Flowers – Page 4 – Cynthia Reyes

A Good Home, Family, Family birthdays, Family Moments, Flowers, Gratitude, Relationships, Sisters

FLOWERS FOR MY SISTER

September 18, 2014September 18, 2014 Cynthia Reyes

Today is my younger sister’s birthday, and these flowers are for her.

I was the older sister, and for most of our lives, the more accomplished. She looked up to me, as I looked up to our older sisters.

But for some time now, I’ve been the one who’s looked up to her.

My little sister has quietly become one of my heroes.

She’s overcome many painful challenges.

Her marriage dissolved.

She went back to school while the children were still young. Went back to earn new qualifications that would pay the bills.

She raised her three sons, mostly on her own. Three beautiful young men.

Today she’s also a loving grandmother of two.

My sister’s faith and optimism are a joy to behold.

I’ve leaned on that strong faith in recent years. Hers and my other siblings’.

Through frequent phone calls from the U. S., where she lives, my younger sister has helped keep me afloat during tough times.

She talked to me at times when I couldn’t even hold a conversation.

Over and over, she called. Encouraging. Assuring me that there would be brighter tomorrows.

But it’s what she’s done for others that’s moved me most profoundly over these several years.

She established scholarships — in our parents’ names — for children from poor families in the Jamaican countryside where we once lived. She started with two – twin girls – providing money for their high school fees and other expenses.

Then she asked the rest of us to contribute if and when we could.

Today, those scholarships have helped 8 young people. All of them are bright children from poor families – much poorer than we were.

My sister delights in their progress.

And she never lets the rest of us forget that through these scholarships, we are changing lives.

Helping others to get an opportunity that changed our own lives.

An education.

Happy birthday, Jackie.

And thank you.

God bless.

A Good Home, Anemone, Canadian Gardens, Canadian life, Flower legends, Flowers, Gardens, Life in canada

Ever Heard Of An Emony?

September 16, 2014September 16, 2014 Cynthia Reyes

I hadn’t seen one, just heard the name.

Then I saw the written word somewhere: Anemone.

Kinda like the first time I saw the word “Cotoneaster” and called it a “Cotton Easter” shrub — to the amusement of experienced gardeners nearby. One of them explained: “It’s an aster. Cotone aster.”

Yeah, sure. But in my mind, it’s still “Cotton Easter”.

What can I say? People like me hail from a strange planet.

Which may explain why we can’t cook or bake or knit.

Or make nice floral arrangements.

But I digress.

The anemone flower, a member of the buttercup family, has magical origins.

If you believe the old legends, anyway.

And you should…. if you’re a gardener.

Because I understand that gardeners are really magicians and witches, and that if you see them in the moonlight — at exactly one minute after midnight — you’ll notice that their fingers are an iridiscent green and tendrils grow from their hands and feet…..

But I digress. Again.

Anemone is said to have sprung from the earth when the goddess Venus shed tears of grief over the loss of Adonis and flowers grew where her tears fell.

As to the flower’s linguistic roots: they’re Greek — anemos and one – meaning “daughter of the wind”.

And indeed this delicate-looking flower always seems to hold her own.

An example to us humans — for those times when we’re buffeted by the strong winds of life.

But I digress.

I love Miss Anemone for showing up in her gentle colours just as most of the other flowers in my Canadian garden have faded.

A reminder that patience is a virtue and that every late bloomer has its day in the sun.

Or, as my Jamaican ancestors would say: “Every dog has his day, and every puss his 9 o’clock”.

I tell you – my beloved people had a saying for every single thing. Some of which I’m still trying to figure out.

No wonder I digress so often.

Dedicated, with thanks, to Les and Sandra, from whose flowerbeds came our anemone and several of the other flowers in our garden.

A Good Home, Animals, Birds, Country Living, Ducks, Gardens, Gardens and Wildlife, Garlic

Wonders Never Cease

September 13, 2014September 16, 2015 Cynthia Reyes

Every so often, I wish I had a well-behaved garden.

The kind where everything does what I want, when I want.

Where flowers don’t stray into lawns and lawns don’t stray into flowerbeds, and the strong wind didn’t break one of the arches on the arbour my dear husband so carefully built.

But this I know:

Real gardens offer up surprises each week, each day and sometimes, each hour.

Like flowers blooming in unexpected colours.

And interesting visitors.

Like this large bird in the apple tree.

And wild rabbits.

Cleaning themselves without a care in the world.

Like this mother duck, with her ducklings.

She must have squeezed herself under the fence.

This ant, dragging a dead moth many times its size. It took the moth way across the verandah.

This beet, expected to be dark red, is somehow orange.

A single squash. It’s from a vine that strayed from our neighbours’ squash plantation.

“It’s yours”, he says. The thing will grow to almost half my height. No kidding.

These onions, because they delight and surprise me each late summer.

And the garlic, just because the sight of them when newly harvested always surprises me.

The sight of our daughter’s little doggie, coming around the corner at full speed. Well, sort of.

And this shadow “selfie”, which I didn’t know was there till I downloaded it and nearly jumped in surprise.

Gardens: places of surprise and discovery.

Dedicated to all gardeners, everywhere.

A Good Home, Canadian Gardens, Couples, Family Moments, Ferns, Flowers, Gardening, Homes, Hostas, Jamaican Gardening in Canada, July Garden, Life in canada, Lifestyle, Outdoor Living, Shade Gardens, Summer Garden, Tropical Gardening in Canada, Tropical Plants

In the Garden with Gail and Sam

August 1, 2014August 1, 2014 Cynthia Reyes

Right away, you can tell that two avid gardeners live here.

These gloves don’t stay idle for long.

Gail and Sam have lived in their home in a city east of Toronto for 25 years.

Theirs is a mature, complex garden that is tended conscientiously every day. It has trees, vines, ponds, statuary, gazebos, and plants that grow in the ground and in a multitude of containers.

Of course, a gardener’s work is never done. If you’re a gardener, you’ll relate to this moment:

The camera comes out and Gail spies a weed — way, way at the back of the garden.

“Wait!” she says. “Let me remove that weed!” As she pulls one, she finds one more. And one more.

A Canadian who was born and raised in Jamaica, Gail has fond memories of the island.

This garden helps her to keep connected to it.

“We come out here and we’re in Jamaica!” says Gail.

The garden is also a tribute to her mother, who died several years ago.

Gail is a passionate gardener. Luckily, her husband Sam, of Italian-Canadian background, also loves gardening — and Jamaica.

To see them in the garden is to see a team that works well together.

He does the building and hardscaping (paths, gazebos, trellises, stone walls, ponds, decking, etc.) while she chooses and takes care of the plants.

To no-one’s surprise, there’s a banana tree, rescued when the friend who had it was having trouble caring for it.

It’s among umpteen tropical plants growing in containers spread throughout the garden.

Most of them would be quite at home in a Jamaican garden.

There’s even an old copper gallon-jug which was originally used to measure rum at the Appleton estate in Jamaica. It belonged to her father, and, thrilled with the historical significance of the jug, Gail was very pleased when her dad gave it to her for her garden in Canada.

Gail’s an active volunteer in Canada’s Jamaican-Canadian community. She was a member of the Toronto committee celebrating Jamaica’s 50th anniversary in 2012 with a variety of cultural events, including concerts, author readings, an art show and other activities. That project is over, but when Gail wants to feel a connection to Jamaica, all she has to do is to step into her garden.