A Kindred Spirit

I am saddened today as I learn of the death of a true kindred spirit. I have not seen Anita much at all in the last few years as she rarely went out except to her lovely garden. She had difficulty moving easily I know but I also know the views of that garden from her windows gave her much joy as she kept track of the blooms and birds.

Anita and her daughter Kareen loved gardening even more than I do I think. Kareen has been a willing accomplice and is now left to manage the masterpiece they created together. Anita knew her plants well and was always willing to stretch the limits of what they might grow. I first met Anita when her first garden was tiny with very little space and I remember being so impressed with the potatoes she grew in bins because, “You can’t beat new potatoes” and the Himalayan Blue Poppies that I had always aspired to be successful with. She was immediately someone to be revered in the horticultural world as far as I was concerned.

When she and Kareen built their house together and designed their garden on a difficult corner lot, the  garden was almost a secret behind the rose hedge they grew to protect it, while providing wonderful fragrance to those who passed by. Every piece of ground was used in her garden. The raised vegetable beds, the pond, the trees for birds were all beautifully laid out to make a secret garden that flowed, had surprises, mystery and much beauty.

Anita didn’t just garden alone. She shared her knowledge willingly, was founder and part of the original group who came together in Cranbrook, B.C. to form the Cranbrook Garden Club. It was in the early days of that club, that Cranbrook started its open garden days. The neighbouring town of Kimberley soon followed and these special days where private gardens are opened to the public have become a day gardeners look forward to every year.   In Anita’s honour, Kareen is opening their garden for this year’s Cranbrook’s Open Garden Day in July. 

When people die, their gardens don’t always survive. It is wonderful that Anita’s legacy will be cared for and will live on. No matter whether the gardens survive or not, the amount of pleasure and knowledge shared by the gardening stewards of the earth will always be remembered. I wonder how many new gardeners Anita inspired and how many gardens contain plants that Anita inspired to be grown. I wonder how many raised vegetable gardens have been built to supply fresh produce to families because they saw how it can be done well in a small space. We learn from those who go before us.

Gardening in Cranbrook, Zone 3 to 4, with frequent drought conditions and an erratic Rocky Mountain climate, is difficult.  I believe Anita was one who advanced the possibilities of beauty in the garden, making it much more than it had traditionally been in such harsh conditions.

Thank you for your gifts Anita and for this year’s Open Garden Day.