Ann’s Garden
Jason, April and Jed rode the bus to school in Stanwood. Living on the south end, they were some of the first kids to get on the bus and the last to be let off. But on the last day of school the bus driver reversed the order and dropped the south end kids off first. This arrangement mortified Jason because it meant that all of the kids on the bus could see that they were poor. On one of those last days, Jason lied to the bus driver. He said that his mom was working at the farm. The driver let them off there, and they walked home through the woods. But they were not poor in being loved or poor in beauty. Ann brought beauty in from her garden.
A typical flower arrangement on the kitchen window sill above the sink
Mom’s garden evolved. She never had a plan, or money to buy flowers if she did have a plan. The dirt was poor because the topsoil has been scraped off years ago when the original house was built. When Jack and Ann moved in, the house stood stark with no vegetation around it, close to the main road. One of the first projects was Jack building a cedar fence to keep Jason, who liked to wander to the neighbor’s home across the street, in the yard. The fence gave a wonderful background for any gardening possibilities.
The Dorsey’s home on Lot #77 from the road before Jack built the fence
Ann worked up the soil as best she could as she planted whatever treasures she was given by the more inexpensive trees, plants and flowers. For $15.00 or so she placed an order of her dreams, that included her first tree, a pink dogwood and a wisteria among the dreams. The starts arrived in due time. All were just microscopic specimens, but she had time and dreams on her side. She planted the pink dogwood two feet “tree” plenty of space away from the house, knowing how things do grow and years later it rewarded her efforts with lots and lots of pink spring blossoms coloring that side of the front house.
The wisteria vine arriving in the mail at a foot in height now taken over the fence between the road and house, scaling trees and “jungling” the front yard. Other plants came with the mail order from the east coast also and to her own surprise they all lived and began the “garden” that gave her, and her family, so much joy through the years.
Jack and Ann agreed that it would be smart to plant the orchard early to help their growing family “live off the land.” They selected various apple trees, one of them being the king apple trees that was a favorite with their children for years. They needed to invest in two varieties of filbert nut trees so they would have good pollination and more nuts. There are four giant black walnuts trees in the side lawn now. Ann planted the walnut nuts that turned into these trees and here is how that happened. When Ann’s sister, Margaret, married Ken Day from Ohio, Doc Dodgson asked Mr. Day, Ken’s dad, to bring some black walnuts nuts from their plentiful forests back there. Ann says, “Daddy gave me some of the nuts for us to plant and see if any come up. Four did. They now tower in the back yard with their long strands of lacy green leaves.” The Virginia Creeper on the end of the studio was started by mom from the magnificent Virginia Creeper that covered the stone fireplace in the Dorsey original homestead in Plain where Dad used to live.
While there may have been no landscaping “plan” there was always room – somewhere – for special plants! Ann planted flowers and climbing roses, honeysuckle and bushes when she could either get starts from relatives or friends, root stock herself (a totally learned skill because it was so awesome and so inexpensive!), and sometimes purchase the originals. She learned about the big premium iris from her friend and neighbor, Charlotte Steiner who left a bloom of her periwinkle blue “Mary Francis” iris at the front door when the family was gone. Mom had never seen an iris like that one. Later Charlotte shared her “Schnieders” iris catalog with her and Ann made a lavish number of selections. Those irises she planted by the car port originally. They now spread here and there, needing more care and love for sure!
In the front garden by the road are the rambling spring arching “Japanese roses” that Dad remembers from his childhood, its yellow blossoms warming the fifty-acre farm from his rural Redmond, WA home. A friend from Renton Bible Church, Inez Kapioski, got Ann thinking about the idea of a friendship garden. The light pink rose growing on the driveway side of the woodshed is the kind Inez brought in a bouquet. Mom already LOVED that kind of rose because her Grandma Meetsy had it as a climber growing on the water side of her garage. Inez brought a bouquet spilling over with these “New Dawn” pale pink roses and suggested that after the blooming was done that she should keep them in water on her kitchen windowsill. They might make roots. They did. Ann learned different ways to propagate for little or no money and the garden grew.
Ann’s love for flowers came in part from her grandma Meetsy. They would wander through Meetsy’s garden on Camano in search for fairies. One of Meetsy’s illustrations was a figure named Topsy, who just kind of grew. It was the same with Mom’s garden. It just kind of grew. Years later, Ann’s son Jason did a series of fairy videos as her studied under his fairy-master mother as an apprentice.
Ann and Jason searching for fairies at Betty Dorotik’s home.
“Annie made the place beautiful,” Jack says. She planted irises inspired by her friend, Charlotte. Later mom planted a small version of Charlotte’s Harrison Rose, with its cheerful small yellow blossoms on a bush that pioneers brought west with them from the east and planted it beside their cabins when they settled. Charlotte’s parents settled on their Montana ranch. It is still trying to get a vigorous start down by Jack’s practice golfing area to the side of the lilacs by the driveway. In the garden by the road is an English Walnut, the kind that is used for baking. Mom thought to herself, after her success with the Black Walnuts actually germinating, that maybe the hard-shelled English Walnuts from the store would germinate too. She tried and one of them grew, the English Walnut outside the kitchen window that woodpeckers drill away on. The Black Walnut is also used for baking. It was Doc Dodgson’s favorite. However, Ann has not gone through the process of drying them, a nod to the adage “it’s the thought that counts.” The quince bush by the woodshed came from Sayre’s home in Stanwood.
Quince bush by the woodshed
Ann didn’t grow flowers to make the outside of the house beautiful. Her idea was that whatever blooms outside you bring inside so that you can enjoy it. And she did! All spring, summer and fall, glass vases artfully arranged brightened the Dorsey home and hearts.
A painting by Jason Dorsey of his mother Ann in her garden
Ann’s art shows the things that she loves. Flowers have a special place in her heart. You are invited to Ann Cory Dodgson Dorsey’s 80th birthday party to see her art legacy. Saturday, May 23, 10am-4pm, at Sunnyshore Studio: 2803 SE Camano Drive, Camano Island.
