Jessica, Terri & Lilli - 1994

When Rosemary and I moved to our big corner garden home on Athlone Street in Kerrisdale it coincided with a huge interest in gardening. I was a member of the American Hosta Society and soon both of us were in the Vancouver Rose Society, Alpine Garden Club and a few others. We would often go to VanDusen and to UBC Botanical Garden.

Our garden became so beautiful and full of exotic trees and perennials that busloads from the USA came to see it.

One of the pleasures of the garden was the visit of our two granddaughters in the 90s on Saturdays. Their parents worked so we were the appointed babysitters.

The doorbell would ring. I would open the door and Rebecca would say, “¿Cómo estás papi?” Behind her was the more taciturn Lauren.

They would run past the kitchen into the garden behind.

I had a perfect lawn. I had a lawnmower especially designed for a close cut. When Rebecca was a baby we would spread a blanket on the lawn and we exposed her (what did she know?) to opera and classical music.

In this century lawns are out. I believe that few of the folk that deprecate lawns have ever experienced children rolling on them, particularly if the lawn is insecticide/herbicide-free.

As a little boy in Buenos Aires I would roll down the famous Barrancas de Belgrano sloped lawns near the Belgrano C train station.

There is something about lawns. And there is something about a beautiful mother and her two equally beautiful daughters lying on a lawn, barefoot.

I can smell the grass. I hasten to include the term it is erotic, too.