I often wonder, if my Mum and my Grandparents weren't gardeners, would I have still been? Something I will never know I guess, but by golly I'm glad they were and are! 

As I wander through my own garden, a lot of the plants I grow  takes me right back to my childhood. I have so many happy memories of helping, learning, watching and playing in my parents and grandparents gardens. 

Mum has always has the most amazing vegetable garden and also takes great pride in her flowers. In every house we lived in she has always had Rhodendrons. Now, before moving to our property (where a previous owner had planted them) I could take or leave them, they weren't something I would purchase to buy. But I have grown to love them (almost) as much as Mum does, and everytime I go down my drive I'm reminded of Mum. Nana also adores them, everytime I talk to her about the time they should be flowering she asks if they're out. Lillies are also a favourite of Mums and always have been of mine too. Dad isn't much of a gardener, but like my hubby, he always helps out when asked, and is the muscle and builder behind the scenes. 

When growing up right up until I was about 11 years old, we lived on the same family farm as my Dad's parents, and their house was within walking distance. Everytime my sister and I would wander over to their house we'd go via the paddocks as that led us to Nanas vege patch! We'd scoff our faces with strawberries, peas and other berries and fruit before making it known to her we were there to visit! As I've mentioned before, Nana nor Grandad would ever complain, even though we'd pick the lot and leave no ripe strawberries for Grandad!

My Mums parents were both gardeners, but from what I remember it was Pops who took care of the vegetable garden, while Gran loved her flowers. Pops was known around the district for his amazing tomatoes, I remember helping him in his glasshouse tending to his pride and joy. He also grew a massive patch of potatoes every year, and we always looked forward to helping dig those up. Grans flower beds remind me of Sue's with the edging, not that I remember, but I can tell she took just as much pride as Sue does. My favourite memory of being in her garden is that she would let us pick any flowers we'd want, nothing would be out of bounds and we'd make use them to make sand saucers with our cousin.

My hubby's parents are/were also amazing gardeners, his Dad has a big vege garden and keeps his flower beds in tip top form. Unfortunely I never got to meet my  Mother in law, but from the stories I've heard she was also a avid gardener. They'd plant a paddock in spuds and peas every year and as a family would all pitch in to help when it came to harvest time. She also planted a whole paddock out in daffodils, that still come out every year now! It really is mind blowing beautiful and we all look forward to spring for this reason. The rose in my picture is 'Mum in a Million' we planted in memory of hubby's Mum, as she adored her flower gardens.

I want my own kids and grandchildren (one day), to grow up having their own memories of our garden. Whether it's eating straight from our garden, picking flowers to make a witches potion, or just a simple memory of helping to weed a patch. For this reason, like my Grandparents were with us, I'm very careful to never say no if they want to pick something from the garden, I actually encourage them to!

I am forever grateful that I come from a long line of gardeners that all helped mould me into the gardener I am today. Thank you.