by Vikki McMahon

Created on: August 14, 2008   Last Updated: September 21, 2008

Take Them with You When You Grow

With a new house and a fresh beginning, my hands always itch to get started on a blank gardening canvas. My husband and I have moved twice, and we are currently on our third house. While I enjoy choosing new plantings to suit the new landscape, my favorite things to watch grow are the ones that have tagged along with us from house to house.

It all started with a Bleeding Heart. Growing up, my parents always had a vegetable garden, but never a flower garden, never something that served no other purpose but to look beautiful. When I married and moved into my husband's parents' house, I was delighted to see the different variety of flowering plants and shrubs, most of which I had never even heard of before. One in particular caught my eye. Its pink, heart-shaped blooms fascinated me. My husband told me it was called a "Bleeding Heart", and from that moment I looked forward to its appearance every spring.

Every season in that house provided another bloom that would bring a smile to my face. Early summer saw the emergence of the Clematis, its white flowers climbing up and over the small trellis. Following on its heels was the elegant rose bush, whose deep red blooms offered an exotic contrast to the pink and purple blossoms that dominated the rest of the garden. Two seasons passed, and even though we were looking forward to buying a home of our own, I was a little sad about leaving this little bit of paradise behind.

We moved into our own home in early June. There was little landscaping with the exception of the evergreen borders in front of the house and lining the walkway. It was mine to create as I saw fit. On our first free morning after unpacking, my husband and I were to go shopping to pick out our first plants. Before we left, he brought out three buckets from behind the shed. One contained the Bleeding Heart, one contained the Clematis, and the last one held the rose bush. I was filled with surprise and not a little bit of doubt. Could they possibly be replanted here and grow into the healthy plants they once were? My husband had also hedged his bets. He pulled two other root balls out from behind the shed. I recognized the sprouts as new rose bushes.

"Happy Anniversary," he told me. We had been married just three years. "I wanted to buy you roses, but I wanted them to last, too. We can add these to the garden to represent our new life here, while we can still hold on to the best parts of our old life by replanting the others."

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