Nick, Draga and Our Little White House

Last Friday, I was unloading Coco and my work things from the car when I noticed an older couple in a car looking at my house.

The lady rolled down the window and told me she grew up in my house and they had been looking for it.

Of course I told them to pull over and come have a look.

I knew that at some point in time, my house had been moved to it's current location, but I didn't really know the backstory. I had been told that my house was in the way of the I-205 being built and that's why it had been moved. That, it turns out, was not true.

Carol knew everything about the interior of the house and told me all the little features her father had put in. So I knew Carol was legit.

Here is an excerpt of the letter Carol sent me:

When Draga and Nick got engaged, Nick bought a parcel of land approximately 1/2 acre. He paid $400 for the land. They married May, 11, 1941 and the house was build in the next few months. The cost of the house was $3,030 without the garage, which was built later. 

The address was 8410 S. E. Oak Place., 97266 and the house was in the middle of the block. The street was just a couple of blocks south of Johnson Creek Blvd and one block north of the 82nd St. Drive-in Theater on the east side of the 82nd. Nick's parents lived at the beginning of the street on 82nd and owned Deluxe Fuel Company, where he worked. His sister lived at the end of the block facing east where the large oak tree stood, hence Oak Place. Directly across the street from the house was Battin School and directly behind them was the theater.

Nick and Draga raised four children in the house. There were many joyous occasions celebrated there, including large family gatherings and holiday parties, Easter egg hunts, watching the movies in our back yard and from upstairs as the large outdoor screen was positioned perfectly.

Nick and Draga always had a large garden, as it was a necessity when raising their family, including berries, vegetables, fruit trees, garlic braids, etc., plus Mom's rose garden and dahlias. It was a ritual to dig the first hill of potatoes in the spring and taste Dad's signature Illini sweet corn. 

They lived in the house for 45 years, 1941-1986, and finally sold it when the Johnson Creek Crossing was developed. The house was moved to its current location by Emmert International. Terry was a childhood friend and a classmate of my brother. Currently Emmert is building the large Asian market at 82nd and Foster, the former Fred Meyer location. 

The first image is of my mother on the front porch. As you can see the peak of the house was originally natural wood. It looks like a knotted wood of some kind. The peak was later painted white to match the siding. The second image in the snow was taken in early 1960s. In the third image Dad is holding me. The fourth image shows the arch that separated the living and dining rooms. The dining room window has frilly curtains. The man with the white shirt is sitting close to the front entry closet. 

Nick and Draga were married 71 years and loved by all who knew them. The house was a wonderful home for us kids and much loved. I am so happy that it is in your care and again surrounded by beautiful gardens.

I always wanted a little white house with a picket fence, and now I'm glad to know of Draga and Nick and all the good things that happened in this little white house that I now call my own. 

Even better is knowing they were gardeners. 

This spring, I'll be looking for Illini sweet Corn for the veggie garden and in Draga's honor, I bought a David Austin 'Queen of Sweden' rose to plant next to the one rose that remains from when I moved in.  

I hope Draga would approve of the rose! 

Now to find Nick's sweet corn! 

Draga on the front stoop

May 1961

Nick and baby Carol

A party in the living room - The arch is gone, but its mark on the wall can still be seen.

The 82nd Street Drive-In Theater

The 82nd Street Drive-In Theater

Draga and her roses

Calanthe and Coco

2019 already has a good feeling about it. I'm not sure why, but it does.

Maybe because Spring has sprung at the garden of The Lents Farmer?

Maybe because my gardening optimism has returned?
 

Crocus 'Blue Pearl'

I'm finally thinking again about my garden's evolution and what needs to be done and what could be done, especially if I won Powerball. 

My calendar is again full of nursery trips and plant sales. Every weekend is something!

April is jam packed with car trips and opportunities to satiate my burning plant purchase needs. Some of these trips are now sacred annual events, something I share with best friends.

The garden will be open to HPSO member again this spring for three visits.

I have even already potted up a few plants for the Spring Garden Blogger's plant swap?!? 

I don't have anything specific on my 2019 "Must have Plant List" and I kind of like not knowing what to buy.

After saying that, I still want to increase the number of hardy terrestrial orchids in the garden and the bogs. 

Alan, the Mardi Gras Gardener, went to the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival in Seattle in early March. He told me he and his sister were visiting friends in Seattle, but neglected telling me the part about going to the show. He's such a kook.

Alan made it up to me by bringing back two Calanthe ('Yellow Lipsticks' & 'Kojima Orange') from Keeping it Green Nursery, who I've been buying fancy hardy terrestrial orchids from at Hortlandia the past couple years..

I've lusted over Calanthe in the display gardens at Sebright Nursery for a long time and just knew I should try to grow them. The jury is still out on the two planted last year, but I have a good feeling about them too. They will be popping up in no time.

The Calanthe came in a plastic bag with a little soil/sawdust and I potted them immediately and gave them a nice window to relax in until they could go outside. 'Yellow Lipsticks' is currently blooming happily in my kitchen window waiting for a new shady home.

My new intern, Cosette (aka "Coco") is also beginning her spring gardening lessons.

So far she's not doing very well, but I am optimistic she will get it all in time. It's a lot to take in.

She's slowly learning to stay out of the flowerbeds, but it's going to take a while. She finds moss and bark mulch irresistible and I spend a lot of time sweeping her mouth for things she shouldn't have. 

So far, she's perfected plucking out Crocus bulbs . At one point recently, I saw her streaking across the front yard with a wad of newly unplanted bulbs. She's now the reason daddy swears a lot.

Coco ripped off a substantial portion of a tree peony because it looked like a "stick". In one fell swoop she removed one fifth of the plant and ran around the yard like she'd discovered the best toy ever! She was so proud of herself!

She also recently met the owners of Xera Plants, Paul and Greg, and as we were chatting, walked up to some for sale plants and started pulling the leaves off. Oops, sorry about that!  

We're currently learning NOT to eat bumblebees on the Arctostaphylos 'Greensphere'. Coco is torn between obeying my yelling "No!" and her desire to taste test one. She doesn't yet know they taste like "spicy lightening"...

There is just so much to look forward to this year!



I just hope Coco doesn't develop a taste for fancy orchids or bumblebees...

Calanthe 'Yellow Lipsticks'

Intern Coco mulching a Camelia flower

The Loss of Yvee

In August, I lost my best gardening assistant.

There was no warning.

There was no chance for goodbye.

It broke my heart in many places.

But her contribution to my life, home and garden is immeasurable and I cannot thank her enough.

My assistant Yvette (Yvee) was spunky, sweet, obstinate, lovable, and very patient with me.

While she was very poor with a shovel and terrible at planting, her skills with stick and rock relocation and lawn fertilization were excellent.

She was good company too.

A constant presence in my heart and mind, even when she was with her other father.
 
In her garden, she was often like a flower soaking up the summer sun, just sitting and enjoying being outside.

When I would sit on the ground in front of flowerbeds to pick up leaves or pull weeds, she would eventually saunter over and climb into my lap to snuggle. No amount of daddy telling her he was busy was going to get her to budge. But the reminder to take off the gloves and "just be" was important. 

While I fussed in the garden, she could often be seen wallowing in her "holler", carelessly napping under the shade of the English walnut tree.

We would sometimes sit together on the front concrete stoop bundled in blankets to watch the sun set between the Arborvitae. Something I promise to do more of now.

In spring, I took her annual picture in front of the white Candytuft, almost like her First Day of School picture. It captured the passing of time and seasons. Each year, we both got a little more gray in the face.  

In the fall, we would sit by the back door, looking out over the garden, the smell of the Osmanthus fragrans dancing in our noses, the leaves would soon be falling.

We spent many nights sleeping in Shedteau Yvette, a garden cabin I built for both of us. After a long day of gardening, we would head to the cabin and fall asleep together watching a movie. Sometimes I would leave the door open to enjoy the evening air and she would lay in her bed and peer into the dark. 

We often played a game in the morning, Yvee would avoid going to work with me by finding a spot on the sidewalk or by the back patio and sit defiantly, daring me to chase after her to get her in the car. She wanted to stay home in the garden. I did too.

She was happy to attend all my open gardens, casually greeting early visitors. If you arrived later, she may have been a little indifferent and only given a cursory hello to get a "pet pet" before wandering off to nap.

Yvee was well known at several nurseries, often traveling around in her blue wagon or happily sitting in a chair in the shade. As long as she could see me she didn't care how long I looked at plants.

She was not much for perusing plants though, especially in the heat, preferring to stay in the shade and hopefully getting some attention from passersby.

A favorite memory is Alan, Yvee and I going to the plant sale at Sebright and the wonderful ladies of Secret Garden Growers offered to watch her and gave Yvee tastes of their strawberry shortcake and whipped cream. Yvee had them eating out of the palm of her paws.

Yvee was loved by so many.

Thank you Yvee for being my assistant all these years.

I will always love you.

Daddy Mafufu

Baby "Raisinette"

 

Yvette Raisinette Kozak-Hubbard (03/12/07 - 08/30/18)