Geraniums for Memorial Day—Remembering

My grandmother always called it “Decoration Day” but every Memorial Day, when I was living at home and even long after I’d started a family, my mom, grandmother, kids and I would get into my Uncle Sonny’s big Ford Fairlane and drive to New Calvary & Mt. Hope Cemetery to decorate the graves where my grandfather, aunts, uncles and great-grandparents were buried.  Along the way, we’d stop at one of the roadside vendors and buy red, pink and white geraniums in 4” pots for each grave.

It was my job to choose the best looking geraniums with the brightest color and most buds.  Geraniums could take the heat, poor soil, lack of water and didn’t have to be deadheaded to keep blooming like petunias did. 

As they pulled weeds and planted geraniums, My grandmother and mother would recall stories about the relatives, I’d never met.  I would catch my grandmother, gently touching my grandfather’s name and getting misty-eyed as she knelt in front of the markers for her little brother, a six-year old victim of diphtheria in the early 1900’s and her father who died from TB when she was only seven years old, leaving her mother a widow with three young children to raise alone in South Boston. 

My mother and uncle would remember out loud their only uncle, Tim, a blacksmith, who made them puzzles and rings from horseshoe nails and died from a broken heart when a fire swept though the stable and the draft horses that he loved were lost.

My grandmother and Uncle Sonny are gone now.  Nana Ford is buried next to her beloved husband in New Calvary and Uncle Sonny rests alone in a military cemetery on Cape Cod.  No one visits New Calvary or Mt. Hope Cemetery anymore.  The surviving aunts and uncles, now in their 80’s and 90’s no longer drive and the next generations--first and second cousins are spread out across the country.  

My mom is elderly now too, has memory problems and is unstable on her feet sometimes.  We  talk every year about making the trip out to New Calvary and “decorating” the graves.  Years ago we would stop at the cemetery Gatehouse and my mother would look up the row numbers and street name.  She’s not sure she still remembers any of them, but this year we are going again—it may be the last year we can. 

We’ll bring the 4-inch geraniums in pink, white and red along with some small pebbles that we’ve collected from my mom’s house, my house and the beach where my grandparents had a summer cottage. 

There is a beautiful Jewish custom of leaving small pebbles on a gravesite that inspires me to do this.  It  originated in ancient times when graves were marked only with piles of rocks and adding more was a way to let others know that here lies a person worth remembering. 

Happy Memorial Day.

The Fairy Gardener Returns

I’m back for good this time.  No more unexplained absences or disappearances---I’ve missed all of you and I’ve missed writing about gardening and quilting.   I had planned to post the pictures of my Avon Walk weekend before now but Calvin’s first birthday and a little “accident” (hmmm) delayed this post a bit.  More on the accident later—let’s just say I’m NOT grace, charm and elegance rolled into one package, LOL.

The Avon Walk  is over, I did finish the entire two days and 39.9 miles without so much as a blister or shin splint!

I want to thank all of you who supported me with your good thoughts and donations.  There were times during the first day when I thought I wouldn’t be able to finish the 26 miles but somehow I’d get a second wind and I know it was those good thoughts coming at me. 

I had two great walking companions that also helped me make it—Dawn, a PBS Producer, completed her 7th walk  and Kelley, the Director of Diesel E-Books who walked the entire 26 miles with Dawn and I on Saturday, caught a train back to NYC that night, got up at 6:00 am on Sunday morning to attend another event and at noontime was on a cruise to the Bahamas! 

We raised over $5.2 million dollars to fight breast cancer just in Boston and that number still climbs as the final donations are processed!

A good chunk of that money was awarded to local charities on Sunday, May 15th at the Closing Ceremony.  

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center of Boston received $1.5 million. The grant will support HER2 positive breast cancer research, as well as programs that help low income women receive care at the Avon Center at Mass General and community clinics.

University of Massachusetts - Amherst received $300,000 to develop a test to identify premalignant breast lesions that have a high risk of progressing to breast cancer and differentiate them from those unlikely to advance.

Silent Spring Institute of Newton, MA, received $175,000 to support a research fellowship looking at the potential role of the environment in breast cancer development

Community Servings of Jamaica Plain, MA, received $100,000 to support the Avon Door-to-Door Delivery Program, which brings thousands of meals to breast cancer patients and their families.

The Avon Foundation also awarded four grants during the Closing Ceremony to further strengthen the Avon Safety Net program, which consists of more than 100 hospitals across the country that ensure women and men who might otherwise fall through the cracks of the healthcare system have access to high quality breast cancer services. The Safety Net grants include:

- LifeSpan Foundation of Providence, RI received a grant of $250,000

- Boston Medical Center received a grant of $250,000

- Cambridge Health Alliance of Boston received a grant of $125,000

- Central Maine Medical Center of Lewiston, ME, received a grant of $62,000

Now do you feel good inside?   I do and  I hope you do too, because you made this possible.

One of the greatest things about this walk was the number of people that turned out along our walk route, which I have to say covered some of the prettiest areas in Boston and the suburbs.   So many of the houses in the neighborhoods we walked through were decorated with pink balloons, pink ribbons and signs.  People offered us water, snacks, flowers and trinkets and all of them said “Thank you for walking!”

So I’d like to leave you with some pictures of the walk and some information about the Leopard’s Bane and Basket of Gold Allysum that I planted in between rain showers-–of which we’ve had a lot lately. 

Avon Walk - Boston 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 

Keeping leopards away—if you have any!

I’ve admired Leopard’s Bane for many years now, since seeing a rambunctious patch of it growing beneath a flowering cherry tree in a beautiful hilltop garden overlooking the Merrimack River.  

Leopard’s Bane (Doronicum) is one of the oldest cultivated plants and  the earliest perennials to bloom in spring beating out ground phlox by a couple of weeks.  There are several species and crosses ranging from 6 inches to 30 inches tall but the average is about 14 inches. 

Its bright yellow daisy-like flowers are born singly on top of stiff stems and are 2” across.  They look lovely when  planted in among spring flowering bulbs like tulips, and grape hyacinths. It’s also a tough rugged plant that spreads easily.  Originating in Eurasia it grows in many different habitats from dry open meadows to alpine rockeries.

Leopard’s bane likes evenly moist soil and will grow in full sun or partial shade, but in hot dry conditions it will go “summer dormant” like oriental poppies sometimes do.  That means it dies all the way down to the ground and hides till cooler weather arrives.

The entire plant is poisonous but  deer and  rabbits leave it alone, so it’s a good choice for those of us that have to compete with voracious wildlife next door. 

As a matter of fact, I often plant a species that’s not attractive to deer or rodents in with a species that is.  You might have heard of this method called “companion planting”.  I used to have a terrible time with deer eating my Rubrum Lilies from the top and voles and chipmunks eating the bulbs underground till I accidentally planted some giant allium bulbs in the same spot—evidently the alliums, which are a member of the onion family, nauseated the voles, deer and chipmunks so much that they left the lilies alone too.

Deadheading the flowers on Leopard’s Bane right after they bloom sometimes stimulates a second flush of flowers but for the most part they are one-time per season bloomers.  Every three or four years, clumps should be divided or they tend to get weak and die off.   The best time to divide the clumps is late summer or early fall but I’ve seen them divided in spring and still do fine. 

Oh, and  if that’s not enough reason to plant Leopard’s Bane, they make great cut flowers too.

Till next time,

Gail  

Where’s The Fairy Gardener???

That seems a logical question to ask, in light of the fact that she has been absent from Blog World for a whole month!  

Believe me, it hasn’t been for lack of words or news—I love to talk--and there is plenty to write about and share with you now that spring has finally arrived here in the northeast.   It just so happens that about a month ago, I was asked if I was interested in working a temporary assignment for a new company that could turn into a permanent job—maybe!

It feels good to be a contributing member of society again, lol but it sure cuts into the available time for the other parts of one’s life, like family, friends, chores, grocery shopping, gardening and blogging!   My weekends have been super busy—holidays, birthdays, errands, car repair and everything else that can’t be done during the 9 hours of a person’s workday and commute.

This weekend is “WALK WEEKEND” and once it’s over, I’ll have more time to concentrate on gardening and my other love—sewing and quilting and blogging about both!

I’m excited, nervous and anxious all rolled into one.  Last night I had a conference call with my two Avon Walk teammates.  We are meeting up in Boston on Friday the day before the walk to sign in and pick up our pre-walk paperwork.

It feels wonderful to know that some of this money we raise will provide screening services, health care and cancer treatment to women who can’t afford health insurance but who’s earned income is too high to qualify for medicaid.  

Who are they?  They are your coffee shop waitresses, your part-time retail clerks, the part-time help you see in garden centers and dry cleaners, divorced mothers, single women and down-sized office workers who’s benefits have run out—like me and maybe some of you too.

Every four and a half minutes a diagnosis of breast cancer is made in the US so screening and early detection saves lives. 

Thanks to so many wonderful and generous people, I’ve raised 56% of my goal of $1,800 in donations but I still need to raise about $800 and so I’m again asking for your help.   

Just eighty blogging followers and friends who can find it in their hearts to donate $10 each and I’ll make my goal.

Please consider making a donation today.   Everyone who makes a donation will be entered into the drawing for my quilt, “Hope’s Garden”. 

To make a donation online, please visit my Avon Page or Click the “AVON” button in the top left corner.   And know that I’ll be walking for you, me, our loved ones and the next generation!  

BE  In it to end it!

Hugs,

Gail

  

Sunday - My Avon Walk Update and the Kindness of Strangers….

Wednesday I had to take my poor fourteen year old car in for repairs and decided to walk home instead of asking a friend to give me a lift.  

From my mechanic’s garage to my front door is a a ten-mile trek and the longest walk I’ve done so far but there’s less than a month till the Avon 40-mile walk for breast cancer and I need to get my body prepared for the two days of 8-hour walks.

So after dropping off the car at 8:30 am.   I started out on foot towards home with my backpack, water, a snack, camera, lip gloss and some of my donation cards to hand out.  

My first stop was at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. I handed out a few of my Avon Page donation cards, told my story and asked a few people to sponsor me. 

One man was very direct and told me that he couldn’t. He said his wife died from lymphoma and he had just lost house to foreclosure.   I told him I understood and was very sorry to learn about his misfortunes, after all, these are very tough times we’re living in, but a few minutes later when I was sitting at a table with my coffee and breakfast sandwich he came over and handed me a $20 bill and told me about his sister-in-law, aunt and several other women in his family who had all died in just the last ten years from breast cancer.

Let’s just say it was everything I could do to keep from tearing up. 

The rest of the walk took me three hours and 20 minutes and that included a stretching stop, water stop, breakfast at Dunkin Donuts and some picture taking.

Some scenic spots that I passed along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aside from being mildly sore and really tired which had nothing to do with walking and everything to do with not sleeping well the night before, I felt great!   In fact I felt good enough to walk another five miles the following day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m getting fitter with each walk.

As of today I’ve reached about 50% of my fundraising goal but here is where the kindness of strangers comes into play…

There’s less than 35 days till my walk on May 14th and I still have about $900 to raise.   Maybe that seems like a lot but I think of it as $10 from 90 believers, 90 followers and 90 friends who are like me and have a family member or friend who’s been affected with this disease or who don’t want to see the next generation at risk.

Remember it’s not just breast cancer that’s benefitting from this fundraising—it’s all cancers because many of the new treatments that are developed to treat breast cancer will  also be used in treating other aggressive cancers.

Won’t you help me meet my goal—$10.00, that’s all I ask. 

What would you be willing to give up in order to donate $10.00? 

Lets see… $10.00 will buy five FQ’s or a couple of dahlia bulbs, two flats of summer annuals, six packages of seeds, two value meals at McDonalds.  Would it be worth giving up just one of those things to end breast cancer?   To me it would be.

Please click on the “PINK” Avon Walk button in the top left of the page or go  HERE to support my walk today.  I do need your help.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Gail

P.S.  In case you need another incentive to donate how about a super FREE give-away because every one who sponsors my walk will be entered into the drawing for my Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt, “Hope’s Garden”

Forcing Branches

Remember the poem…”April showers bring may flowers”…?  Well you can have them earlier than May.

Every year, I cut some forsythia and fruit tree branches and bring them indoors to use for my Easter centerpiece.  I like to arrange them in a large vase with tulips and other spring flowers.

I select my branches from trees that are early bloomers like wild cherry and plum. Though, it’s also possible to force lilacs and  early flowering azaleas,  the results aren’t always as good.

Forcing branches is simple and almost foolproof.  Timing is the most important consideration because once the flowers open up, they only last a very short time. 

Pick your branches no more than five to seven days ahead of when you plan to use them.  Look for branches with large swollen buds (these usually contain the flowers) or look for buds that are showing some color.

If you look at the picture of the lilac buds (above) you can see a marked difference in the size of the buds.  The larger terminal buds (on the tips) contain flowers.  The smaller side buds contain leaves.

Cut the branches at an angle and try to take branches that really need to be pruned out so that you don’t ruin the shape of your shrub.

It helps to crush the ends of the branches a bit with a mallet or small hammer.  This will allow them to take up water faster.   Before you put the branches in your vase, trim all the leaves and buds below the waterline so that it doesn’t pollute the water.  You can add a drop of chlorine bleach to the water to prevent bacteria build up too.

Now put your vase of branches where they’ll stay cool, like an unheated garage or covered porch.  They’ll continue to open up but the cold will slow them down so they won’t bolt or bloom before you need them.  Check the water daily and add more if needed. 

About two to three days before you want them to open, bring your branches indoors into a warm sunny room to finish opening. 

Experiment—try different shrubs and flowering trees.  Trees and shrubs that bloom early in the season work best.  

Don’t be surprised if some branches develop roots. Forsythia roots very easily and you can plant the rooted cuttings.    

Mother Nature’s April Fool’s Day Joke

Who would think that Mother Nature would be the April Fool’s trickster this year! 

Just when  I’ve got the water situation in the garage under control…

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Ernie decided to write his name for posterity in the wet cement that Handyman Jerry used to patch the garage floor around the new sump pump. )

and I’m ready to write some gardening tutorials about forcing branches, farmer’s markets, early veggie crops & planting seeds she decided to let winter have a last laugh and drop eight inches of snow last night!

(Does this crabapple tree look happy?)

So my attention is again diverted to my other  projects like doing some more fundraising for my Avon walk…

and making a laptop sleeve (tutorial to come)… 

and repairing some vintage doll clothes for a Cabbage Patch doll collector.  Some of these outfits are very hard to find and worth quite a bit of money.  

I’m heading out to start up “Deere Jane” and clear the driveway of snow—hopefully for the very last time!  Sigh.

Back Again

It’s been a couple of weeks since my last post.  I know you’ve been busy—me too. 

Geez how time flies.  Just look outside and you can see that we are getting closer to spring here in New England. It’s Marching up the east coast though I heard it may take a detour over the next couple of days, weather-wise that is.  Last year at this time I was outside raking leaves and cleaning up the beds—not this year.  The snow has mostly melted in the backyard but the front still looks like the artic circle.

I’m in full swing to train for my Avon 2-day walk. The weather has been cool but dry and perfect for longer and longer walks.  I walk an average of two plus miles a day with a couple of extra long walks twice a week.  My goal this week is to work up to eight miles in one stretch.

Have you noticed the pink “Donate”  button in the upper left corner of my blog?   When you click on it, it will take you to my Avon Personal Page where you can read my story and make a donation and I hope you will help me to end this disease once and for all.  I want to see all of our daughters, granddaughters, nieces, sisters, cousins and friends have a future that isn’t touched by breast cancer.  

P.S.   EVERYONE who makes a donation, no matter what amount is entered into the FREE raffle for my Bonnie Hunter Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll Quilt, which is now finished!  Pictures to follow SOON!  I Promise!

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I have some pictures to share with you today, since this will be a short post.  They were taken at the New England Flower Show when it was in full swing.   You can scroll down to an older post and see the “BEFORE” pictures taken on the day my daughter and I helped set up the flower show.  

Enjoy—there’s more to come!

Gail

You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.