This is the hibiscus that grows next to my deck. There’s quite a story behind it. When my great-grandmother, Rose Osborne, passed away, some seeds were found in an envelope in her bible. No one knew what they were or where they came from. So my great-uncle Bill planted them in his garden.Uncle Bill and Aunt Erma had a small city backyard, yet Uncle Bill kept it meticulously groomed. He grew tomatoes and roses and other plants and even had a putting cup in the center of the yard. The seeds grew into a beautiful hibiscus plant. Uncle Bill nurtured it for years and then dug a portion up and gave it to my father, who grew it on the side of his garage, where the plants grow to be six feet high each year. When we moved here and I tried in my lame way to do some landscaping, my father dug a portion up and gave it to me. Every year I think it’s done for and every year it comes back. It fools me because nothing much happens with it until late June or July when it finally begins coming up again. Every August, I have beautiful flowers, which remind me of Rose, the great-grandmother I never met.
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What a wonderful story and tribute to your grandmother. The hibiscus is just gorgeous. It is one of my favorite flowers. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings…Mary
Thanks! All the flowers are gone now (I took this photo last week), but while they’re here, I enjoy them.
What a wonderful story! I had a peony bush my mother gave us when we bought our first house. It was spring when we sold and we couldn’t dig it up. The current owners have always said we can come back for it, but have failed to get there in the fall when it is safe to transplant. Hopefully this fall, as they have the house for sale.
I hope you can get it. There’s something about having a living thing that provides a deep connection.
What a wonderful surprise to get these beautiful flowers out of unknown seeds. So nice that your family keeps this alive.
Let’s hope I can keep it alive! Eek!
What a lovely, lovely story. Thank you, Brette. 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it! It gives me a weird feeling of connection to this woman I never knew.
Its wonderful to have something of your grandmother’s growing in your garden, and the hibiscus is beautiful. We have my late grandfather’s mint growing in our garden and I always think of him when I snip some.
That’s so nice!
I love this story 🙂