This year is a first for me. I won't be calling Dad in Winnipeg to wish him a great Father's Day and get the local weather report.
Henry passed away in March and there are still many reminders of the hole he has left in my life.
Living a life well-lived into your 90s is a wonderful thing. Men of his generation saw tremendous change from simple rural living to a World War proudly fought for Canada. But home was Dad's castle and he particularly loved his yard.
My mother was the real gardener of the family, picking the plants and sorting our designs in her front and back gardens - but Dad loved the yard. He couldn't tell you the difference between a pansy and a petunia, his specialty was the lawn and sitting in a lawn chair at the end of the day thankful for what he had.
When I found out Dad passed away, and before I even boarded the plane home, I knew that I wanted to bring some of his ashes back with me to put in our 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 garden.
The next task was to pick something to plant that reminded me of Dad and a place where we could sprinkle his ashes around. I love the idea of planting something to remember friends and family who have left this Earth.
If you haven't seen a Rhus Tiger Eye, it really is a sight to behold. This is the plant we picked for Henry.
It is a hybridized shrub in the family of the native sumac - the Tiger Eye is not known for its flowers, but check out the foliage. The new leaves are a vivid chartreuse green, which then changes to its bright yellow summer colour. The stems are an unusual fuzzy pink. But it is in the fall when this striking shrub starts to shine. The leaves turn a luminous combination of yellow, orange and scarlet red before it dies down for a winter hiatus.
The garden is many things for my family and I - a place to play, a place to sit, a place to pick fresh food and a place where beauty is constant. I wanted Dad to be part of our garden too.
The image of Dad in a lawn chair at the end of the day is powerful. If you took the time out to sit and join him, he would inevitably say: "It doesn't get any better than this does it?"
On Father's Day I will be digging a hole for our new Tiger Eye sumac and for Henry. If you are lucky enough to spend June 14 with your father - take a moment out to sit together and enjoy the day.
