Dear Reader:

Yesterday morning I was so filled with anticipation that I could hardly stand myself! Beth Brewer emailed me Tuesday evening to ask if I would be interested in a manettia vine, originally from her Uncle Frank’s yard. Uncle Frank! Frank Cuthbert from Marion Avenue!!!! A native Summervillian and renown avid gardener…that Frank Cuthbert? Double Wow!

I immediately emailed her back YES!!! She said she would bring it over Wednesday around mid-morning. I couldn’t even sleep…I was up bright and early…it felt like Christmas morning to a child!

The second thing I did after emailing back an overwhelmingly positive response…was look it up. What kind of vine was it exactly? (Actually I could have cared less if it was a twig…it would have been an historical twig from early Summerville history and that is what made me so happy!)

 When Beth arrived lugging the plant and wired tomato stake…I couldn’t believe my eyes. It is beautiful! There is a wide variety of manettia vines with funny nicknames like Cigar Flower, Firecracker vine or Candy Corn vine. *Mine right now looks more like it fits the firecracker vine category…but time will tell.

Beth told me her sister Caroline had gotten several cuttings of this vine from her uncle’s yard and re-potted them to keep some…and give others away. *Beth remembered that she and her siblings loved to pop the red buds when they were little and would go visit Uncle Frank. It was a favorite family plant vine!

Even though I didn’t know Frank Cuthbert personally…I always felt like I did. When we first moved to Miler Country Club neighborhood (while pregnant with Tommy)…the easiest way to get to my school, Alston Middle School, was to take a cut-through road by the name of Marion Avenue.

It didn’t take me long to notice this fairy tale cottage on that road. The windows were always wide open and beautiful flowers spilled out over the ledge. And the scent…oh my goodness…it was a mixture of tea olive and ginger. Exquisite!

I would start rolling down all my windows right before I got to the fairy tale house (my name for it) and begin slowing down. *I always knew it was going to be a good teaching day if there was not a car behind me…so I could pull over and take in the scenery and sweet scents for just a few precious seconds.

Beth knew she was making a retired history teacher’s day, yesterday, because she brought some old newspaper articles and pictures to share with me.

One clipping came from an aged Summerville-Journal Scene article by Julie Smith. (Always loved her stories)

It began ” If you’ve driven down quiet, tree-shaded Marion Avenue, chances are you’ve marveled at one particular house.

It’s the one with the flowers.

Cheerful blossoms spill from windows lining the enclosed porch. Bright blossoms edge the veranda, and flowering pots and baskets decorate the front steps in gay profusion. 

Creamy camellias mix informally with verbena, impatiens, roses, and achimenes in delightful groupings of pastels and pinks, reds, and yellows, greens and purples.

It’s all the work of Frank Cuthbert, avid gardener and lifelong Summerville resident.

“I’ve enjoyed gardening as long as I can remember,” Cuthbert said. “It’s a challenge to keep flowers year round-but it’s a challenge I enjoy.”

“I started the window boxes almost by accident, he explained. People would stop and tell me how how much they enjoyed the flowers, and take pictures. Now I keep doing it so I don’t disappoint them.”

I told Beth that he certainly didn’t disappoint me…until the day I rode by and the flowers were gone. I had not heard about his illness (stomach cancer) but I knew in my heart something was very wrong. This time when I pulled over…I rested my head against the steering wheel and just sobbed. (* Do you know, until this day, I get emotional every time I hear Peter, Paul, and Mary sing…”Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” I know it was anti-war (Vietnam) song but to me it was the day Frank Cuthbert’s flowers were no longer in the windows and on the porch.)

That fairy tale cottage had been my anchor and light during my teaching days and “valley days”…Though still pretty today…Frank’s spirit is what we saw in those gorgeous flowers in his windows, porches, yards, trellises…he had his own Garden of Eden while here on earth and shared it, unselfishly, with the rest of us.

Beth remembers one of the last times she was with him…she was helping him take pansies and transplanted plants to the town parks as a gift to Summerville. He was very sick (only lived 3 months after the diagnosis) but he was determined to give away his flowers to his beloved hometown. Today many of the pansies visitors enjoy while strolling through  Azalea Park originally belonged to him. A marker has been placed in the wild flower section of the park in his honor.

Isn’t it amazing how one email can be the catalyst… for remembering the joy and appreciation for an outstanding resident of Summerville who came before and during our lives…quietly, with no fanfare, brightening our days and putting a smile on our faces. This is what Frank Cuthbert did and continues to do through his living gift of flowers to the town. Through them…Frank Cuthbert lives on.

*Beth…this is the spot I found for the manettia vine in the garden…just at the bend that turns towards the bench and fountain…I think Mr. Cuthbert would like it there in the sun- dappled (late afternoon) shady place of rest.

So until tomorrow…”The true joy of life is not in the grand gesture but in the consecration of the moment.” (Thank you Beth for sharing your family’s story, your uncle’s story, a special little fairy tale house’s story and a manettia vine to house this memory of the time spent with you and a quiet, unassuming man, who brought so much happiness to so many citizens of his home town.)

*Before ending today I wanted to share a beautiful remembrance that Beth wrote one day in October of 2010…a tribute to a special uncle, who made the world more beautiful for being in it.

It was titled: The October Visitor and sent to  family members.(Thank you Beth for giving me permission to share this heart-felt tribute.)

It happens every year about this time. The first cooler day, sun drenched, deep blue fall sky brings him like clockwork. I usually first spot him when I’m in the backyard and I catch that first scent. I close my eyes and I can feel him near when the tea olive opens up. As I dig in the soil, he’s right there guiding me and giving me helpful tips. The weight of the air has his wisdom riding on it and the breeze wraps that wisdom around everything I’m working on in the garden.

I see him everywhere…in the golden rod, the ageratum, the mist in the fields of the early morning. He only visits for a day or two but this year I was very fortunate- he stayed an entire week. I spent as much time as I could outside last week not wanting to miss a minute of what he brings! He’ll be back when the weather turns again- to colder, crisper days. Christmas will come and I’ll see him in the heartbeat of nature. I miss him beyond words and know that y’all do too. My October visitor’s name is Frank.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

These Gerber daisies were just itching to jump into the three water bottles so I let them at it…the arrangement makes me smile in my happy place.

*** One of our loyal and very funny blog readers, Dee Lesko, is going through a hard time right now… culminating this morning. Almost a week ago her adorable husband, Mike, woke up with a terrible headache…she immediately took him in for a medical exam and it was discovered that he was suffering from a brain bleed. This morning he is going into surgery to figure out what is causing this situation and hopefully getting him all patched up. The doctors had to wait until some of his medications were out of his system for best results.

It is a scary time for Dee and Mike now…and our wonderfully funny family reader, Dee, could use our prayers this morning… I would appreciate it so much for both of them…they are my neighboring pew buddies at church and one of the nicest couples I know. Thank you! Never underestimate the power of prayer!