My Grandmother's Garden

On Saturday I stopped by my Grandma Cain's house in Sallis, Mississippi for a visit. July 10th is a significant day for us, so I wanted to see her and give her big hugs and kisses. She fed me lunch of homegrown purple hull peas, snap beans, corn, and squash dressing. There were mashed potatoes and baked chicken, too.

My grandparents' garden always amazes me. In their summer garden they grow tomatoes, yellow summer squash, zucchini, cucumbers, butter beans, purple hull peas, snap beans, and corn. I am sure there are other things that I am forgetting about. I don't think a single day goes by when there isn't at least one of those homegrown vegetables on the table. In the summer, you can usually find all of those vegetables on the table at one meal. And, they don't just grow a few of each of those vegetables. My grandmother grew up in a large family, and she has never wanted to scale back the garden. At 80 years old, she still grows enough produce for at least ten families.

Oh, I forgot to mention there are also plums, peaches, figs, watermelons, honeydew, and cantaloupe.

Her flower garden is dear to my heart. Since I rented my first house I've tried to recreate it on what ever patch of land I've had. In the back there are the dark orange sunflowers that she loves so much. There is a rose-of-sharon, yellow and peach gladioli, cleome, and marigolds. And then there are the zinnias. All in shades of purple, just like she likes them.







I brought some zinnias home with me and put them in a mason jar to remind me of her special home.