Good to be Home Again!

I hope everyone had a very happy holiday! We just got back in tonight after visiting several family members in various parts of Tennessee. We’re very fortunate to have both sets of parents within easy driving distance so we can visit them both at Christmas. We also spent several days in west Tennessee in Trenton and Union City where some of my wife’s family lives. We had a good time but are glad to be home!

While we visited my wife’s grandmother in Trenton I took the opportunity to collect a few things. She has several Crape Myrtle trees that have a historical family lineage. The original Crape Myrtle came from my wife’s great grandmother’s house and was planted later at my wife’s grandmother’s house. It has survived many seasons in the same place even after freezing to the ground multiple times. Each time the mighty myrtle froze it came back strong. I took a small envelope outside and knocked the branches above the envelope to encourage the seed to fall into it. These seeds should sprout new Crape Myrtles that have a good cold weather hardiness and a family connection.

I also took some fruit from the Southern magnolia tree in the front yard in the hopes that I can raise some magnolias from the seed inside. The magnolia appears to be a smaller variety but after a conversation with Sarah (my wife’s grandmother) there is more to this little magnolia. Her husband did not really want the tree in the yard. Strangely each year the growing tip kept breaking off of the tree which limited its height. After several years of this happening Sarah said to her husband “I don’t know why this keeps happening, I wonder what’s causing it?” After mentioning it to her husband it never happened again! He never admitted to anything but she knew he really didn’t want any trees. To him every tree meant another obstacle to mow around. She also gave me a gardenia cutting she had and an African violet offshoot from one of her plants.

Thursday evening we visited my wife’s aunt in Union City. While at her house we visited with family, ate more food and opened more presents! Although this wasn’t a traditional sort of present (and did not require unwrapping), she offered me a rosemary plant trimmed in the shape of a tree that someone had given her. She said that she didn’t have the time to plant it so I happily accepted it! (Thanks Gracie!)

Now I need to get the seeds ready for planting!