A few years ago I posted about my experience of my sister and I cleaning out the family home after the deaths of our parents - our father in 2013 and mother in 2015 - and the importance of knowing the stories behind the many treasures tucked away in cupboards and drawers, or out in the shed.
Cleaning out the house, we came across treasures in every corner. A hand tinted photo of my mother as a child, a box of slides and negatives from early in our parents' marriage, a small garnet brooch that belonged to my great grandmother, a bronze alligator nutcracker made by my grandfather, and so much more.
Before the family house was sold, I took the opportunity to take cuttings from several plants I could not take with me. One of these was a hares-foot fern that lived in our old, falling down greenhouse. The original hares-foot belonged to my grandmother. Before she passed away, my mother took a cutting from her plant, brought it home and potted it. It thrived in our greenhouse and by the time my parents passed away it had overgrown its pot, attached itself to the wooden shelf the pot sat upon, and was firmly attached to the shelf. Clearly it was not moving with me to my new home. So much as my mother had done, I took a few cuttings, potted them and hoped for the best.
These two little cuttings have thrived. They quickly outgrew the little pots I had started them in, and have since been transplanted to bigger pots. They sit, one in my main bathroom and one in a stand in my dining room, and I think of my mother and grandmother whenever I see them. I have recently taken a new cutting from one of these plants and potted it for a friend. And so the heirloom hares-foot fern continues on, hopefully for many years to come.
