...We have so much to share with you.....Gardens we've done in the past & ones we are working on now & ones we are Dreaming of doing for you too!..... Will you come back & have a Garden-blog-Tour when the dirt has settled & things begin to take shape!?! We hope so!
Until then..... don't these Tulips from last spring just make you wanna smile!! They are such happy & cheerful flowers!
Till we see you next, may Joy be your constant companion! Rena ;-)
PS: If plants interest you ....
You may enjoy having a look at my other Blog nsafarm.blogspot.com
...created during a 2 year period spent at my late father's 'New Stone Age Botanical Farm' (aka NSAFarm) after his peaceful passing....
Here's how the story goes.....
His name was John Bosko Radich, he was first generation born in this Country. He became a Master Gardner, Botanist, Rare Fruit & Plant Grower Extraordinaire, & was always a Plant Maniac.
His property, an Acre of Eatable, Medicinal & Herbacious Plant's he'd collected the last 40+ years, many from his adventures & travels round the world. He studied broadly, interested in people's stories, was thoughtful, passionate, kind, caring & the knowledgeable go to guy for plant info by many folks!
It was his dream & life long Passion that inspired him to transformed his acre of dusty river rock & sandy soil into a Lush Tropical Paradise with some of the most unusual and extensive plant collections in the area. And, in the end, some of the most mature specimens in the region.
....As his collection grew, many of the more unusual varieties, were propagated & donated to the UCRiverside Botanical Garden's via his dear friend, the late Oscar F. Clarke, professor emeritus and fellow Plant Maniac, Botanist & Ornithologist.
While I was tending to the NSAFarm, Oscar & I developed a close friendship based on plants, my father and Oscar's friendship & our shared values. It was with Oscar's help that I was able to identify, label & create the extensive plant list for the NSAFarm.
I met Oscar the second time, shortly before my father’s passing when he released his book "Flora of the Santa Ana River and Environs”. It was a brief introduction.... funny how those go ...and in the long run ....proved to be an amazingly deep connection in my life!
At 90+, on my urging, (I’m happy to say... so now that he is gone... we have it)…. Oscar started his very own Blog & you can still access it at oscarfclarke.blogspot.com. He was also a very interesting, thoughtful, passionate, kind, caring & knowledgeable guy! ck out his blog and see what you think!?
Back to my story.....
It was just weeks after my sister & I had visited dad for Easter. It was a Monday morning in the Spring of Dad's 81 year, --it was after a huge 3day weekend Educational Symposium & Plant Sale Event for my father's Chapter of the "Rare Fruit Growers" (their once a year Fund Raiser) schlepping 100's of potted plants-- It was after tending to his morning Farm chores, still bushed from the weekend's activity..... he layed down to take a quickie nap like he frequently did. It was then that he slipped into his final Dream & never woke-up.
Holy Cow!!!!! Now what?! My sister and I each with our own 1/2 acre gardens in No Calif and now his Acre in So Calif..... YKES!
I was gardening with friends when I got the call..... I hoped on a plane, post haste, & my sister followed a day later. Someone was going to have to keep the plants alive down there!.... so I stayed and my sister went back to No Calif. to keep up with our gardens at home.
Dad being a jungle type gardener.... let-it-all-grow-together-all-natural-like... could only mean... lots & lots & lots of pruning!!!!
So this garden project... like all other garden projects... bloomed into a labor of love & a ton of work! ...but this one came with a very personal twist ...it was all created & planted & cared for by my father! .... deeply Amazingly wonderful... meaningfully heartfelt... life changing and a truly memorable experience & gift....
With many buckets of tears... tons of special moments & a real portal into this man's life, heart & his beliefs....A live metaphor, demonstrating that all living things must have the right to grow and prosper... along with his inner desire to plant seeds...care for them... watch them grow...and share their fruit with all who were interested!!
.... Then there was the mundane. my doing of it.... grieving, sorting, cleaning, watering, pruning, harvesting, tying up loose ends, creating property zone maps, plant lists, tagging plants, repairing irrigation, hosting visitors interested in the plants, who often times wanted cuttings, ....etc...etc...etc!
2 years later.... my sister & I needed to make a difficult decision.... either I move permanently onto the NSAFarm, leave my own property & life behind, or .....sell the Farm & come home.
My 1/2 acre gardens & life was waiting for me in No California… I wanted to come home. So sadly, we sold that amazing property and I headed home. (...with too many pots of tender tropical plants i had fallen in love with to boot!.... My yard is on the coldish side for Sonoma County. Sooooo..... i lost most of them this winter in the deep freezes we just had. Sigh!)
This blog is my journey through that rabbit hole & out the other side....back home.... & what an adventure that was! The blog address is: nsafarm.blogspot.com
If you decide to ck it out... my hopeis that you find something that makes you smile!!!!!
So glad able to read this account about your Dad..so moving! xxooS
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