Memories of My Dad in the Garden
Dad Sings in the Rain
Recalling how much her father liked to be outside, Doreen Frick recalls her dad in the garden, showcasing anecdotes and memories, like plucking petals from a daisy.
Dad loved to work outside. He had a desk job, but whenever he could, he would be out there planting roses, feeding the lawn, mulching the flower beds.
He had a green thumb, and the trellis by the back of the house flourished with blooms and beauty. His tea roses were a hit, their dainty buds and pastel petals were our “goodbye for summer” gifts to our teachers.
Mom would clip a few, wrap their stems in wet napkins, and cover that with aluminum foil so they’d survive the bus ride to school. Our teachers always had a vase waiting on her desk.
Dad liked to garden and we liked to plant radishes in it.
My sisters both grew up to be terrific gardeners … me, not so much. Too much weeding. Too much perspiration. Too many bugs.
One summer in early June, Dad flew out to visit me in Washington state and put in a HUGE garden. I was expecting baby #3 and looked at him with a wry smile, he in his element, me, knowing that garden would probably not see me in it much. Once he left, I remember trying to keep up, but the days were full with working and growing my only little one inside me, and when she arrived, I think I may have only netted a few tomatoes, and some radishes.
That experience was wonderful, though, because years later I met a man who loved to garden but was too ill to keep it up. The neighbors saw his dilemma and tended it for him, making sure it produced for him as well as for anyone he chose to find homes to share it with, and I was one of those lucky recipients.
So pull out those gardening gloves. Put on the headphones. Sing in the rain.
Doreen Mary Frick is the author of Hodgepodge Logic (1999). She has written previous posts for Boomer, including “Baking Bread and Showing Love” and “My Grandmother’s Dream.”
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