When most people look at flowers they see beauty, when I look at flowers I see history.
A very close friend and neighbor of my family has always been an avid and excellent gardner. Throughout my childhood, baskets of tomatoes would just show up magically at the doorstep. My father stewed tomatoes for homemade spaghetti sauce for the winter. The best Silver Queen corn I have ever had, came from his garden.
When I moved to Vermont, I had a large yard and lots of space to garden. The woman who lived in this house prior to us, was also an avid gardener. Her gardens are still beautiful and I hope I am keeping them well for her.
These two people have enabled me to have beautiful flowers to cut and display at the inn. The gladiolas and the purple coneflower in the photos are from my neighbor in Red Hook, NY. He gave me the glads last year and I planted them for the first time this past spring. I think he would be thrilled to know how many people have enjoyed his flowers this year at the inn.
His flowers complimented the flowers that were left here from the previous owner. I am still discovering something new in the gardens. I have used many of her flowers to display in the inn also.
Although I don’t have a photo yet, the one plant’s history that I am most excited about is a red peony. I found out a few years ago, that the beautiful deep red peonies that I grew up with (and deadheaded so many times!) in Red Hook, were brought there by my mother from her mother’s garden in 1966 when my parents moved away from their hometown. It takes a few years for peonies to blossom after being transplanted but the plant looked good this year so I am hoping for blossoms next year. I will post when they bloom. I think my mother (and grandmother) would have been thrilled to see the blooms.
All the best,
Anne Marie (Assistant Innkeeper)
Photo: Echo Lake Inn
