Happy Birthday Kay

Email from Mary Farley

February 18, 2022

Kay created an incredible oasis of green and color and texture at her home in Anacortes. Jim and her garden club friends helped. 

Visiting the Chinese garden or the Rose Garden in Portland was a religious experience.  She wandered with me and sat in silence to drink it all in.  There is a wonderful Japanese garden in Victoria, BC.  Jim drove us to the garden on one of our visits to the city and patiently sat in the car while Kay and I wandered around and sat on a bench soaking in the ambiance.  I am sure she saw the Buchart gardens more than once with some of you.  She worked at the Discovery Garden in Mount Vernon caring for and documenting plants and trees.  She made many friends there and learned a lot.  She studied and practiced and became a Master Gardener.  

She introduced all of us to the Bellevue Botanical Garden.  The Christmas light display was one of the best parts of her season. and we all know how she loved Christmas.  Color and the joy of seeing other families experiencing the displays made her so happy.  She loved the Flower and Garden Show in Seattle.  Nurseries were some of her favorite places.

Kay loved color.  Kay saw texture and variety in leaves and shapes of plants that she incorporated into her garden.  She could stand still and absorb the scent of flowers and plants and feel their power.  She transferred that vison into many of the quilts she made.  They are full of joy and color and stories. 

Kay introduced many of us to the tulip fields.  She shared bulbs with all of us after Cathy died. Some of them still bloom in my garden.   Just being in the tulip fields with her was a trip into another world.  I am so lucky to have been her sister.

I remember the first time she took me to Fir Island, many years ago, and showed me the snow geese overwintering there.  Every time I see them, I remember her pleasure in sharing the wonder.  Jim drove me through the fields a week ago and we saw hundreds of birds.  The beauty and wonder are still there, and I feel Kay. 

Driving through the Skagit valley with her was a religious experience.  She would take a deep breath and sigh and be so glad she lived there.   I am glad she lived there too. 

Happy Birthday Kay

Photo from Jim Eberhardt