Rabbits, rabbits, rabbits.  Did you remember to say it this morning?  There’s an old adage that promises good luck if you utter this phrase upon waking on the first day of the month.  Me?  I forgot.  I usually do.  Maybe next month.  Until then, welcome October.  You are the month I cherish the most.

The Locusts are aglow, golden and warm while the Sugar Maples are fiery and ablaze.  Color is coming fast, and the leaf drop has begun.  Savor these days for they are fleeting.  Fall is nature’s masterpiece.  It is the culmination of a year’s work, and the canvas will be wiped clean once more upon Winter’s arrival when nature starts again with a mere sketch.

I am not a sentimental person.  Let me rephrase that.  I am not a sentimental person when it comes to things.  I am, in fact, a skilled and efficient purger.  I am not bragging, but I seldom have the urge to hang on to something that doesn’t serve an immediate and consistent purpose.  I realize this sounds harsh.  Many people hold a precious connection between things and memories.  For me, I find the memory is enough.  This is not to say, I don’t hold on to pictures, my wedding ring, or the necklace my daughter made in pre-school.  These three things I have, cherish, and intend to keep. Most everything else finds its way into donation bins or, wait for it, the trash.  My constant purging has led to a few disagreements within the house, but when a clean up needs to be done, the baton is placed squarely in my hands.

This is not to say that I don’t appreciate things or own a knick knack or two.  I do, and interestingly enough, I love old things, antique things, things that hold a history and have a story to tell.  Particularly if that item holds a direct link to my past, my family tree.  My mother has a peony.  It’s a rather unremarkable peony in so far as peonies go, but this plant is special.  It was my great grandmother’s who passed away in the early 80’s.  This peony once graced her garden and now, some thirty years later, grows in my mother’s yard.  My mom is not a huge fan of peonies, but it was her grandmother’s, the woman who taught her how to garden.  This plant is a legacy, and the idea fascinates me.  So, we’ve decided to do the same.

Last week, we dug up a few Cardinal flowers and Phlox from my mom’s garden and transplanted them into ours.  If we play our cards right, these plants too will become a legacy, a link, and a constant, lovely reminder of my Mom and Dad.  You see, my Dad chose the Cardinal flowers, and before he passed away in 2012, he had usurped the garden from my Mom to her frustration and dismay.  So these flowers, these beautiful, simple flowers connect me to my parents.  This is the idea behind legacy gardening.  Not only is it sentimental, but it’s economical.  It may also broaden your horizons by introducing you to plants you may have never considered, and your garden will take on deeper meaning and beauty.

Share the love, share the past, share the memories, share the plants.

“What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life – to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories.”

-George Eliot

Best wishes,

Kim Sweeney