Granny Cole and Aunt Ruthie loved flowers. The evidence could be seen in Granny Cole's flower garden and even in the vegetable gardens.
The flower garden was behind the house next to the smoke house. It was a fenced in area awashed with blooms of various sorts, roses, gardenias, and many others. As Granny got older the flower garden became more chaotic, but still a special and lovely place.
Aunt Ruthie, and probably Granny before that, would cut lovely, long-stemmed flowers and place them in tall vases in the house. One place they looked especially beautiful was in the front hallway of the High Rock house.
For years, Aunt Ruthie would also supply flower arrangements each Sunday for the front of the sanctuary at Lick Creek Baptist Church. She would gather flowers from the outdoors at Granny's house, and if needed, her sister, Bid's, house. She might mix in peacock feathers that were always available. And once she even talked her niece (me) into wading into the Yadkin River to collect water lilies.
They looked great in the arrangement on Sunday.
Aunt Ruthie was an artist at heart, and although quite prolific in style and subjects, it is easy to see why she had such a penchant for still life flower pictures.
I only wish that we had more photos of the flower arrangements from High Rock and those that were supplied to Lick Creek Church. But we do have many gorgeous canvases showing her love and appreciation for the beauty of flowers.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth:
but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
(Isaiah 40:8)
