Time Travel Through My Father's Garden: A Nostalgic Journey and The Tradition of Sunday Soup
In the heart of Northern California, where Caroline Bloomfield spent her childhood years, a suburban home served as the backdrop for a family's enduring love for gardening. Caroline's father, a man with a green thumb and a gardener's soul, transformed the barren property into a lush haven.
Over the years, the property flourished with swaying trees, a vast lawn, shrubs, flowers, hardscape, and a bountiful harvest of vegetables every year. The lilacs and roses returned each spring, along with the rhubarb, creating a spectacle of colours that painted the garden in a vibrant palette.
When Caroline was just 8 years old, she lived in this home. She spent her days picking apricots, dipping her toes in the pond, and sitting in a sycamore tree, absorbing the tranquillity that the garden offered. The garden was not just a place of beauty but also a source of comfort and nourishment, providing the ingredients for Caroline's father's famous vegetable soup.
The soup's fragrance, wafting through the house, brought a deep sense of comfort and heightened the sense of peace and safety in their home. The recipe, which used mostly garden-grown produce, was never measured and varied each time, reflecting the seasons and the bounty of the garden.
As Caroline's family moved, their gardening passion followed. In their golden years, they moved to an Oregon mobile home park and turned their lot into a garden wonderland. They transported and placed truckloads of river rock throughout their lot to prevent weeds and built stone surrounds for plants and vegetable beds. Splitting pieces of bamboo, her father built a low fence around the planters to protect them.
Caroline's father's grapevines continue to grow and produce, a testament to his dedication and expertise. In his retirement, he continued to garden and developed a notable expertise in soup-making. The soup's aroma still brings back memories of warmth and love.
Today, Caroline Bloomfield, Manager of Marketing Communications, resides and gardens in Bandon, Oregon. She has lived in her parents' home for a few years and has a profound appreciation for the amount of work that went into the property. The yard, even without regular attention and care, remains lovely due to the mature plants that her parents nurtured over the years.
While specific gardening techniques used by Caroline Bloomfield's parents in a Northern California and Oregon mobile home park are not widely documented, their legacy of love for gardening and nurturing nature continues to inspire.
Caroline continues to cultivate a garden-centric lifestyle, maintaining the legacy of her parents in Bandon, Oregon. Her home-and-garden passion, reminiscent of her childhood in Northern California, is evident in the vibrant gardens she tends today.
