父親的“妙手生花”

When I was growing up in Ireland during World War Two， I lived in a soldier’s cottage on an acre of land that my adoptive father received because he fought in WW1. He was a tall wellbuilt man， fifty years older than me with toil-worn hands from working as the foreman in the goods’department of the Bagenalstown Railway Station and cultivating the loveliest garden in the cottages. His favorite was the 1）lilac tree that perfumed the parlor through the open window. Hosts of golden 2）daffodils and 3）tulips danced in the spring and 4）wallflowers， 5）peonies， roses and clumps of lavender ballooned inside circles of heavily-scented white 6）carnations in summer. Beds of 7）busy Lizzies， also called 8）petunias， bugled in the wind.

Together we sowed 9）parsnips， cabbage， red beets， 10）cauliflower and potatoes to name just a few vegetables. When he planted the peas， he threw a handful of 11）sweet pea seeds in with them and they grew into tall 12）variegated curtains. 13）Thrushes， robins and 14）wagtails enjoyed their 15）rowdy breakfast in the apple trees， 16）black currant bushes and strawberry beds.

When dad dug his first potatoes in June， he brought a basket of steaming-boiled ones 17）slathered in butter to the neighbor’s house. They’d tell him they were the flouriest 18）spuds they’d ever tasted. Then， he’d extend his two hands.

“Who’ll I leave’em to？” he’d ask and everyone would laugh.

I haven’t grown vegetables since I was a child. However， since I’ve lived in 19）Buffalo， I’ve bought 20）geraniums， busy Lizzies and 21）impatiens in full bloom every 22）Memorial Day weekend and planted an instant garden.

My mother also loved lilacs， red poppies and roses. When I returned from her funeral in Ireland in May 2006， a dear friend had made a heart-shaped garden in the front of my house in her memory. It showcases white and purple lilac trees that bloom every spring and peace roses that bloom until it snows. I planted daffodils and tulips and made an instant garden on the Memorial Day weekend.

One day last July I came home and was delightfully surprised to see a “Buffalo in Bloom”marker poking out of a flower bed. A notice on my door said volunteers had come by and thought my “garden was rocking.” I also received a certificate and a letter from Mayor Brown.

This year I celebrated a significant birthday. Friends gave me plants and a long-wished-for bird bath for my garden. On Memorial Day I planted hot pink busy Lizzies， white impatiens， 23）azaleas， 24）hydrangeas and a purple butterfly plant. 25）Gladiola 26）bulbs grew into tall， 27）sleek， colorful exotic flowers and I received the “Buffalo in Bloom” recognition yet again.

A busy neighbor whose grounds looked like sleeping beauty’s garden went on vacation. When she returned I told her that I was tempted to weed it for her. She said if I’d done that， she’d have thought a miracle happened. When she went away again， I removed the weeds and planted a garden in front of her house. She was welcomed back by a “Buffalo in Bloom” marker in her flower bed as well. She was delighted and said if not for my incentive her garden would still be a sleeping beauty. I also assisted a 92-year-old woman I take care of with her garden. She received a “Buffalo in Bloom” recognition， too.

Many people stop to admire our cheerful gifts of color to the neighborhood. When I’m planting， weeding or watering， I often remember my father holding out his hands asking，

“Who’ll I leave ’em to？” I always knew he’d leave ’em to me.

第二次世界大戰(zhàn)期間，我在愛爾蘭一個士兵村舍里長大。我的養(yǎng)父因曾參加過“一戰(zhàn)”而分得了一英畝地，村舍就建在這片土地上。父親體格健壯又高大，比我年長五十歲。因為在貝格努爾斯鎮(zhèn)火車站的商品銷售部當工頭，并且培育著村舍中最漂亮的花園，他的雙手粗糙繭裂。他最鐘愛的是那棵丁香花樹——其香氛能透過打開的窗戶飄進客廳。春天里，大量的黃金水仙花和郁金香翩翩起舞；夏日里，桂竹香、牡丹、玫瑰和成簇的薰衣草在一團團芳香濃郁的白色康乃馨之中怒放。一片片的鳳仙花（又叫矮牽牛花）迎風吹響號角。

我們一起播下種子，其中有歐洲蘿卜、卷心菜、紅甜菜、花椰菜和土豆等蔬菜，不一而舉。在種豌豆時，他往里面多撒了一把香豌豆的種子，結果它們長出了一片色彩斑駁的葉幕。畫眉、知更鳥和鹡鸰在蘋果樹、黑加侖子樹叢和草莓地上享用著它們喧嘩吵鬧的早餐。

六月，當父親從地里挖出第一次收成的土豆后，便會提著一籃子涂著厚厚黃油的蒸土豆送到鄰居家里。他們會告訴父親，這是他們吃過的、最粉的土豆。然后他會攤出雙手——

“我可以把它們托付給誰呢？”他會這么問道，大家聽后都笑了。

從孩提時到現(xiàn)在，我沒有再種過蔬菜。不過，自從搬到布法羅住之后，在每一個陣亡將士紀念日的周末，我都會買回盛開的天竺葵、矮牽牛花和鳳仙花，“種”出一個即時花園。

我的母親也喜歡丁香花、紅罌粟和玫瑰。2006年5月，當我從愛爾蘭參加完她的葬禮回來后，一位親密好友在我家的前院開墾了一個心形的花園來悼念她。……