Betty's Amazing Garden

"Makes me feel happy to put my hands in dirt and let time fly by"

My sister Betty has a wonderful garden. When she and her husband moved to Whittier in 1969, there was a house next door. The old woman who lived there had a beautiful garden, with many gorgeous roses. Sadly, after she died, her relatives moved in and the garden was destroyed. Soon, the County used eminent domain to claim the land and the house was bulldozed. The lot was spared and stood empty, vandalized by outer elements until she and her husband decided to buy it in 1996. Then she started her garden.

 

Note the beautiful coloration of red to purple!

Betty is most famous for her sweet peas, gorgeous bunches of color and scent. She reseeds them every year, but they are the perennial kind and pretty hardy. She once even used RoundUp on them and they still thrived! (I'm still shaking my head over that one!) You can stand in the street in front of her house and smell the heavenly scent of the sweet peas from the lot next door!


Her most favorite thing in her garden is her Mr. Lincoln rose. Her husband, Bob bought it for her and it has always been her favorite.When she started her garden she hired some workers to demolish some bushes and they just about destroyed the rose. She was SO upset and thought the rose was dead. She babied it back to health, even massaging the roots to keep it alive and it returned the love and thrived. It is now 40 years old and the most fragrant, deepest red rose she owns. She also has many other beautiful plants.

California Poppies

 A Gorgeous Iris

 

When asked what is the most favorite thing about her garden, she replied:

"Makes me feel happy to put my hands in dirt and let time fly by"