Today I had the most wonderful surprise.

My Grandmother loved to be outside and she especially loved tending to her beautiful flowers. Growing up as a child we spent a lot of time together. She taught me how to take care of the flowers, how deep to plant the bulbs, and how you had to be extra gentle with them. We have always had flowers in common, and I think that created a special bond between us. As I grew older and moved away from home I would go to her house almost every Saturday morning and we would sit out on her deck overlooking a lake and just talk about everything, including our flowerbeds.

When I rented my first house about fifteen years ago I went to her house and she dug up out of her flowerbed some of her iris bulbs for me to plant in my flowerbed. I was so excited. The entire five years I lived in that house the irises never bloomed. Since that time I have moved many more times, but on a regular basis I would drive by that rental house to see if my irises had bloomed. Sure enough every year they were, just beautiful.

When I moved into my current house around seven years ago I again went to her house and she gave me some more iris and amaryllis bulbs out of her flowerbed. The amaryllis have bloomed almost every year but the irises never have. When I finally purchased this house two years ago I decided I needed some of the iris bulbs from my first house. I talked my best friend into calling our old landlord and asking him if he still owned that house and if it was being rented. He said it was, but he gave us permission to go dig up some of the bulbs. So off my two friends and I went. Luckily no one was home when we got there. Although I imagine the neighbors probably wondered why we were stealing bulbs from someone's flowerbed. I also imagine those people were wondering why there were big bare spots in the flowerbed! We made a quick getaway and ran home and planted them in the flowerbed with the other irises.

Well today those Irises bloomed! Not only did they bloom, but the irises I originally planted seven years ago have blooms on them as well. I am just in awe. My flowerbed now truly is my grandmother's flowerbed. It is filled with her beloved amaryllis and irises. I will be cutting some of them and taking her a vase full to the nursing home where she now lives. She has dementia and really cannot comprehend much, but hopefully she will enjoy them and they will bring back some wonderful memories. I miss talking to my grandma very much but every time I look at that flowerbed I remember the love that she had for those same beautiful flowers, and I feel the closeness that we shared.

Angela Walker copyright 2003