The Darling Dahlias and the Silver Dollar Bush

Aunt Hetty Little took a group of Darling children out to harvest spring greens. She reports that they found plenty of watercress, poke, lamb’s quarters, sheep sorrel, dock, and dandelion. She says she likes to do this every year so the next generation will know that the Creator has planted a garden for us and we need to learn how to harvest it. She gave all the children a handwritten copy of her recipe for spring greens, so they could go home and teach their mothers how to cook what they gathered.

Earlynne Biddle reports that she went out to the cemetery to put flowers on her in-laws’ plot and noticed that the Confederate roses our club planted along the fence are doing very well. (Miss Rogers says to remind you that, whatever people may tell you, the Confederate rose is not a rose. It is a hibiscus. In fact, it is Hibiscus mutabilis, so called because the blossom changes color during the day, from white to pink to red.) Earlynne says she’ll be glad to pull up the weeds around the plants and put down some mulch. If you would like to help, phone her at 355, evenings and weekends only. Daytimes, she’s helping her husband, Henry, out at the Coca-Cola bottling plant.

Mildred Kilgore is also working these days, at Kilgore Motors. But she and her Make Darling Beautiful committee have made time to plan the new quilt garden that the Dahlias will be installing on the courthouse lawn. Mildred says they decided to start with something simple and geometric, so they chose a log cabin design. As you quilters know, log cabin patterns usually begin with a square in the middle, with rectangles arranged on each side of the square, varying light and dark fabrics. The garden will have the same design, with red, yellow, blue, and white. Members of the committee have already started growing the plants, which will be ready to move to the garden in just about three weeks. Mildred is growing red celosia, Raylene Riggs (who is coincidentally living out at Marigold Court) has yellow marigolds, Beulah Trivette has planted white begonias, and Lucy Murphy is responsible for blue ageratum. Extra plants will be put around the flagpoles.

Bessie Bloodworth is in charge of this year’s vegetable garden, in the big empty lot next door to the Dahlias’ clubhouse at the corner of Rosemont and Camellia. Mr. Norris and Racer plowed the garden last month and peas, beans, and salad greens are already planted. Next weekend, we’ll be planting corn, cucumbers, and southern peas. Call Bessie at the Magnolia Manor if you have a few hours to share and she will put you to work. You do NOT have to be a Dahlia to volunteer! This is a community project. All the food will be given away to those who can use it. So thank you for being generous with your time.

The Dahlia Blackstone Garden (named for our club’s illustrious founder) will be open during the Darling Dahlias Garden Tour the second week of June. Fannie Champaign (recently returned from a stay in Atlanta) and Verna Tidwell are coordinating this year’s tour. If you’d like to add your garden to the list, just call the county clerk’s office and ask for Verna, or drop in at Champaign’s Darling Chapeaux on the courthouse square. Verna says that if your garden is in the tour and you don’t want folks to pick your pretty flowers, be sure to put up some signs. We’ve had complaints about flower-pickers in the past, so forewarned is forearmed.





TWELVE


Verna Is on the Case



After Rona Jean had told her about Fannie’s surprising outburst of tears following her movie date with Alvin Duffy, Verna had given some thought to the next step in her campaign to learn the whole truth about the mysterious new president of the Darling Savings and Trust. She already suspected that the man was up to no good. The sooner she found out exactly what he was planning, the better.

Of course, she reminded herself, Fannie might not be willing to talk about Mr. Duffy, and she would have to respect that. But if there was something between them, it would be good to know what it was before she got back in touch with Ima Gail in New Orleans for the next step in her investigation.