Red Dirt Ramblings®

Firmly rooted in the Oklahoma soil

I Went to a Garden Party . . . .

The lamps are lit, and the welcome mat is out.
The lamps are lit, and the welcome mat is out.

And, like the song goes, “to reminisce with my old friends.”  When I heard about VP from Veg Plotting’s meme asking for our top three to five dinner party choices, I simply had to join in.

For mine, I perused my bookshelves, and I believe I’ve assembled an interesting list.

First, I choose Russell Page.  He wrote The Education Of A Gardener (New York Review Books Classics) the year I was born, 1962, but the writing is as fresh as yesterday. We could all discuss the great country gardens he designed and all of the famous people he met over his long life.

Second, how could any garden party, especially one situated in my rose garden, be complete without Graham Stuart Thomas?  Although he is best known as a rosarian, Thomas was so much more.  In my opinion, one of his best books is Colour in the winter garden, written and illustrated by Graham Stuart Thomas.  I would be very nervous to have Thomas, but I would hope he would be kind to another aficionado.  I would also use William C. Welch, who wrote Antique Roses for the South: New Edition to deflect him.  They could debate rose performance and the variations of weather between Thomas’s maritime climate and our continental one.  Perhaps, he wouldn’t notice how leggy his namesake grows in my garden.

To balance the party and make up the numbers as the British say, I would invite Loise Beebe Wilder (Color in My Garden: An American Gardener’s Palette and so many others),  Elizabeth Lawrence, whose garden I visited last summer and Margery Fish (We Made a Garden (Modern Library Gardening) who gardened in England during very difficult times and with an even more difficult spouse.

Rosa 'Graham Thomas'
Rosa 'Graham Thomas'

I love books written by gardeners about their own gardens, and each of these women thrived on such writing.  They’ve given me many a pleasurable evening, while I, propped up with pillows and a glass of chamomile tea, read and dreamed of gardens all over the country and throughout time.  I figure these girls would have lots to discuss and would hold their own against the men.

We would start with a tour of the gardens, and I think we would also dine outside.  We’re assuming this dinner party is during the peak of rose bloom (here in May) and that I’ve had plenty of time to spiffy everything up.  We would eat produce out of the garden, and some purchased from the farmer’s market.  There wouldn’t be tomatoes yet, but we’d have snow peas and sweet peas, along with the first green beans.  I think some nice farm raised chicken with peaches would also be good.  I’m imagining all of this would be available.  Of course, HH who loves to entertain would be there with me, and he would manage to hold his own again all the opinions and accents flying through the air.

Now that I’ve imagined it, it all sounds so splendid, that I believe I’ll continue the party while I sleep.  That way, I’ll have the sweetest of dreams.

Anyone else who wants to join in, please do and please visit VP.  She’s using Mr. Linky to connect everyone playing this game.  Please come and play along.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Marnie

    Dee you’ve made some interesting choices. I would love to have an opportunity to sit and listen to the people you’ve chosen.
    Marnie

    Marnie, I think everyone should get to come. 🙂 ~~Dee

  2. Cindy, MCOK

    Dee, I’m delighted by your inclusion of Bill Welch in the party. I’ve met him on a couple of occasions and he’s a great guy. I’ll be attending a landscape design seminar next week at Texas A&M and I’m looking forward to having him as a teacher.

    Cindy, MCOK´s last blog post..In the Immortal Words of Ringo Starr …

    Cindy, it is one my goals to get to meet William Welch. I will someday.~~Dee

  5. Rose

    Sitting out in your rose garden listening to all these gardening gurus sounds heavenly indeed! Like Jodi, though, this song is going to remain in head all evening:)

    Rose´s last blog post..You’re Invited to a Special Dinner

    Oop, Rose, I’m sorry. I’d heard it earlier today too, and it was going through my head as I wrote it.~~Dee

  7. Anonymous

    What excellent choices of dinner companions Dee.
    I am sure that your evening well. I chuckled over your description of Margery Fish’s husband. Your garden setting for the dinner sounds delightful. Hope that you had sweet dreams.

    Thank you, I did. I believe he was very grumpy and controlling, and I’m grateful HH doesn’t like to actually garden.~~Dee

  8. mss @ Zanthan Gardens

    I’m a big fan of Louis Beebe Wilder and Margery Fish, too. I’m still mulling over this meme and trying to see if I can come up with anything insightful myself.

    mss @ Zanthan Gardens´s last blog post..Week 05: 1/29 – 2/4

  9. Mr. McGregor's Daughter

    Great choices! How come I’m not surprised that you invited Elizabeth Lawrence & Louise Beebe Wilder? Russell Page was on my short list too. His was one of the first books about garden making that I read.

  11. VP

    Hi Dee – hope I’m not too late to sit at your table for a while!

    I’m loving all the new people I’ve been meeting over the weekend: Russell Page and Loise Beebe Wilder are such finds and I’m looking forward to getting to know them some more.

    I feel like I already know GST very well as I’ve been finding lots of his letters and notes in the National Trust archives I’ve been cataloguing. It’s been a most fascinating read, so it’s great to meet the man at last 😉

    I trust your guests have been suitably impressed with the recent alterations to your garden?

    Thanks for joining in Dee and writing such a lovely post. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

    VP´s last blog post..GBMD – Lodore Falls

  12. Carol, May Dreams Gardens

    That sounds like a great dinner party with the perfect complement of guests, gardens and “grub” (I should say food, but I was on a roll with the “g”). We are so very fortunate that these great gardeners wrote so much for us to read now, so we can still imagine what it would have been like to talk to them and have them visit us for a dinner party. Can I come and eavesdrop?

    Carol, May Dreams Gardens´s last blog post..A Dinner Was Held At The Home Of…

  13. Karen - An Artists Garden

    What a lovely guest list Dee – and how idyllic to have your party in the rose garden, it all sounds very dreamy.
    K

    Karen – An Artists Garden´s last blog post..Artist’s Garden Comic – The Dinner Party