"Today, the seventeenth of March, is the Feast of Saint Patrick... In our family, though our attitudes are Anglo-Saxon, we always wear the green for Saint Patrick, and feel for him great affection, for his feast is my mother's birthday."
- Elizabeth Lawrence, March 17, 1963, the Charlotte Observer
Elizabeth "Bessie" Lawrence would be 141 years old today. Perhaps I feel closer to her because my office space was once her bedroom. Or perhaps it's because of the appreciation I have for her undeniable influence on her daughter's love of plants, gardening, and above all, learning.
Oxalis brasiliensis• South American Oxalis(planted by Elizabeth Lawrence in 1950)
One of the genera of plants of which Elizabeth was especially fond is Oxalis, some commonly referred to as "shamrocks." I was pleased to learn just yesterday that it is not pronounced "ox-alice" but rather "ox'aliss". (You may be wondering where I learned thisjuicy morsel of knowledge just one day ago? Well, of course, from reading A Rock Garden in the South!)
Happy St. Patrick's Day and Happy Birthday, Bessie!
Yours in Dirt,
Andrea