When I was growing up I spent a lot of time helping my mother build new garden spots in the rocky Ozark ground. We moved from the Kansas plains where the dirt ran deep to the shallow clay soil of Missouri. There was the vegetable garden that was a work in progress for the entire time I lived there, but any cranny that would support a flower garden got one.
Mom had seen an article ( this was the late 1960's) about a “stroll garden”, so anytime there wasn't a more urgent project for me to do, we worked on this new idea. Down the hill from the new house we started planting flowers and shrubs, letting some of the native stock like redbuds and dogwoods keep their spot. Soon a trail emerged lined on both sides by various plantings.
The most noteworthy part of this garden was that many of the plants came from friends nearby who had grown them on their own place. Over the years this became a “friendship garden” because as flowers bloomed each year we were reminded of where they came from. Most times getting these “starts” included a good visit and stories to remember.
Long after Mom was gone those plants just kept right on growing and blooming, year after year. As our own families grew and got places of their own many starts from Mom's friendship garden worked their way on down the line. It's been fun to tell the stories of the friends from whence they came.
Here are a few of the favorite plants that have a place in our friendship garden:
Daffodil is one of the first spring bulbs up and is long lasting. Daffodil is the common name for plants that fall into the genus Narcissus. However, most people use the term “daffodil” when referring to the large, trumpet-shaped flowers that we all know and love. That's why you may see different types of Daffodil, but by knowing you may want to plant several different types. The Tulip is not an Ozark native but comes from across the sea. Many credit it's origin to Holland, however that's just where they became famous because of a book written about them. Tulips grow great here, but are fragile and short lived. Their beauty makes up the difference, and they dependably come up year after year. Grape Hyacinth are such a tiny flower but the bulbs are hardy enough for this region and come up every year. The blue color gives a nice contrast to so many other flowers that bloom in spring. Put them around taller plantings and they will hold their own. Crocus can be found in lots of different colors, so they can blend in with your other plantings. Once they get a start they will come up every year and slowly multiply. As you get more plants you can move some or share with friends. There are more kinds and colors of Iris than you can shake a stick at, but that makes it all the more fun to grow them. Your friends are bound to have a type that you don't, and they spread so fast it's easy to get a start. Sometimes you can even find them in abandoned places along a country road. If you get interrupted while planting and leave them laying around, they'll grow anyway. We didn't have many redbuds in Kansas, so when we moved to the Ozarks they were quickly one of Mom's favorite trees. You couldn't chop one down even if it was in the way. Redbud blooms first thing every spring and adds color to otherwise drab woodland. Wild Plum is the first white bloom in the woods in spring. It's often confused with Dogwood when seen from the road, but dogwood blooms later. Some wild plums will have friut later in the year. I learned early in life that if Mom wanted a start for the place, you can dig up most anything and move it. Dogwood blooms a little later, but it's a favorite here in the Ozarks. Even though they wait a while to show off, the Redbud and Dogwood can usually be seen blooming in the same woods. What a splash of spring color.
Every spring when flowers start blooming and I see all the colors along the roadsides, I think of Mom and her love for perennial blooms. As the year rolls on other types of flowers take the place of the spring types, giving us a continual change of excitement.
