Today’s photos are from Linda Dyer Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. Linda wants to share with us a garden that she calls home–her parents’ (Carol & Jim Dyer) garden in Grand Ledge, Michigan.
Linda says, “My mom has been a gardener for as long as I can remember. I think she got the gardening bug from her father, who loved both flower and vegetable gardens. Some of the fondest memories I have of my grandfather are of him growing awesome vegetable gardens even in the very center of the city of Lansing, Michigan, way before urban gardening was cool!
“Mom and Dad bought 40 acres of land about the time I was born (1960ish) in Grand Ledge, Michigan. They both LOVE nature! Most of the land is consumed with wonderful pine trees that Dad and some of my siblings reseed every year to keep the land as it should be. Dad taught us everything there is to know about the great outdoors and mom influenced us with her love for gardening.
“There are seven of us kids so vegetable gardens were a must (and I must say I hated weeding them!), but also mom planted beautiful flowers around the house. Because she and Dad are in their 70’s, now her gardens consist of some wonderful raised vegetable gardens (they don’t need as much now that it’s just the two of them) and flowers surrounding their house, but there are also beautiful areas of wild flowers in the surrounding 40 acres, some mom purposely planted and some that just popped up naturally. Dad clears paths through the acreage so that everything is easily accessible for a city slicker like me to admire.
It is a magnificent place to visit. I have lived in Dallas for about 28 years but there is no better feeling than going home. The love and warmth there is unbelievable. My 6 siblings live nearby and it is and has always been a wonderful gathering place for not only them but their children as well. Friends and family alike feel welcome at my parents home and my parents welcome them with open arms. It’s a throwback to the simpler times but with a full understanding of modern times. A wonderful place!”
What a welcoming place to come home to, Linda, and your parents sound like total dreamboats. Lucky you! Thanks so much for sharing their garden and your memories with us.
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Comments
looks like "home". the first photo gives me hope that spring is near (snowing here today,,,,,,again) wish we could grow fuchsia here but seems we buy at mothers day and by 4 july they have given up the ghost
What a wonderful pop of color to greet us this morning. Lovely photos and I LOVE the description of your family. Thank you for sharing!
Linda, what a warm and lovely tribute to your parents...sounds like you are a winner in life's lottery of families to be born into! Your mom has a great eye for color combinations that work....the first photo shows that off to perfection. And there is something so evocative about a red barn that one can tell is still being used...the picture says it all!
Hi linda, 'Home IS where the Heart is...And 'Home Sweet Home'
just seem to float in my mind after reading, and you sharing
your loving memories of family, house and gardens. Truly a
warm,wonderful place and SO fortunate you are!
As one of seven kids from a farm in North Dakota, I so love your mom and dad's pictures and story. I know what you mean about not being fond of weeding the vegetable garden but also remember eating peas in the garden on an early summer day and pulling carrots from the ground, wiping the dirt off on my jeans and tasting their sweetness. Thanks again for sending in your family pictures and story!
Simply beautiful. The colors are fantastic. Perfect sunflower and pears. Thank you for sharing.
Loved the picture so much I set it to my back ground on my computer...cant wait for spring...thank you so much
Your mom and dad's garden has a real natural and pure beauty. It sounds like your family does too. You have done a beautiful job of describing the property and what it means to you, as well as photographing some of that natural beauty.
Wow Linda, the colors of that first picture are fantastic. Fuchsias are one of my favorite flowers but in this part of NV it is way too dry so I love seeing them in other gardens. Barns are great places for play and family times. They somehow bring those warm fuzzes with all the warmth and smells of hay and animals when I see them. So glad you included yours. Thanks for sharing your family memories with us as well. You paint a vivid picture and a wonderful tribute to your parents and what love does. Would love to see more pictures of the yard and the woodlands. ...cute little farmer guarding that garden. :)
My daughter says she would love to see pictures of the cleared paths through the woods and the patches of flowers. :)
What a treat...simply lovely writing and pictures! You are truly blessed Linda.
tntreeman: And did I hear snow??...please say it is not so!
Linda, you evoked many bittersweet memories of my own parent's and grandparent's gardening. My mother's parents always had a large urban vegetable garden in Brooklyn, where as I child I too raided the crop adn ate right from the ground, what's a little dirt, we unknowingly eat pecks in our liftime. My father's parents owned a lima bean farm here in the Catskills where I hold many good childhood memories, probably more than anything else why I retired here. That old red barn with a new metal roof appears to have a corner workshop just like my Norway yellow one does here... I keep thinking to paint it red but I am afraid to wrankle the Norse Gods. I envy that electric light, it's too expensive for me to bring electric the more than 600' to my barn... the inside is minimally wired, the last owners used a small generator, mostly for splitting firewood... I don't walk out there in darkness anyway, too many nocturnal preditors, don't want to bump into the coyotes, bear, and mountain lions. I like how you captured that sunflower growing under the barn window. All your photos are well done, very crisp. I can understand your romance with your childhood home, I doubt there are many parts of Texas that are so lush and green. I have a good friend who lives in New Braunfels, no real soil, just rock... we kid about how the rising temperatures will soon make it "Texhell". Your parent's home is the typical farmhouse architecture, well maintained and lovely plantings about. Michigan has wonderful rich farmland, maybe one day you'll move back home. Thank you, Linda, for sharing your Michigan and your memories.
tractor1: Loved your comment about eating out of the garden and dirt. I have fond childhood memories of eating veggies right off the vine, standing there in the middle of a garden row. Ah, the wonderful scent of a fresh picked tomato, the taste incredible and dirt/wash it first, who the heck gave it a thought. I remember picking and eating gooseberries(that's what I was told they were at the time and adult research confirmed what I remember they looked like) too, they grew along one side of the garden edge. Those were the days!
Linda: thank you for your timely photos! We in Ct. are starting our first of three days of another winter storm. Your pictures made my grey day turn to WOW! I loved the colors and flowers. Anyone can tell how uch you love going home!
Wow! Thank you all very much for the nice comments! I think Fine Gardening Magazine is the finest gardening magazine out there so I was thrilled when they chose to feature my pictures and story about my parent's home. I love everyone's comments especially about eating right out of the garden as I too used to love to do so. My favorites were green and yellow string beans along with cherry tomatos. To this day, when I visit, I pop fresh veggies in my mouth...a little dirt adds flavor. haha! (Not that I'm recommending this to anyone...don't want a lawsuit on my hands!)
I really appreciate the complimentary comments about my photos. I fell in love with photography about a year ago and have been working hard on improving my skills. If any of you are interested in seeing more of my work, I have a photography facebook page where I post one of my nature pictures each day. No advertisements, no commitments, no worries about getting SPAM, I'm just sharing my work for others to (hopefully) enjoy. Look me up and "like" my page if you'd like: Small Wonders Gal Photography - Linda Dyer Kennedy
Thanks again for the nice comments. My parents and their home really are as special as I portrayed.
Your family home and gardens are lovely, Linda...and so are your memories. Thank you for sharing.
The color combinations in the garden are just glorious, Linda. Great shots too. I've had some fun vacations in Michigan. Thank you for sharing your memories with us.
Linda, thanks for sharing the photos and the family story. I grew up the oldest of 8 kids on a dairy farm in Wisc., so I identify with much of your story. Only my folks still have a huge garden; they share with all the kids and donate to the church produce stand. Mom's freezers are always too full. I remember weeding the garden; the carrots was always the most difficult row. One of my favorite memories is that Mom says whenever she needed a break from us kids, she would pick raspberries. We wouldn't follow her there!
Made me homesick for my childhood home in Vermont. Lovely, vivid photos. The photography makes such a difference when sharing a garden. Our children all complained about weeding also, but several have grown up to be avid gardeners. Fuchsias grow well in pots here in western New York if kept in a semi-shady spot.
It's such a blessing to have a place where you can admire and enjoy nature with family and friends. And the flowers really lift up the spirit with their bright cheerful colors.
Wow Linda what an excellent colour combination, love the pears and sunflower, would love to see more pictures..
Hats off to your parents ;)
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