Maybe I have a green thumb?

Another bit of Grandma Luderman

Grandma Luderman (I’ve spoken of her before https://marshainthemiddle.com/lets-talk-trends/) planted a huge garden! It was more like two in one. The front part of it was flowers, and the back part of it was vegetables. My memory may be betraying me because I obviously liked the flowers more. As with my parents, I only know the parts of my grandma’s life that include me! I’m not sure if she grew up on a farm or not, but the house and garden I remember best are the ones she and Grandpa had after selling the big farm. That’s a story for another day!

Grandpa would plow the gardens early in the spring. If I was lucky, I would get to help Grandma plant the flower seeds. Each fall, Grandma would harvest seeds. And, again, if I was lucky, I would get to help. First, we would pluck the heads of the marigold and zinnias. Grandma always said to pick the best and biggest. I don’t know if she had ever heard of Mendel, but Grandma definitely understood the idea of genetics! Then, we would trim the flower petals. I’m not sure why we did this. We would lay the denuded flowers out on paper to dry. This would take several days. Once they’d dried, we would then rub them between our fingers to separate the seeds. For the life of me, I cannot remember what Grandma stored them in. Knowing her frugality, it was something she’d used over and over again. Next (although it would have been the same day, I’m sure), we would harvest the big seeds already formed from the four o’clocks. We would do the same with the celosia though Grandma called them cock’s combs. They had teeny little black seeds…think poppy seeds.

Grandma even planted these huge castor bean plants. I think she just liked the foliage and the colorful beans. You certainly couldn’t eat them! They’re where ricin comes from https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/castor-bean-ricinus-communis/. She would gather those beans to plant the next year, too! She also planted gladioli, cosmos, hollyhocks, and anything else that tempted her when the seed catalog came. For the most part, Grandma used her own seeds, but she did occasionally splurge on something new! In fact, I have some seeds from my sister, Mary (Hi, Mary!), that were from Grandma’s four o’clocks! Grandma rarely planted flowers from a garden center. She only used garden center starts for things like cabbages and onions.

Of course, what gets planted also has to be weeded! Weeding was not my favorite thing! Eating out was! Grandma worked at the local five and dime, and Friday nights were her late nights. Grandpa would come to our house for dinner. My brother and I would take turns going home with him. Saturdays meant weeding, mowing, more weeding! But, then, we went out for supper (Grandpa and Grandma ate Sunday dinners at noon), and I could have almost anything I wanted. Back to the weeding, though…Grandma (who truly was ahead of her time) had made mats for us to kneel on as we pulled and cut weeds back. I think the only tools we used were our hands! No fancy gardening tools for Grandma! You may be thinking Grandma had the best tools around…us! But, we only weeded on Saturdays. Grandma and Grandpa both would have weeded during the week as the gardens (both vegetable and flower) were at least an acre! Weeds are quite persistent little devils!

Inside the house, too!

Grandma also had plants inside the house. They had two huge plate glass picture windows, one on the north side and the other on the east side. The room with the window on the east side was paneled in knotty pine; I think the former owners called it the den. Grandma had several plants in there including an English ivy on a plant stand her father or grandfather had made. Another plant she had was a Christmas cactus. Grandma could grow anything. The cactus would bloom spectacularly! (Later, she made the mistake of giving me both the cactus and the ivy…I killed them.) Do you remember the old tv trays? Grandma had a couple of those in that room covered with little pots of different plants. The woman loved plants! This house was an early version of an open concept in that the kitchen was one huge room where they also ate. A pony wall separated the kitchen from the living room (where the north facing picture window was) and the den. Separating the kitchen from two of the bedrooms was another pony wall. This one contained a planter and was probably three to four feet long. There were poles reaching to the ceiling…probably for climbing plants. Strangely enough, Grandma struggled to keep plants growing there. I think it may have had to do with the light or lack thereof.

What does this have to do with me?

When Nigel and I were first married, he would buy me little plants at KMart! I think you could get them for $.25 each! It took me a bit, but I finally got the hang of growing plants. Those first years (when we were childless), I had many different plants. But, as the kids came along, my green thumb withered away. I just didn’t have time for plants. When Grandma gifted me with that English ivy plant and antique plant stand, I was overjoyed. I honestly cried when that plant died. She’d had it forever and was always giving it “haircuts”! I thought she’d be devastated when I told her, but it was no big deal. Over the years, I tried to grow plants inside, but I never had much success. Outside, though! Oh, mama! I planted irises, day lilies, begonias, cosmos, nasturtiums, petunias, impatiens…you name it, I probably planted it. But, I didn’t ever harvest my seeds.

Before Grandpa died (actually the year after we got married), they sold that little farm-ette. I was always sad we hadn’t known they were going to sell it because I would have loved to have lived there! Grandpa and Grandma bought a mobile home and put it on my aunt’s land. Grandma planted petunias and four o’clocks between the trailer and garage. She never had to plant them again! They came up every year, even changing colors some years! Petunias are not a perennial in Indiana! But, Grandma had convinced hers they were, indeed, perennial plants. You didn’t tell Grandma no!

So, now, I live several miles away from Grandma’s house and gardens (no garden anymore…two houses live where her gardens did). One of the things I’ve missed since moving here is the lack of gardens. I have a few places around the yard where I stuck in plants and bushes either given to me or bought on clearance. And, then, last year, during the pandemic, my oldest son bought me a marigold planter. I decided to pluck some of those dead heads and throw them on the ground to see if they’d grow. Wouldn’t you know it? They took off! I didn’t even put any dirt over them! I harvested several of the biggest and best (Grandma’s advice) last year and planted them this spring. We don’t have the best dirt here; it’s primarily clay. And, I’m too lazy to amend the soil properly. I planted my seeds along the south side of our house along with elephant ears (I can grow those). I watered and waited and watered and waited some more. And….up through that awful dirt…beautiful marigolds grew under the towering elephant ears and cannas. This year, I planted begonias in my cement urns. They’ve been a little iffy but are rebounding as the weather cools off. I’m experimenting with caladium and other types of colocasia and alocasia. I think I’m going to break down and amend the soil with some good old-fashioned manure and some worm castings. So, now I not only look like Grandma Luderman; I grow flowers like her, too!

As for inside plants, when we moved to this house, it was brand new. I decided to get some plants that are supposed to better the air quality. And, I’m happy to report most of them survived to tell the story! A couple…a few…several didn’t make it. I discovered, as much as I like them, succulents are not for me. I just want to water them too much! I’m a whiz at growing dracena plants as well as some others I don’t know the names of! I do love spider plants and have several around the house. I’m just waiting for them to give me some babies so I can have more! I guess my green thumb has officially been revived!

The Lewk

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I’ll bet you can’t guess the name of the designer? Ding! Ding! Ding! It’s April Cornell https://www.aprilcornell.com/product/Fall-Meadow-Short-Dress-DRA5365L-Sage/dresses-attic-clearance. It’s funny that I just wrote about not liking tiers or flounces…look what I am wearing! I splurged on these espadrilles because I have a wonky foot. They are comfortable and a nice neutral. https://www.nordstrom.com/s/eileen-fisher-willow-espadrille-wedge-sandal-women/4186616?origin=category-personalizedsort&breadcrumb=Home%2FWomen%2FShoes%2FSandals&color=251 My necklace and earrings are from the color bar at Kendra Scott. The necklace is the now discontinued Raine in rose gold with a rhodium filigree inset. The earrings are the same. The other necklace is an old Stella & Dot as is the adjustable bracelet with a wing. The other two bracelets are Kendra Scott and were Christmas gifts from my kids a few years ago.

Wrap it up, Marsha!

I hope you enjoyed learning about my grandma and her amazing gardens. Do you plant a garden, vegetable or flower? Have you saved seeds from generation to generation? Do you have a green thumb? Or, has yours withered? Are you one of those lucky people who can plant something and not have to dig it up because you live in the right zone? Oh, gosh! That’s a lot of questions, right? If you enjoyed this post, please leave me a comment or two! I love talking with you even if it’s virtually! If you haven’t already done so, won’t you please consider subscribing to my blog? I’d love to grow my little community!

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