Grandma Samson: Part 3--Grandma’s Garden

The backyard of my grandparents’ house was the most tranquil and beautiful place that I knew. My grandmother was a gifted grower of flowers. She had served as President of the Utica Garden Club and also of the Utica African Violet Society. Along the right side of the yard that bordered the driveway and garage were my grandmother’s prize rose bushes. She had roses of various colors and sizes, and she tended them every day. There was a daily battle with the Japanese beetles who seemed to love rose bushes. Grandma would go patiently to each bush and pick off each trespassing beetle and drop it into a coffee can containing gasoline. This was a tedious process, but a necessary one to keep the beetles from eating the leaves and flowers. Grandma would often clip off a rose bud and place it in a large-mouthed, shallow clear glass vase. These lovely floating roses would be placed on the coffee table in the living room, on the kitchen table, on the dining sideboard, on the desk in the den, on the nightstand in the bedroom, and/or the vanity in the bathroom.

On the opposite side of the yard, across from the rose bushes, my grandmother planted her annuals. These were the flowers that have to be planted from seeds every year, such as zinnias, snapdragons, daisies, pansies, petunias, etc. Bulb flowers were also to be found here, such as tulips and daffodils. Grandma dug up the bulbs after the blooming season for that flower had passed and then replanted the bulbs at the appropriate time for them to bloom during the next season.

At the far end of the yard, against the retaining wall that backed against the yard of the house on Oneida street, Grandma had her rock garden. Large rocks were placed in this area, and succulents such as “hens and chickens” that needed little water and light grew in this area. The rocks were covered with moss and the succulents grew in the shallow soil surrounding the rocks.

Grandma allowed Grandpa his own part of the yard, too. On the end of the yard closest to the house, opposite the rock garden, Grandpa had a small vegetable garden. In the summer, he had tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, and squash. He also had a grape arbor next to the vegetable garden, near the driveway. He grew luscious deep purple Concord grapes. There were benches inside the arbor, where you could sit and breathe in the sweet aroma of the grapes. It was shady and cool in the arbor, and a wonderful place to sit on a hot summer day. Grandma would make grape jelly from the Concord grapes, but of course, we would also sneak and eat  a few of the fresh grapes.