Note: This article was originally published on June 15, 2015 at Happy Simple Living.
Sylvia Crosslen became my step-grandmother when her son Howard married my mom Betty, some forty years ago.
If you are fortunate enough to have a special relative through marriage, then you’ll understand when I say that it didn’t take long for me to not even think about the “step” part and just call her Grandma.
Born in 1908, Sylvia traveled to Colorado on a covered wagon from Paris, Texas when she was eight years old and married Orville when she was 25.
Grandma and Grandpa raised seven kids in a simple cabin in the Black Forest of Colorado Springs; my Pop was the youngest, and only boy.
We’ve heard many stories about the family’s challenges and Grandma didn’t have luxuries, but she grew a fragrant, old-fashioned pink rose in her garden.
In her later years–before she moved to the apartment–she gave a slip of the rose to my Mom and Pop, who carefully carried it back to Denver and planted it in their garden.
When their rose became established, they in turn gave my sister and me a slip, and we each planted the roses in our gardens, too.
Now many of Grandma’s children and grandchildren in numerous states are enjoying this hardy, lovely rose in our yards and gardens.
The tiny stalks take a while to get established, but soon they grow into a wild cascade of canes and leaves. Once a year, for just a week or so in June, the plant blooms with the most fragrant, extravagant pink roses you’ve ever seen.
The roses are impossibly fat and packed with pink petals, and you can smell their sweet aroma across the yard in the morning.
The blossoms last only for a day or two, and then they litter the grass with pink petals.
Grandma Sylvia “Jean” Crosslen passed in 2001 at the age of 93, but I’m thinking of her this week because her rose is blooming once again and putting on its extravagant show in the garden.
I am grateful to have the offshoot of her rose bush here with me to remind me of her gentle spirit.
Eliza Cross is an author and food blogger who enjoys helping busy people with easy recipes and tips for gardening, holidays, and home. She is the founder of BENSA Bacon Lovers Society and Happy Simple Living, and the award-winning author of 17 cookbooks.
