It was August 21, 2005. My husband, George died leaving his digital camera filled with images of our garden he so dearly loved. Our neighbour, Catherine Hollands was employed at Keeling Printers then and she took the camera to Keelings and a most wonderful “Memories of George’s Garden” calendar was produced (very quickly I must say) to offer to friends at his funeral. Marg Capel offered some wonderful positive sayings to put on each month’s picture and the Keeling’s and Catherine supported this project with a lot of tlc(tender loving care).
Welcome to my garden
Well since then, as I have continue to do “George jobs” in the garden I have started to love the garden more than ever. When I was away travelling during the summer of 2006, I had garden help from Ann Marie Hay (and her whole family) to keep it under control and Marg Gaviller kept a photo journal for me. So we decided to produce a second “memories of George’s garden” calendar. It just felt right to do this and I so appreciated all the garden” caretakers” that summer. Again Marg Capel supplied special messages for each month and Carol Morrison even painted me a picture, inspired by the 2005 calendar.
August Splendor
In 2007, Owen Sound’s Homecoming Year, I was asked to have the garden on the Georgian Bay Garden Tour and about 800 guests visited the garden. This experience was very rewarding and several people recognized areas of the garden they had seen in one of the calendars. I was certainly encouraged to continue doing the calendar. The garden seemed like a celebration garden with pink flags and all and the photos taken by Marg Gaviller were so wonderful. This time, my friend, Georgia Bunston had painted a memory of Bali scene I wanted to print in the calendar and she encouraged me to work with the Dr. Recruitment Committee and the calendar was a way of drawing attention to that worthwhile cause. So “Memories of George’s Garden” 3rd edition came to fruition with the help of Pat and Bob Capel and Ann Marie Hay to make the garden tour-ready.
So here we are three years later. It’s August and the garden is my grief healing place. I so love being in the garden, turning the compost, deadheading, trimming back the overgrowth, hand watering. You name it, I do it. My son David has just been visiting taking more digital shots with rain drops glistening and so many of the plants bearing fruit. (Honeysuckle, elderberries, holly, jack in pulpit.) So again I will produce a calendar. This time I will call it “Memory Garden Retreats.”
Elderberries
Last March, after helping promote Rural Gardens of Grey and Bruce Counties at Canada Blooms I joined this association. I would love to host visitors coming to visit me in this memory garden. I’ve made several special seating areas. And my friend and associate, Marie Knapp who helped me through all these grieving years with her Retreat Worshops will join me in hosting some special renewal retreats. On November first, Annabelle Garland, a professional grief counselor, will help lead a Healthy Grieving Day Retreat here at my new Memory Garden Retreats business.
Being in business again, gives me joy and I love working with people. My background has been full of volunteering and helping. I started my working life as an elementary school teacher, a swimming instructor, cub pack leader, many special projects coordinator and now, a lot of fund raising. I’m also the chair of the Bluewater Association of Lifelong Learning.
I’ve been blessed with good health and a wonderful life. I look forward to you visiting Memory Garden Retreats.
