A common occurrence when I visited gardens in early May was being told “Wait until you see the peonies.”  In my floral ignorance, I couldn’t even picture a peony.  What I saw before they blossomed were fairly tall plants with lots of round buds usually sporting at least an ant or two. I took a few pictures to see a before and after and always photoshopped out those pesky ants.*  Let me say I wasn’t particularly impressed
When I first saw peonies blossoming in GGC VP Janie Clark’s garden, I actually gasped. No photograph can do justice to the glory of a peony at its peak. Soon I saw peonies in many of the Garden Club members’ gardens I visited.  Each has its own particular character, color, and beauty. 
​To add to their perfection, their aroma is heavenly.  
A wonderful peony story comes from Ruth Ann Eastman and begins a long time ago.  In the late 1890’s Albertine and Andreas Bjorn immigrated from Denmark to America and settled in Barre, Vermont.  Andreas bought and planted peonies as a gift to Albertine to celebrate the birth of their daughter in 1910.  This wasn’t a single plant but a twenty foot row of them. The Barre family homestead was passed down to Ruth Ann’s late husband Andy’s parents and later to Andy and Ruth Ann in 1999. The inheritance included the house, the barn, and the peonies. When Andy and Ruth Ann moved to Grantham in 2000, they transplanted the peonies to their garden.  It was quite a chore digging up eleven clumps of peonies and untangling the roots but was well worth the effort for the twenty years and counting that the peonies have continued to bloom each June.  According to Ruth Ann “They seem to like it here in Grantham.”  Andreas must have purchased a hearty bunch of peonies which he and his descendants obviously took proper care of them for them to last over one hundred years. 
If you’re inspired to purchase peonies, bear in mind that they may take a few years to blossom but then they will bloom for the rest of your life. 

*If you google peonies, you’ll learn that when ants feast on the nectar that the peony buds produce, they protect the buds from harmful insects. So I apologize to the helpful ants for deleting them from my pictures.    

​As some of you know, I have been photographing many Grantham Garden Club members’ gardens with the goal of selling a picture book of flowers to benefit the club.  Since I began in April, I have discovered a whole new world through my macro lens.  While sharing their gardens, many members have also shared their personal stories.  I have been particularly moved by stories about their grandchildren and am sharing three today. 
Liz Knox, who charmed us last Fall with a presentation to the Garden Club has a particularly sweet ‘Grandmother’ story.  Liz normally spends her summers in a cottage in Wales on the border between Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire which sounds to me like a charming home for Hobbits.  Sadly Liz hasn't been able to return to Wales and her grandchildren yet this summer because of the Pandemic.  
Years ago, Liz found an old bird nest, put it in her garden and asked granddaughters Amelie and Isabel to decorate the nest and maybe the “Magic Bird” will come.  Since then the girls have perfected the art of “Magic Bird” nest building.  Younger granddaughters Ada and Rosa aren’t quite as talented as their older cousins, but they’ll get there. The “Magic Bird” always comes when no one is looking and lays chocolate eggs. 
A wise grandmother, Liz tells the little ones that they can’t pick every flower in the garden which, of course, is what they want to do.  She tells them they can pick the “Flower of the Day” each morning.  To quote Liz “They spend ages going round the garden and making the decision which flower will be theirs today!  It means they really look at everything, which is rather lovely…”
When I photographed flowers in Linda Douville’s beautiful garden, I saw lots of plaster of Paris decorations each showing a little handprint or footprint and a child’s name.  Linda told me there are eight of them in all—decorations and grandchildren.  Linda’s daughter Cara made them as a Christmas gift nine years ago—the first year they purchased their home in Eastman.  Her grandchildren ranged in age from 2-year-old Trevor to 13-year-old Luc at the time the casts were made. The rest of the gang is Jordan, Celia, Louis, Ruby, Lucy, and Brendan.  Linda told me the decorations have become cherished possessions. 
 Although most of the stories I heard were happy ones, I did learn a heartbreaking story. I had the privilege of visiting Anke’s memorial garden dedicated to her granddaughter who died during delivery.  Anke told me that Ella Monroe is in her heart every day.  At first Anke put a baby-ish statue in the garden but replaced it with one of a little girl with a radiant look on her face.  This is how Anke pictures Ella now—free as a bird and standing tall and smiling. 
I have learned from these wonderful grandmothers that gardens not only bring joy but also bring comfort.  

Twenty-three years ago, Jack Andrews bequeathed funds to Grantham’s Dunbar Free Library in memory of his wife because “The library was very important to Joyce, as was her love of flowers.  The fund was established to perpetuate those loves.”
In researching the story behind this, I went through a stack of paperwork that was all about the flowers—what to plant—where to plant—how to care for them…  William Shakespeare’s works were researched to find reference to flowers.  Many of those flowers were planted in the garden with hardiness zone and light taken into account.  It is obvious that a lot of people devoted a lot of time to making this little garden beside the library the gem that it is.  I could not find personal information about Jack and Joyce but am sure that theirs was a love story.  If they could see the thoughtfully cared for garden today, they would be pleased.  
The following people, listed in the library’s Shakespeare Garden file, volunteered hours of labor to ensure that this garden remains a lovely remembrance of Joyce Andrews:  Barbara Burt, John Carroll, Judy and Bob McCarthy, Linda Sadowski, Gale and Andy Schmidt, and Beverly F. Woodhouse.  Our GGC hard working president Elise Kendall has been maintaining the garden for the past few years.  As with each successive volunteer, Elise has added her special touch to the garden.  It is truly a labor of love.  
The next time you go to the library (which now is happily open for outdoor pickup) please take a few moments to stop by the Shakespeare Garden and enjoy the sight and aroma of flowers blooming.  Find the dedication to Joyce Andrews.  Don’t miss the colorful rocks inscribed with quotes from Shakespeare’s plays (another Elise touch).  Taking a moment in the garden reminds us that life is a short and fragile gift to enjoy.  

Recently I was in my first traffic jam in Grantham.  Instead of being impatient, I was having fun. I was part of a line of more than thirty cars driving past Judy and Bob McCarthy’s homestead on Fernwood Lane to join a group of friends wishing them well on their move to their new home in Lebanon.  Close enough to continue seeing friends and still coming to garden club meetings, for them the hard part was leaving their garden and their trees. 
The year that Judy and Bob bought their house, their first grandson Sam was born. To mark this wonderful event, they planted a Red Maple tree in their yard.  Sam now attends Berklee College of Music as a promising jazz musician.  Little did Judy and Bob know at the time that they would end up planting six more trees to celebrate their grandchildren’s births.  A Hydrangea tree was planted for Madeleine; Phoebe’s was an Ornamental Cherry, and Cheka’s tree was a Dwarf Blue Spruce.  They planted a Viburnam for Griffin.  The Virburnam grew very quietly.  By the third year, it sported a single beautiful white blossom. In 2019, after fourteen years, it was covered with gorgeous blossoms. A Magnolia was planted for Lu, and Agatha’s was a River Birch. Beside the newly planted tree, they would place a rock with the newborn grandchild’s name. They would often take pictures of the growing grandchildren beside their growing tree until they couldn’t fit both in the picture.
As they prepared to sell their house, they learned that a new septic system had to be installed.  They watched as two of their cherished trees were demolished to make room for the installation.  Maybe you, as I did, experienced a cringe of horror when you heard about the lost trees.  Of course, our reaction is minor compared to how Judy and Bob must have felt.  Ever the optimist, Judy was proud to report that five of their trees are still standing.   They still have all those pictures, their rock mementos and their beloved grandchildren. 
This is how Judy expressed her feelings on living at and leaving their Grantham home: 
One of the blessings of having made 11 Fernwood Lane our permanent home for 17 years, was the opportunity to create a natural world around the beautiful house with which we had fallen in love. Prolific blueberry and raspberry bushes, three raised beds in which tomatoes, herbs, rhubarb and garlic flourished, a lavender hedge that wound around the path to the front door, and perennials galore gave us so much joy. All of us, humans, animals and plants, are connected; severing our connection on Fernwood was not easy. However, we have always been happy in whatever place we have lived and anticipate our new home will have its blessings too. Bloom where you are planted!