{"id":1464,"date":"2014-10-31T11:26:59","date_gmt":"2014-10-31T18:26:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogadmin.plantlust.com\/blog\/?p=1464"},"modified":"2024-01-24T06:21:08","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T14:21:08","slug":"i-get-nostalgic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plantlust.com\/blog\/gardens\/i-get-nostalgic\/","title":{"rendered":"I Get Nostalgic"},"content":{"rendered":"

This Concordia neighborhood has the kind of trees and plants so common when I was growing up on Mallory Avenue\u2014in the Boise Elliot neighborhood a mile away. Oh sure, people gardened, but other than my Grandmother who loved Dahlias<\/a>, I didn\u2019t know anyone with the kind of plant passion so many of us share today.<\/p>\n

\"Grandmother<\/a>
Grandmother Kate Loved Dahlias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There were Monkey Puzzle Trees<\/a> and roses<\/a>, maples<\/a> and elms, and tomato plants in summer. My grandfather loved tomatoes, and once produced a two-pounder. He grew clover as a cover crop, and told me he did it for the rabbits.<\/p>\n

\"American<\/a>
American Elms Reigned Supreme in Portland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a kid, I recognized the presence of Bergenias, though certainly not by name, and I knew Daphnes with their wafting wondrous scent. Perfectly rounded Boxwoods framed the steps of our front porch\u2014my parents must have called out their names\u2014and two Mountain Ashes straddled the front parking strip. We climbed heck out of those trees.<\/p>\n

\"My<\/a>
David and me perfectly framed so that neither Mountain Ash shows<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Dodge family at the end of our block had a huge stand of Rhododendrons. I only knew that name because it was such a remarkable sight: people talked. We spent hours under the\u00a0big Rhodie Dome, dividing its multi-trunked\u00a0“rooms” between the boys and the girls.<\/p>\n

Most yards, including ours, had Azaleas, Aucubas, and Camellias. Unlike the neighbors, however, ours once included a Marijuana Plant. My mother discovered it after my brother\u2019s neglect, gave it some water, and ended up nurturing it back to bushy health\u2014whereupon, it was stolen. My Mom wouldn\u2019t have smoked pot in a million years, but she was mighty indignant at its theft.<\/p>\n\n\t\t