by Crystal Sands
Marie Sekera is a master organic gardener, a brilliant home cook, a teacher, a mother of nine children, and she has an eye for beauty that I am in awe of. Marie is my neighbor and dearest of friends, and I have learned so much from her–about gardening, about children, about beauty, and about life. Her garden is a masterpiece. She grows both food and flowers, all organically. Her garden is right up against ours, so we get to spend our summers in our garden admiring the beauty that is Marie’s garden. When her flowers are in bloom, it’s like something out of a fairytale.
When I was a little girl, I had a great grandmother who was a gardener and chicken keeper. She raised chickens, food, and lots of beautiful flowers. I have profound memories of playing with my brothers amongst the pinks, purples, and yellows of her garden–and the frogs we would find in her flower beds. The skills my great grandmother possessed were not passed down to me. We skipped some generations in our family, but the inspiration she gave me have had a profound impact on my life as an adult. I think of her and her garden almost every single day, though she died more than 30 years ago.
When I see my neighbor, Marie, in the garden with her grandchildren, I am in awe. I know she is having an impact that may not be visible on the surface, but the beauty of Marie’s garden and the warmth she brings to everything will live on in the memories of her grandchildren for decades upon decades. And I, humbly, want to share her with the world because, well, grandmas and gardens are the best things in the world, are they not?
Every summer, Marie gifts me at least one bouquet of flowers grown in her magnificent garden, and I treasure each bouquet. Last year, I was hoping to make a bouquet for a special person on her birthday, and I wanted to use my teddy bear sunflowers (the first ones I had ever grown) in the bouquet. That’s as far as I got because I knew, if I wanted the bouquet to be beautiful, I would need some of Marie’s flowers. I decided to go knock on her door and ask if I could pick a few flowers. I hated to bother her because she’s always so busy. She’s always helping a family member or someone in the community, but I was desperate for a beautiful bouquet. I thought she could maybe point me in the right direction of some lovely flowers for my teddy bear sunflower.
It was dusk when I went to her house because it had been a long day. I knew Marie would understand, but I didn’t know Marie would end up helping me put the whole thing together. As I worried about adding more things to Marie’s to-do list for the evening, I was also in heaven watching her work. She has never had formal training, but she makes a bouquet of flowers that is truly a work of art.
As I watched her work that evening on the most gorgeous bouquet featuring a teddy bear sunflower I had ever seen, I came to have a deep admiration for the way she strives for beauty. I’m a human who greatly admires beauty but struggles to make it, though I keep trying. I think this makes me so greatly admire people who are gifted at making things beautiful. Marie is a master. Master gardener. Master in beauty. And a masterful grandmother who loves like a force of nature.
I asked if I could interview her for Farmer-ish. She, perhaps a little embarrassed, agreed. I wanted to know how someone came to be so wonderful at making and sharing beauty in the world.
Crystal: How did you get started as a gardener? Did your family garden?
Marie: I remember planting gladiola bulbs with my grandfather when I was maybe 10 or 11 years old, but I wasn’t nurtured or taught how to garden. When I got married, my husband and I rented a house, and I planted purple basil. Purple basil was the first thing I ever planted.
Crystal: And you grew as a gardener from there?
Marie: Yes, and my love of it grew from there. When we started having children, we grew a vegetable garden to feed our family. It was always organic.
Crystal: You were always an organic gardener?
Marie: Yes, even before organic became a big thing. It just made sense to me. I was always a little ahead of the times when it came to organic growing. I don’t know how or why. I just paid attention and had a sense of what was right. I mean, I was breastfeeding and wanted to make sure I was feeding my babies well.
Crystal: When did the flowers come?
Marie: I was at some event, and I saw a woman bring in a bouquet, and it was just beautiful. I asked her where she got it, and the woman said, “I grow these.” That was the moment I was hooked.
And when Marie says she was hooked, she was hooked. Marie said she heard about a bumper sticker that read, “This car stops at all nurseries.” We both agreed that she does, indeed, need this bumper sticker.
Crystal: Can you tell me about your love of plants?
Marie: I just have this need to help things grow. For a while, after the kids were grown, I ran a landscaping business with a partner. Every sick plant from everyone else’s property came home with me to be healed. I just couldn’t leave it there.
Crystal: What was it like running your own business? What did you learn from it?
Marie: It was a lot of work. Too much work to sustain in the long term, but getting our customer’s perspectives gave me confidence. They thought my work was so beautiful, and that helped me understand that I was doing beautiful work.
Crystal: How did you learn so much about plants? How are you so good at what you do?
Marie: Well, I have a reverence for both plants and the soil. It really starts with the soil. But I read all the books I could and trained in the Master Gardener program through the University of Maine. I’m really mostly self taught. I only later in life completed the Master Gardener program. In my thirties, I started reading gardening books. I still have a huge collection!
Crystal: What are your hopes for your future garden?
Marie: I have a dream that I can grow flowers every summer and then bring bouquets to assisted living centers. I have a basement full of vases with this dream in mind. I just want to deliver flowers to the office and say, “Give these to a person who never gets flowers.”
And that’s the kind of human Marie is. She said she doesn’t bake cookies for people. She gives them flowers.
Marie and I have often have conversations about her perfectionism in the garden, and I wanted to ask her about this because I think she has a lot of wisdom for those who strive for perfection in the garden.
Marie: I have a type A personality and am a bit of a perfectionist, but I found that my perfectionism was taking the joy out of gardening. I couldn’t see the beauty for the weeds, but I had an epiphany one day that I had to learn to love the process and enjoy the beauty along the way.
Crystal: What advice do you have for other gardeners?
Marie: Start with your soil. Soil is key. Learn to mulch. Make sure you plant to your region. Get clippings for free when you can. Start small and let your passion grow. Oh, and let go of any perfectionism if you can.
This is good advice for gardening and good advice for life–start with good soil, embrace the process, and let go of perfectionism.
***
Marie and her garden are so dear to our family that, a couple of years ago, my husband built a fence for her around her garden to keep the deer out. He also wrote a poem for her that was published in a children’s book Why the Moon Tumbled Out of the Sky. With permission from my poet husband and artist son (he was just 7 years old when he painted this), I share the poem and art below. I believe the poem captures the essence of Marie’s magical garden that must bring so much joy to her grandchildren.
Marie’s Garden
by R. James Sands
I have never heard a garden sing
quite in the manner of our Miss Marie’s
it carols in colorful arrangements of flowers
with an orchestral accompaniment of consonant bees
She tunes her own hives
so I’m told
You can hear for yourself
if you trend toward the bold
It’s the only place I’ve ever been
where moss doesn’t decorate north sides of trees
it’s firmly festooned round the south
lured by the petiole pagent of lush melodies
She plants her own notes
so I’m told
If you’re up with the sun
you can hear them unfold
Where the black flies buzz more than they bite
and the crickets night fiddle with elegant ease
and that first line might be just a tiny, black lie
but that’s no reflection on our Miss Marie.
She never gets bit
so I’m told
it’s the lavender oil
and fresh marigold
But I can’t really say of what it’s composed,
all chroma, and petals, and myriad leaves
intertwined in a vibrant and vigorous noise
of water, and earth, and sun synergies
She’s green fingers and thumbs
so I’m told
and her red wiggler tonic’s
a tea best served cold
No, I’ve never heard a garden sing
quite in the manner of our Miss Marie’s
it carols in colorful arrangements of flowers
with an orchestral accompaniment of consonant bees
photo credits: Nickie Sekera and Crystal Sands, original art by Ronan Sands