In the outskirts of Lakeville, Ct. there stands a stately Victorian home that was my “second home” as a child. Built by my grandfather’s uncle at the turn of the century, it was maintained by his daughters their whole lives. Its name, “Hillcroft,” was derived from these lines of a William Wordswoth poem:
"A little croft we owned – a plot of corn
A garden stored with peas, mint and thyme
And flowers for posies."
Hillcroft was a short drive from our Falls Village farm. Because “Auntie Mary” and “Auntie Margaret” raised my mother, we spent much time visiting their home.
"A little croft we owned – a plot of corn
A garden stored with peas, mint and thyme
And flowers for posies."
Hillcroft was a short drive from our Falls Village farm. Because “Auntie Mary” and “Auntie Margaret” raised my mother, we spent much time visiting their home.
Perhaps for a day, an afternoon, a sleepover or for an extended stay when my mom went to the hospital to have more babies. Everything these aunties did, they did with love – fixing meals, sewing doll quilts, mending hems, sending us home with cookies. Auntie Mary was “lame” and did the sewing and knitting, but Auntie Margaret actively tended gardens - the grape arbor, the vegetable garden, the raspberry patch, rhubarb garden, peony garden, the daffodils beneath the apple tree, grape hyacinths along the porch, morning glories trailing over the railing. The centerpiece of it all was their formal perennial garden with an aisle down the center. I was too young to know individual plant names, but I delighted in the seasonal evolution of all this garden had to offer. If it sounds idyllic, it was. I wish I could go back in time and step into this garden once more. There are no pictures in existence. Only my memory’s collage – a blur of beauty. But when I smell a lupine I am indeed taken back, and know for certain one flower that was there. My aunties were my inspiration for all my gardening dreams. My blog is dedicated to their memory and to a garden memory that is far too precious to ever disappear. Because they shared their love of gardening with me, I share my thoughts, ideas, questions, disappointments and scattered moments of glory with you, my gardening friends and readers.
