Memory Plants

Having lost another of our parents last week and bringing one of the beautiful plants from the funeral home, I was just thinking that my living room is now a sort of memorial, and every time I pass through and see a particular plant, I think of the person it's connected to.

This beautiful peace lily was sent by Mike's great-uncle Bill and cousins Dave and Susan, Judy and Mike.  I'll treasure it and also think of Roy's sister Nell who died last month (Dave and Judy's mother and Bill's wife).  We so enjoyed their making the trip to Roy's funeral and had such a good time catching up on the families.

I hate to even do pictures of the next 2 plants. I really should have a before picture, but I just pruned this rubber tree plant back to half its size. It was pretty much taking over the living room and not leaving any place to sit. This is from my mother-in-law Eleanor's funeral 5 years ago and sent by ACG, the company Mike worked for at the time. It has certainly been hardy, just quietly going about it's business and getting bigger and bigger even when ignored. I'm going to try to root several more little rubber trees from the cuttings.

I'm not doing so well with Daddy's peacy lily. There were actually 2 of them about half the size of the one above, beautiful as a pair on each side of a door in various houses. They lived in Mississippi, North Carolina and Georgia. I lost one along the way and had to repot the other one, so now I'm keeping it going as a small plant, but I think I like it that way.

Kathy and Alan sent me pictures of the other plants from the funeral.  So pretty.

The peace lily from Alan's employer, Henderson Sewing Machine Company in Andalusia.

The rubber tree plant from Polly Rushton, Roy's cousin-in-law and the illustrator of the Uncle Fuddy-Duddy books.

And this beautiful croton from Chad and Robin Morris, Kathy and Alan's nephew and wife. 

It's nice to have these living reminders of the ones we loved.