Gardening neighbor sows seeds of enthusiasm for growing things [I Know a Story column]

It was back in 1979 and we had just moved to our farm when I became acquainted with my new neighbor, Anna, an avid gardener. I had a few good growing years under my belt, but Anna lived and breathed the soil’s merits since she grew up on a farm.

When visiting her farm you knew what season it was. During the drab winter months, amaryllis grew like bright patches of color on her kitchen windowsills. Spring saw pots of tomatoes started and then extended onto her back porch. These stretched their roots and were carefully planted into her huge garden.

Of course, Anna’s hot bed by this time boasted of strong lettuce and spinach seedlings for early tidbits in the dinner salad. There was always a contest between us — who would have the first ripe tomato. Hands down, Anna had always coaxed that first one to be red for picking.

As the summer waned, Anna and her husband Dave dug long trenches for their celery crop, which they later kept under the porch with late onions and carrots. By then Anna’s back porch housed small impatiens, geranium and begonia cuttings which came full circle in Anna’s world of gardening.

By and by, Anna grew older and we added six children to our family. I used to wheel my kids up to their farm in the wagon to visit and get out a bit. She was always available to chat and exchange new recipes. Her dill pickle was the best. It was a real event when Anna purchased a new Vitamix to puree tomatoes.

On Halloween, the kids would dress up and knock on their door for a treat. Anna would come to the door and pretend to shudder with fright and turn off the light and hide inside. The kids loved the fun and they ended up with a practical bounty of apples and walnuts as treats.

One Halloween, Anna gave me a small cactus slip. Well, I tried to make that cutting grow for a number of years but it just sat there but it didn’t die either. Then for some strange reason, it “moved,” as Anna would say, and took off. From then on it would bloom right before Thanksgiving.

A few years later in April, Anna and her husband auctioned off their place and moved down the street. Dave was getting too old to drive the tractor safely since he was in his eighties by then.

That September, Anna told me she wouldn’t be doing too much gardening since she had developed cancer. She was 82 and she understood what goes into life — having seen it first hand in the growing of things. I visited her often. At the usual time my cactus bloomed, I took a snapshot of the plant and presented it to Anna. By now she was bedridden, but she stuck it right up on the wall exclaiming that that way she could enjoy it close up.

Now Anna has gone to a better place, and each planting season I often look up at Anna’s old place and I am a little sad because we can’t compete anymore. Then I look at the cactus when it blooms and I remember Anna in a joyous way and feel blessed that I knew a wonderful farm neighbor, who was a master gardener and who reseeded her enthusiasm in me.

The author lives in Landisville.

If you know an interesting, true story, please write it in 600 words or less and send it to Mary Ellen Wright, LNP editorial department, P.O. Box 1328, Lancaster, PA 17608-1328, or email it to features@lnpnews.com. (No fiction or poetry, please). Please include your phone number and the name of the town you live in.

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