The gardener's eye

The Gardener's Eye

Monday, June 30, 2014

In Honor of My Sister, Mother and Grandmother

I planted Clematis  'Honora', a velvety rich violet-purple flowered vine in my garden for two reasons. The first was the name, Honora. The second reason was the description in the original Heronswood catalogue: "moderately vigorous stems to 12 feet...lovely grown through yellow-foliaged shrubs and small trees." I had already planted Ligustrum sinense 'Variegata'  in the Upper Garden and thought they would make perfect companions.

Dan Hinkley describes Honora as a Maori name but I know it as the girl's name brought to England and Ireland by the Normans which means honor or valor. My maternal grandmother was named Honora Glynn and went by Norie, my mother was named Honora Patricia Scanlan, and went by Trish and, most recently, my sister was named Honora Glynn Gordon and goes by the nickname, Honnie.






4 comments:

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails