• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Speaking
    • Upcoming Speaking Engagements
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Through The Garden Gate: A Simpler Time

May 19, 2009 By Carol Michel 18 Comments

To pass through the garden gate, I must pass by my peonies in bloom.

The peonies remind me of a simpler time, when all I knew of “pennies” was that they grew in a bed on the garage side of our house. My peonies are those same peonies, transplanted from that simpler time and place to my own garden.

I remember how my Dad taught us to how to pinch out the side buds and leave the main flower buds so the blooms would be bigger. I don’t do that myself, but sometimes think that I should, just to remember how big those blooms could get.


My Dad often cut the peony blooms early in the morning and gave us bunches of them to give to our teachers. Or sometimes he would cut them and place them in jars of water to take with us on a visit to my grandparents on Memorial Day weekend. Once we arrived at their house, we would spend half the day driving from one little cemetery to another, leaving a few peonies on the graves of great, great-great, and even great-great-great grandparents, learning our family history along the way.

Those were simpler times, when daisies were used to determine “he loves me, he loves me not” or make some other important decision of childhood.
It was a time when I was happy to plant anything, digging in the dirt with a kitchen spoon, dreaming of what my own garden might be like some day.

It was a time when driving out to a nearby woods to hunt for morel mushrooms meant we would return with bags of wild violets to plant, because we knew those were Mom’s favorite flowers.
I want those simpler times in my own garden, to always have a few peonies, a clump or two of daisies, and violets interspersed amongst the flowers. I want to go through my garden gate and be happy with my garden…

And I am.


(Visit My Corner of Katy to see what she and others have going on through their garden gates today.)

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: family, perennials

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Janet Rudolph says

    May 19, 2009 at 3:10 am

    What a lovely post. Yes, simpler times. Beautiful photos and wwriting

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says

    May 19, 2009 at 3:18 am

    What a nice post and nice memories. Much stays the same.
    Susie

    Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    May 19, 2009 at 4:09 am

    It sounds like your father was quite the gardener. It’s cool that you’ve got the same peonies in your own garden. I’ve read that peony plants can last for decades. And of course daisies and violets definitely have their simplistic charms, don’t they?

    Reply
  4. mss @ Zanthan Gardens says

    May 19, 2009 at 4:21 am

    Those peonies seem like lovely old romantic flower. Can’t believe you had a frost last night, although both day and night temps dropped 20 degrees (from 76/96 to 56/76) in Austin. Here, though, it was a heavenly respite.

    Reply
  5. Morning Glories in Round Rock says

    May 19, 2009 at 4:40 am

    What a wonderful post! How lovely to have those same peonies in your garden to remind you of that simplier time. I always think of my grandmother when I see peonies, and I can hear her in my head saying, “Pee-o-nies”. I think I garden to continue a tradition–a connection to my mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.

    Reply
  6. Town Mouse says

    May 19, 2009 at 4:54 am

    Yes, I often think of my mother when I plant something new, or see a newly-opened bud… and cherish the memories.

    Reply
  7. Unknown says

    May 19, 2009 at 1:01 pm

    What a precious post! Simpler times, sigh….Daisies were a great help in solving lifes big questions!

    Reply
  8. Carol says

    May 19, 2009 at 1:45 pm

    Very Very touching! So true too! Walking through the garden gate… no twitter except the varied songs of birds. Lovely memory of your father… thanks so for sharing and reminding of simpler times we can still cultivate in our gardens and lives.

    Reply
  9. Kathy says

    May 19, 2009 at 1:53 pm

    I think it’s great that you could visit so many of your ancestor’s graves and learn your family history as you decorated them. We uproot ourselves so often in the U.S. we hardly realize what we miss by not staying in one place for a long time.

    Reply
  10. Cindy, MCOK says

    May 19, 2009 at 2:48 pm

    Carol, thanks for joining me in looking through the garden gate! A garden is so many things to each of us: living memories are one of the best, I think. Here’s to your dad, who obviously had a great deal to do with your becoming a gardener.

    Reply
  11. Dee/reddirtramblings says

    May 19, 2009 at 3:14 pm

    Carol, that was one of the sweetest posts I think you’ve ever written. I loved hearing about your dad and your family. I have violets all over my woods. Would your mom like some?~~Dee

    Reply
  12. Nan says

    May 19, 2009 at 4:12 pm

    Wonderful post. I love the memories, and I love the idea of a simple garden. I enjoy ‘working’ in a garden, but mostly I like to sit and look at the beauty.

    Reply
  13. Mr. McGregor's Daughter says

    May 19, 2009 at 10:43 pm

    Memories are such an important part of gardening. You are lucky to have the heirloom Peonies from your dad’s garden. They are lovely, and I bet they smell wonderful too. I learned a trick for cutting Peony flowers from Roy Klehm: cut the flowers when the bud is just showing color. That way you can get the ants off, and the flower will open in the house.

    Reply
  14. Lisa at Greenbow says

    May 20, 2009 at 1:56 am

    What a sweet nostalgic post Carol. I love garden gates. They are an intrigue. I always want to see what is behind those gates.

    Reply
  15. "Daffodil Planter" Charlotte Germane says

    May 20, 2009 at 2:29 am

    So many touching images here, thank you!

    Reply
  16. Tira says

    May 20, 2009 at 3:18 am

    What lovely sentiments and childhood garden memories.

    Reply
  17. Rebecca says

    May 22, 2009 at 5:04 pm

    I, too, associate peonies with Memorial Day. Occasionally my grandmother would pick them and store in the bottom drawer of refrigerator to keep them until “Decoration Day”….

    Reply
  18. Corner Gardener Sue says

    May 23, 2009 at 4:08 am

    Your post brought back similar memories. My grandmother did not garden, but I grew up loving violets because she had them in her lawn at one of her places. I have some in my veggie garden that I have to keep in check.

    Daisies were one of the first kind of flowers I grew, and I still grow them.

    I am fortunate to still have 3 of the peony bushes my mother-in-law planted here.

    Thanks for sharing what’s behind your garden gate.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,047)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT