A Rose From Any Other Name Would Not Smell as Sweet

Walk out in your garden and look around. Now tell me the story of your garden. Depending on the kind of garden, that story will be filled with plant names, design ideas, timelines, and, inevitably, the story of the plant origin. Most of those origins, you'll find, are about people, not the plants themselves.

I read a Facebook post this morning from a friend who had just been on a plant shopping trip with other friends. The pictures were of the plants, but all the comments revolved around those fun plant buying trips many had shared. Likewise, that information is now circulating among people she doesn't even know who are maybe making their own plans to visit those nurseries, or perhaps others with friends.

Or think about how many plants in your garden have been shared by you to others, or by others to you.

Here's a white flowered Redbud. It is the Chinese version of our North American Redbud, with the more unusual white flower. But that's not the end of the story.

Cercis chinensis 'Alba'

Although it is a lovely tree and one I enjoy every spring, I also remember it was a gift from my mother. And even then, the very best part of that story is that this very tree came from seed from a botanical garden in China through a seed exchange program. My mother worked as a volunteer at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden when it was first getting started, and her job was to sow and germinate seed that came in from the seed exchange. Once the plants were large enough, those that were extra were sold to raise money for the garden, and this tree was one that she purchased for my new garden.

My most special and sentimental remembrance in the garden is my

Euschaphis japonica in fall

Euschaphis japonica. It is a seedling from seed collected from an island off the coast of South Korea by JC Raulston and Barry Yinger. The seed were handed to me by the late JC Raulston and luckily I got two to germinate. One stands at the entrance to the nursery. JC Raulston was a champion of interesting plant material, and a hero to many of us just coming along in the business. Although we lost JC many years ago, his influence and mentorship still live and blossom here at the nursery, along with that tree.

Rosmarinus 'Blue Spires'

Rosmarinus 'Blue Spires' grows like gangbusters in my garden. It is a selection made by my former Professor  and current friend Dr Allan Armitage.

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Amethyst'

Likewise is Hydrangea quercifolia 'Amethyst'. It is one of many selections made by Dr Michael Dirr. I went back to school to get a horticulture degree when my children were 3 and 5. It was the scariest thing I've ever done. It was also the best decision I've ever made.
Dr Dirr was my advisor, and was such an infectious and inspirational character that to this day I look forward to any opportunity I have to talk plants with him.

Forsythia x media 'Beatrix Farrand'

That list goes on and on- Forsythia x media 'Beatrix Farrand' cuttings identified and shared by the great nurseryman Don Shadow.

Edgeworthia papyrifera 'Jitsko's Red'

Or the incredible number and quality of rare plants shared by plant explorer and gardener extraordinaire Ozzie Johnson. Here is one named for his late wife- an extremely beautiful version of Japanese Paperbush.

Rosa spinnossima 'Petite Pink'

There are also plants here that remind me of others. This rose was not one my grandmother knew, nor was she even alive when I learned it. But she treasured her Scottish heritage, and she was something of a small, spiny, tough woman with a bit of a soft pink side. This plant is, in my mind, the embodiment of my grandmother's dearest qualities and serves as sweet way to keep her close to my heart.

When we share our plants, or experiences with plants, very often what we are sharing is ourselves. In some very real sense, I am surrounded by friends, mentors, and loved ones when I am in my garden. And I believe that I populate the gardens of other friends and customers, too. It is another special way to enjoy gardening, and each other.

Next time you remember to stop and smell the roses, take the time to remember their people connections, too.

"Gardeners, like everyone else, live second by second and minute by minute. What we see at one particular moment is then and there before us. But there is a second way of seeing. Seeing with the eye of memory, not the eye of our anatomy, calls up days and seasons past and years gone by." 

                                            Allen Lacy, The Gardener's Eye