In writing Karinne's obituary, we came up with the idea of asking people for perennial and annual flowers that could be planted in a garden in memory of Karinne. We wanted a special place that we could go to reflect, relax, and remember Karinne. The idea took on a life of its own as MANY friends and family donated live flowers and plants. Following the funeral, our porch began to look a bit like a greenhouse nursery! It was so beautiful.
And a little overwhelming actually - to think of getting all of those lovely plants in the ground safely, having just had a c section. Thankfully, my oldest sister, who lives in New York was planning to return to Kansas in just a couple of weeks for a longer visit. As the "Gardening Guru" in our family, she was a wonderful asset to getting the garden up and going. And she even brought back with her a CAR FULL of plants from her own garden!
We took a corner of the yard that was badly in need of a makeover and began to turn it into "Karinne's Garden".
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| Before |
My husband started the process of killing off the grass and tilling. Then my sister was able to finish tilling and preparing the soil and we were able to get all of the plants in the ground. I helped out as much as I could, but those abs were still pretty sore from the surgery, so my help was limited. After a few days of hard work, we had made a great start on the garden.
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| Thanks for All of Your Help Krista! |
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| After |
We plan to plant grass between the beds this fall. I'm excited for how it will look when the grass grows in. We were able to use rocks for the edging that we had gotten from Karinne's Grandad's property a few years back. They are a great finishing touch.
We used memorial money from my Grammie to get a special seat for the garden. It makes for a very special spot to relax and remember our sweet girl.
There are various special gifts placed throughout the garden. We hope to add more special gifts and new plantings in the coming years as Christmas and Birthday gifts to Karinne. Here are a few more photos of how the garden is looking:
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| A Gift from My Grammie |
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| A Windchime at the Suggestion of Another Baby Lost Mom |
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| Daylilies From Krista (Above & Below) |
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| Mini Rosebush from Angela |
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| Mini Rosebush from College Friends |
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| Butterfly Light from Cindy |
