The first Fathers' Day with no father

[LisaW]

Anticipating the difficult time ahead, I planned a project for our first Fathers' Day weekend. One day, looking at my late husband's old work boots, I thought of planting succulents in them. From there the idea of a memorial garden began to take root in me. Before I knew it I lost a quarter of my back yard!

My husband was born a dairy farmer. He was a happy man on the back of a tractor making hay. He dreamed of building a barn and home from the ground up, and he did. Our children knew no other life than climbing trees and playing with kittens. We had the idyllic country life. I wanted to bring elements of this life into the garden.

After taking up the sod and reshaping the ground, we planted a beautiful late blooming dogwood tree and dug a pond. My daughter and I built an arbor in the shape of a barn and set it on a foundation of brick. Inside the arch is an angel statue which stands at the end of a path of stepping stones that tell the life story of the man who inspired the garden. He was a very hard worker, and I remember my daughter saying how proud she knew he'd be of all of our work.

Of course we did not get 1000 square feet of landscaping finished in one weekend, but the basic structure was in place and the ground prepared and covered. Later we added more plants, solar lights along the path and a tractor seat set in a milk can. Everyone who visits the garden has a place to think, grieve and remember a late blooming gentle giant whose life ended much too soon. At Christmas we place lighted deer and spiral trees in the garden as a way of extending the celebration outside to include him. The barn arch is covered in lights and symbolizes the gate to the amazing eternal life where there is no more weeping and every day is a celebration.