The Heirloom Garden by definition is one comprised of carefully cultivated seeds collected from open-pollinated flowers and vegetables and handed down from one generation to the next. These can be 50 years of a line or more. For most home gardeners, an Heirloom Garden or even just one heirloom plant has sentimental value. It could have come from your parents or grandparents home, it could have been given as a gift from someone special, or even planted in memory of a lost pet or loved one.
When we change homes, if at all possible, we carefully dig up our beloved plants and take them with us much to the chagrin of real estate agents such as myself. This is often an issue for the new buyers of the home and so a negotiation ensues on an acceptable replacement, after all one cannot just leave an empty hole in the garden or yard. And, as we all know, those lovely plants and well-manicured lawn add attraction and value.
In those situations, I accepted what my clients wanted but never fully understood until my mother passed away and left me her home. Our children 
had grown and left home by then so we decided to move into “Mom’s house” as I still refer to it after living here a few years. I am reminded of her by the daffodils that proliferate the front yard as the first harbinger of spring, then the azaleas and iris. In late May, rows of hydrangeas bloom and by early June the huge gardenia “tree” is weighed down with fragrant blooms.
Every month brings a reminder of Mom and the 20 plus years she spent working in her gardens. I find myself now needing to have a much overgrown yard thinned out while still preserving those treasured plants. The landscape contractors I interview just look at me like I’ve lost my mind, they want to tear everything out and start anew. I know I’ll find the right one for the job eventually. In the meantime I’ll just enjoy Mom’s Heirloom Garden…Dawn McGee
