Uncle Joe Lives On

My Uncle Joe would be 96 this Thursday, February 23rd. Would be, except that he died nearly ten years ago. But the hellebores that my mom passed along to me from his garden in Alabama are still thriving. Well, one of them is. She gave me at least four, but only one made it...

But this one, to my great surprise, has produced quite a number of offspring over the past few years. These babies may be small, but they are tough, surviving on little water and withstanding the occasional raid by the neighborhood cats. Princess knows that area's not the litter box, but not everyone else has gotten the message.

And now these little plants have expanded Uncle Joe's gardening legacy. A few of them have traveled to Stinson Beach to Leslie and Gary's place; a couple made it back to upstate New York; and some went to The Plant Exchange last year to be planted who knows where.

No doubt most who are now enjoying these plants never met my uncle, but their gardens demonstrate the wonderful, lasting links between plants and humans. Even if we don't know their names.