but even then, hope springs eternal.
As I tuck mulch around the stems of my perennial herbs and flowers, I speak to them as I would speak to a child I was tucking into bed for a long night's sleep. I thank them for the beauty they shared with me through this chapter of their life, and give mention to the ways I will remember them through the winter months as I use my vinegars, salts and butters and sprinkle my meals with the dried leaves that always bring the scent of summer with them.
Yes, I know that's truly silly. Especially since I've now reached that ha
lf a century mark. Most people don't think of fifty-year-olds as being so fanciful and dreamy. But, I never stopped believing in fairies either. As Francis Church stated, just because I don't see them in my garden, doesn't mean they are not there.I believe that we should all believe in things that we cannot see. To me, herb gardens are places of magic. A place where plants grow that can make tasteless food palatable, heal illness and make strong bodies even stronger.
As we start into the winter months, I'm reminded of this recipe from my grandmother. One of the most basic of recipes, but one that got my grandfather through a lot of winter colds (he wasn't pleasant to be around during the treatment, but luckily, it never took long to get him back on his feet.)
Chest Cold Liniment
Chop up a clove of garlic and mix it into a jar of Vaseline. Stand the jar in a warm place (my grandmother kept hers on the mantle) for a few days. Remove and cover tightly. When a cold starts niggling at your chest, after a nice warm bath or shower, rub a little bit of this into your chest and back and then wrap up warmly. As I said, it doesn't make you pleasant to be around, but on the up side, you won't have to worry about vampires! :-)
