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Monday, June 6, 2011

Just For A Moment....

...stop what you are doing, I have a special friend I want you to visit with. I have done a few posts on this friend before, that you may or may not remember.

Everytime I see her, I leave in amazement and feel honored to have her as my friend.

We all have friends, we all have special friends, but some shine brighter than others.

So...about my friend....

She is a Master Gardener, loves to garden, she has 3 kids, a GREAT veggie garden, she loves to cook, and has an amazing husband. While we garden in gloves, she gardens in a Wheelchair.

You may know her as the Wheelchair Gardener, but I know her as Marilyn.

In 1995 Marilyn lived in the historic Oakleigh Garden district in downtown Mobile. She was out in her yard gardening, and went in to get a drink. She didn't lock her door back after she went into the garden. Minutes later, a 14 year old came out into her yard and asked for money, he wanted to go to McDonald's. She told him she didn't have any, and her shot her. He shot her with her own handgun that he had gotten out of her house. She laid there for several hours. Her brother stopped by, and was about to  leave when he noticed a yellow Iris blooming. When he went to get a closer look, he heard Marilyn calling to him. That yellow Iris saved her life. Marilyn is paralyzed from the chest down. She is married to a wonderful man that takes care of her, and helps her in the garden.

Today, the Hydrangea Queen and I went to visit Marilyn. She is currently on 6 weeks of bed rest due to pressure sores. They delivered her an air mattress a few days ago. Hopefully this will help, if not, she may have to have surgery.

Normally when I visit, she is out in the yard, scooting around. But today, I sat in her scooter while we visited (she told me to sit there). I hope to see her back in the garden in a few weeks. In the meantime, the Hydrangea Queen and I will be visiting once a week to keep her entertained! Next week we are going to take a few board games when we visit and play Scrabble and Monopoly.

This is the garden she and her husband work so diligently in. I promised her I would take lots of great pictures of her garden and email to her.

I have always loved her greenhouse

Look at that vibrant blue Hydrangea...the Hydrangea Queen got a cutting off of one of these.


This is a night blooming Cereus. It should be blooming any day now. She asked me to come back and photograph it when it does bloom. Her husband in on bloom watch, and is supposed to call me when it gets ready. So I am on bloom standby.





Another gorgeous hydrangea





Her husband has a nice vegetable garden, and orchard...all on a 1.9 acre lot.




These are my favorite....they are THORNLESS & SEEDLESS blackberries!!!! We sampled some blackberry cobbler before we left. Let me tell ya'll that cold cobbler is really good, especially when it is 100 degrees outside!

Look at the juiciness!

Now for all ya'll Southern folks...these aren't muscadines or scuppernongs. Nope! They are white grapes! You don't see many of those down here on a vine. Some of ya'll may not know what a muscadine or scuppernong is...but don't worry, neither did spell check ;-)

Little fuzzy peaches

Banana Peppers

Some sort of fantastic looking lettuce. Ed didn't know the names of the lettuce, he just knew they tasted good! He loaded us up with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and blackberries when we left.




Marilyn had quite a few daylilies in bloom, so I took a few shots to share with her.







Cala Lily







I hope you will go over to Marilyn's blog, Wheelchair Gardener, and visit with her. I know she would love to hear from ya'll. She is an amazing person, and I look forward to many more visits with her.

Here is a previous post I did on Marilyn

11 comments:

Tootsie said...

and I am now bawling like a baby. I hope that wonderful garden inspires so many more gardeners....and that she is able to get up and get out there soon.
did they ever get that jerk kid who shot her? What a horrible reason for him to hurt her! (not that there's ever a good enough one to robb and harm another person)
I am praying for her...wow...April...wow

Tootsie said...

I forgot to add that I have heard about this lady and her garden before ...and it wasn't from you...she was inspiring before...but now that I know more about her...I am in awe! Thank God for her brother ...and that Iris.

Shirley said...

What an amazing story. I am glad to read she hasn't let this incidence stop her from enjoying what she loves. I love the intense blue of this hydrangea! I've never seen anything like it!

Thanks for the heads up. I'm going to swing over to your friend's blog and say hi.

The Gardening Life

Anonymous said...

Oh my word!!!! How fantastic she is and I loved every minute of this story April. You are precious to write about Marilyn's flowers and visit her as you do. God has called you and you have brilliantly answered. Thank you for including me and allowing me to speak to Marilyn about her flowers. I'll go right over. Those are some pretty incredible hydrangeas and I am nuts about her greenhouse.

tina said...

I've known Marilyn for quite some time now and her story is so sad, yet she is so inspiring. I am very sorry to hear she is not doing well and stopped in to her blog to say I hope she gets well soon. Thanks for letting us all know. You are a saint indeed. Hopefully on your next visit you'll have some good news to report.

Anonymous said...

What an inspiration! I'm glad that you have such a great eye for photos so that Marilyn will be able to visit the garden without leaving the house. But I know she's just itching to get back out there.

I have no idea which photo/plant was my favorite... just too many beauties!

Keeping Marilyn in my prayers for a speedy recovery!

Stacy @ kneedeepinbloomers@blogspot.com/

Becca's Dirt said...

Marilyn has been on my mind and in my heart lately. She let me know she wasn't feeling well but I didn't know. I've been meaning to visit her and the garden. Gosh I hope she is up and about soon. I'm gonna email her and make plans to see her. Thank for letting us know. She is an amazing lady and an inspiration to us all.

Peggy said...

Thank you for sharing this inspiring though upsetting story.I was not aware of Marilyn's blog before but I will certainly visit now.Thank youf or sharing the story and the photos of this amazing lady & garden

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

What a gorgeous garden! I have visited her blog before, but it's been awhile. I love that you are on bloom watch :) Beautiful pictures of her garden. I hope Marilyn heals up and is able to get back to her garden.

nic@nipitinthebud said...

what a courageous lady Marilyn is, thanks for sharing her story.
A true inspiration and such a beautifully maintained garden.

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

What an amazin' woman and the garden just blows me outta the water. How very beautiful this garden is, it truly shows the spirit of this inspirational dear lady.

Thanks so much for sharin' both her and her garden with us.

Beautiful pictures sweetie!

God bless ya! :o)

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