Here’s the thing… I may have been born in Illinois but I have lived in the south since I was 26 and I consider myself a southerner, through and through, and a southern gardener? No doubt.
You will likely not find the things I am planting in my garden in a garden center, or rarely. I look for old fashioned southern garden plants, what Felder Rushing and Steve Bender called Passalong Plants (as we do in the south) when plants are passed along from garden to garden through time. Many southerners who are true gardeners have things in their garden from their great grandmother’s garden (or even farther back). And I can just about guarantee you we all have a crinum lily somewhere!
As to the book “Passalong Plants” let me tell you that I have had a very large, very extensive garden library before my house fire and miraculously many books were saved but this was the first book that was replaced and I have bought so many copies for myself I have lost track because I loved it so much I kept giving it away to gardening friends who just HAD to have it. I recently just bought a copy for a friend with which I am sending 5 daylilies (You can buy a cheap copy on amazon, I just saw one there for $1.57. I paid $3 for the one for my friend. I bought my first copy nearly 25 years ago!). It is the tradition you see. Passing plants along, garden to garden. And the book (As especially is everything Felder Rushing has ever done or written in his whole life is an absolute hoot! And Steven Bender is a card himself along with being the garden writer for Southern Living Magazine.)
Steve Bender did a wonderful article for Southern Living Magazine on crinum lilies and I wish I could include the picture but it is copyrighted. You can find pictures online. These are “Milk and Wine” crinum lilies and are big pendulous white bells with red stripes and look very like candy canes, or just click here and see his article! He said this…
“The many species of crinum lilies are native to the warm and tropical parts of the world that include the Americas, Africa, and Asia. They’re known for large, coarse leaves reminiscent of amaryllis, as well as showy spikes of trumpet-shaped, often fragrant flowers. In time, they form enormous bulbs you almost need a backhoe to transplant. This size gives them the backbone to survive decades of utter neglect. As Felder Rushing, co-author of our award-winning book, Passalong Plants, observed, “No crinum has ever died.”
When I moved in here there were 3 gorgeous hot pink crinums and I love them, they come back every year despite the fact that thousands of dollars of other plants are long gone. But I have longed for Milk and Wine crinums for as long as I can remember AND THIS YEAR I FOUND THEM!!! And they weren’t expensive so I bought 3 but surely the gardener was a southern gardener because he sent me FOUR! I am about to plant them, I will share pictures along the way but these might not bloom until next year.
I’d like to write more but I swear to God I’ve barely left my garage “potting shed” in 2 days and I just got in after 7 from watering my garden which is getting big enough to unnerve the neighbors who at first thought it was charming and now am kind of afraid what I am up to. Partly I’m hoping to unnerve the people who were positively brutal to me awhile back over their dog they let run lose, but mostly I’m a southern gardener who was born with a trowel in her hand so to speak, lost her gardening sense after her house burned down, and is now making up for lost time. And this year everything is in pots because by next year lots of them will end up in the back yard, the front of the property and goodness knows where else.
I barely leave my house, I’ve lived in NC since 1992 and hardly know anybody, but once my garden REALLY gets going I’d love to meet some old fashioned southern gardeners who have plants to pass along. I can’t wait to share with them too!
ah, i have crinum lilies in my backyard that indeed were passed along to me by the father of a friend, who had so many in his garden he had to pass some on, and then he died (of old age), but the crinums bloom for me year after year, someones one or two bloom, sometimes more, you never know, but they are a glorious pink, with several flowers on each stem, and beautiful tall hearty leaves, i was thrilled to see you showcasing them in your blog today…
while i personally was born with a pen (not a trowel) in my hand, half a lifetime ago i suddenly discovered the joys of gardening, and all i can say is it’s good i have TWO hands — one for the pen and one for the trowel — and oh, writing and flowers go so well together, as i’m sure you’ve noticed,..
so carry on, create your spectacular and fulsome nursery of plants, to inspire all who pass your homestead… and meanwhile, enjoy the song of the soil, the lullaby of petals in the breeze, the rainbow assortment of hues greeting you each morning…
xox
ka
Ah Katya I am so happy that you, too, have crinum lilies! Aren’t they enchanting? And I love that they were “passed along” to you.
And yes, gardening and writing go well just like art and writing. I learned many many years ago that it helped me to have some other physical project besides my writing to help balance things out, and also if you get stuck in your writing and switch to the work of your hands you will unlock whatever is hidden. It lets your brain relax. It uses a different part of you. Then, while you are doing the other thing, the answer you needed comes. I used to have fiber art projects all around me, and when my brain closed down to the writing I just let go and picked up my fiber art. Now there is Maisie’s art, and the garden.
I, like many others, do not believe in “writer’s block.” I think people who are blocked in that way keep hammering away at the writing even when they have hit a wall, when if they just let go and painted, or gardened, or took a walk and were in a relaxed state doing something else, the writing would begin to flow again. I think I’m going to write something about that and related subject matter in today’s blog!
You carry on too honey. Neal the man who does my yard is on his way and it is never just cutting grass, it is cutting the azaleas back hard and doing all manner of things to keep my large, unruly property somewhat in check. It always feels so good after he’s been here, especially with the garden popping up all around everywhere now! 🙂
Love you Ka,
M. xoxox
I loooove flowers but can’t successfully grow them. The few I have are stuttering along. But I have been gifted with three precious things: the ability to pray; the gift of gab; and the honor to write well. However, the only ones who care about these is God and me. Lol.
Ah sweet Marge we all have different interests, gardening isn’t for everyone, but for those of us who are gardeners in our soul it is a grand passion! And you do have these precious gifts! Carry on dearheart, as we each will, doing what we do best!
Happy Summer!
Maitri