Don’t you just love things that are cloaked in the patina of time and use? All the scrapes and dents, bruises, and bumps tell a story. They tell their story. But, sometimes they become the catalyst that leads you down another memory lane… to remember your story - like this garden trowel that belonged to my grandmother.

The Story Behind:

The Green Garden Trowel

This vintage, metal garden trowel with all its lovely blemishes are compliments of the simple passage of time. All those paint splatters and dents are just beautiful to me.

This little garden shovel belonged to my paternal grandmother and has traveled from home to home with me over the years.

I can’t say that I remember Granny gardening, or even keeping plants in the house. But I do remember her gifting me with one of my first house plants when I was around 13-years-old. The gift was a hanging basket of a lush, green Swedish Ivy that had leaves cascading in ribbons from the container. I loved that plant. It made my room look so, so - - “adult”.

How Do a Garden Trowel and

the Summer of 2021 Relate?

Well, for the first time in Y-E-A-R-S, there was a lovely Swedish Ivy plant in the greenhouse where I went in search of plants for our yard this spring. It was in a hanging basket and looked very much like what I remembered the plant from my childhood to be. I stood in front of that plant with all these memories flooding back. I almost added the plant to my cart but, with a little willpower, I managed to stick to my outdoor garden plan.

Maybe next year I will have just the place to revisit the basket of Swedish Ivy for my home, but for now, I have all these sweet memories because Granny gifted me with a plant… and a garden trowel.

Your Turn

So, tell me. Do you have a summer garden/plant memory?