|
This edition of the Paul Parent Garden Club Newsletter is dedicated in memoriam to our Founder, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Brother, Best Friend & Care Taker Of The Earth. Four years ago this week we lost this very special man, Paul Parent and to commemorate his untimely passing we have have put together the very best of Paul! | *How to print articles at bottom of newsletter". | One of Paul's Favorite Songs Was "Impossible Dream" And The Version Performed By Brian Stokes Mitchell Was A Favorite Of His. Here Is To You Paul! | Impossible Dream - Brian Stokes Mitchell |  |  | |
Beloved Husband Paul & Wife Chris
I meet Paul Parent on a blind date August Friday 13, in the year 1971. We meet because his college roommate who worked with me at the Waltham Field station, part of University of Massachusetts set us up. We both didn’t realize that it was Friday the 13 but for us it was the best day ever. For the next forty-seven years we celebrated every Friday the 13 that it fell on - until August 13, 2018, when he took his next assignment as God’s gardener. I am sure he is orchestrating elaborate colorful gardens. One of Paul’s things was to have something blooming when the last one stopped bloom. I still live in Kennebunk, ME until September.
Paul and I became the best friends and partners in all our endeavors from having three sons together, Matthew R. Parent our first born and the first son to make us grandparents of Michael R Parent the sweetest boy you ever want to meet. Our first-born gave us a fantastic daughter-in-law Christina who he met at Disney in Florida where they still live. Matthew and family live in Ocklawaha, Florida which is a mouth full for our grandson.
Our second son Jason T Parent is a brilliant florist who have has won so many awards and been in eight bride magazines, Paul taught him to keep on learning. Jason and family live in Biddeford, ME.
My youngest Patrick A. Parent came along only after me having to talk Paul into it because our second son had many allergies, he was hyperactive, and the hospital was beginning to call us by our first names. We had hoped for a girl and read every book to make sure that happened, but another boy came along blonde hair that was almost platinum and blue eyes. Plus another son to love.
Patrick, who is now the new agricultural guru, who wanted to either take after his grandpa who was a chief or to take after his father. Patrick followed in his father’s footsteps and went to Stockbridge School of Agriculture at UMass with a Horticulture degree then finish up at UMass Amherst and got his UMass bachelor’s degree in Urban Forestry. He also found his wife Kristen at UMass who graduated with a degree in law from UMass Dartmouth. They gave us two beautiful granddaughters the oldest is Katie and Ella our youngest who. They are the ones running around above Patrick’s head on Sunday morning.
I meet Paul Parent on a blind date August Friday 13, in the year 1971. We meet because his college roommate who worked with me at the Waltham Field station, part of University of Massachusetts set us up. We both didn’t realize that it was Friday the 13 but for us it was the best day ever. For the next forty-seven years we celebrated every Friday the 13 that it fell on - until August 13, 2018, when he took his next assignment as God’s gardener. I am sure he is orchestrating elaborate colorful gardens. One of Paul’s things was to have something blooming when the last one stopped bloom. I still live in Maine until the fall.
|  |  |
Beloved Father & 1st Son Matthew
What can I say about my dad? This is something that as a child you always think about. You always want your dad to be the best and I can say that I have the best. I really don’t like saying had because I don’t like the idea that he is gone. I have been asked by my mom to tell some stories about the man, the myth, the legend my dad Paul Parent.
I am the oldest of three boys. Being the oldest you get to have all off the experiences first. Like the first diaper change, the first car ride home and the first to ride a bike the first to visit the beach and so on. I also got to be the first to pull down the Christmas tree, the first to break a bone (I slipped out of a car seat that everyone thought was secured and broke my nose) by the way the last person to check on me my dad and also the first to see what had happened. It took many years later to find out that is how I broke it but I digress.
When I was little I used to watch Sesame Street and Mister Rogers Neighborhood, ok I still watch those shows, the pleasures of having a now 7 year old. Once while watching Mister Rogers we saw how pumpkins were grown and being a three year old I begged my dad to plant pumpkins. We lived in Humarock, Massachusetts which is in between Scituate and Marshfield for those who don’t know the area. Side note what a name for a Massachusetts town I mean it just fits and when you read it you have to say it in the Paul Parent Maine/Massachusetts accent. We had less than a postage stamp for a yard we were near the beach (a spot we all loved). There was not enough room to let the pumpkins run along the ground. We did however have a fence so my dad took the vines and let them run on the fence. As they grew they became very heavy so my dad came up with the most ingenious idea. He took the pumpkins and put them in pairs of my mom’s cut up pantyhose. Now before we put the pumpkins in the pantyhose he cut our names into the pumpkins they were very small but we didn’t know what was going to happen. My dad did. As the pumpkins grew are names would get bigger on the skin. So we placed all the pumpkins in the cut up pantyhose all over the fence. Now can you imagine driving past this house and seeing pantyhose hanging all over the fence with pumpkins in them? What a site to see. My dad knew that the pantyhose would hold the pumpkins up and keep them tight and not rip. They did the same thing on a women’s leg that they would do for the pumpkins. He wanted to make sure that we could have those pumpkins because his little boy wanted them. That’s the kind of dad I have.
Dad always wanted make sure he took care of us. I have many, many memories that I can share about him. I could write a book probably about them; but this is one of my favorites. As you can tell I also got his ability to tell a story and keep on talking. So I will save more stories for later as this is a newsletter not a book. I strive to be this type of dad with my son Michael. I hear his voice as Christina and I parent him.
|  |
Beloved Father & 2nd Son Jason
When asked to write a story about Dad I didn’t know which one to share. I’m blessed to have so many wonderful stories and memories. I want to share how he started me in the floral industry.
Every outing with Dad was an adventure. When we owned The Family Patch, once a week we would go to the Boston Flower Market. He would wake me up at 3 am. We would drive down to Boston. He turned it into a fun educational game. We would visit all the vendors and Dad would tell me the names and the seasons and as he was showing me all the different flowers I was learning. Eventually I would have to name the flowers and I would get to pick out 1 flower to take home. I never knew I was getting an education all I knew is I was on an adventure with Dad.
Skip a head to June 2014. It was my turn to take Dad on an adventure. I had won! Spot-in the “Iron Designer” competition. Dad and I flew to Chicago, Ill. Where the contest was in this huge floral expo. Dad got to see me compete in the design contest. I remember when they announced my name, I heard him yell and scream. During the contest they talked about all the designers and I heard Dad Yell “Go Jason!” When it was, over and they announced that I had won the “People Choice Award” he yelled “that’s my son”. That’s a moment I will treasure for the rest of my life.
|  |
Beloved Father 3rd Son & Radio Host Patrick
For years when someone would come into the nursery, they would start by saying Paul Parent told me to do this or that. My first reaction was to roll my eyes and answer with I have been trying not to listen to that guy for my entire life. The reactions to that statement were priceless. Most people were clued into who I was at that point, would chuckle and reply that they heard him talk about you working here. In reality, I absorbed everything my father said about gardening. I wanted to be just like him and followed in his every footstep. He was a great role model and a wealth of knowledge. At the age of six I started working with him just to spend extra time with him, thirty years later because of the time and his knowledge I get to continue his journey each Sunday. I am beyond grateful to all our listeners for allowing me to continue in my father's legacy!
Please tune in to hear Patrick!
|  |
My Beloved Brother Paul
How does one honor and pay homage to someone whom means so much to me as Paul. Should you happen to notice that I write about him in the present tense, it is because he is always with me.
I can recall the first time I met Paul & Chris; it was one of those special moments that stay with you forever. I was in Atlantic City over a decade ago this September for a Lawn & Garden trade show. At that time, I was with a company which built websites and drafted newsletters for clients. Paul & Chris had a meeting with the owner of this company at this convention, and I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet both Paul & Chris. There was an immediate connection between us. I recall a day after the convention Paul called me to ensure that I had arrived safely in New York. From that moment on at least once a week Paul and I would chat on the phone.
If I were to recall the many moments that Paul, Chris and my partner Sean had enjoyed together, this would be a newsletter that quite possibly be thousands of pages long. I would like to reflect on a few highlights that I have been afforded an opportunity to share with Paul and Chris.
Paul is an amazing father, a wonderful husband and a brother to Sean and me. He always called me his “brother from another mother." He would never let me forget that, and now Chris never lets me forget that I am not only Paul's brother but her's as well. One year, Paul and Chris visited with Sean and I at the lake house. As soon as he got settled in, he wanted to take a tour of “our yard.” Now mind you, most people would want to take a tour of the house, see the views of the lake from all angles. Paul wanted to tour the yard so off we went. He would stop and say “Rickey, this is what you need for that Wisteria” or “now you see that Butterfly Bush, I want you to prune that back and next year there will be double blooms” and so it went.
Another year, Paul and Chris had invited Sean and I to Florida. He was so excited for us to come down that particular year because it would be the last year for the Osborn Christmas Display at Walt Disney World. What I didn't know was that he had planned a surprise for me. Upon arriving at Paul & Chris's house, and after getting settled in, Chris took me outside while Paul and Sean were together doing something inside. When Chris and I walked back inside the house there was Paul standing with Sean holding a 14“x 24” frame and when he turned it around there was my friend Brian Stokes Mitchell's photo, with his cover CD and Playbill from Man From La Mancha. This brought alligator tears to my eyes, yet this is just one example how Paul showers his love and care on you. Come to find out later, Paul used to play this song all the time as it was his first Broadway Show he ever saw, therefore you have the rendition of Brian Stokes Mitchell performing this song in this edition of the newsletter.
There was another year when we went down to Florida and received the Flea Market Tour! Paul loves Flea Markets as do I. He, Chris, Sean and I would start off in the mornings headed for a flea market. This one flea market we were visiting had a huge outdoor area as well as an indoor area. Paul, always on the hunt for a cookie jar, spotted a duck cookie jar. He picked it up, asked me what I thought of it. I asked him what the cost was. He said $2.50. I told him I could get a better deal for him, so immediately I found the person selling this cookie jar and said “so you want “$2.50” for this cookie jar, will you take “$1.75” the seller said “$2.25” I knew then that I had gotten the seller down to as low as it would cost. Meanwhile Paul is standing there shocked and without words at what has just transpired. He handed the seller $3.00 she told him she would get his .75 change and Paul the ever-gracious gentleman that he always is said “no no please keep the change!' As we walked away, he turned to Chris and said, “We need to fly Rickey down here when we do shopping for the house!”
One last memory I would like to share is something that we all laugh about to this day! One year while Sean and I were in Florida with Paul & Chris, we had as always brought our dogs. This one year in particular, our one dog Milo had this habit of wanting to get on the back of the sofa. Every time Milo would try this Chris would immediately say “No Down” finally Milo got it and did not do that anymore. One day all of us had been out and about for most of the day. On our way home I asked Paul & Chris what they wanted for dinner. They suggested wraps with deli ham and Swiss cheese. We stop at the Public’s grocery store; Paul and I get out and go to the deli to make our “quick” purchase. 4 customers including us at the counter, quick right, wrong! It took the deli counter almost an hour to get to us. As we are exiting the grocery store, Chris is coming towards us saying “Paul we have to get back to the house, the security company thinks there has been a break in.” We go back to the house and a young police officer is standing at the end of the driveway. As we get out, he says “I am not going any further and if there is someone in that house, they are complete fools!” You see Sean and I brought 5 dogs with us, Paul & Chris have 4 of their own and all 9 were barking like crazy. Paul and I enter the house alone, we check everywhere and sure enough no one was inside. Paul and I apologized to the officer and thank him for being there. Come to find out, Milo had jumped up on the back of the sofa and triggered the alarm! All of us to this day laugh about that. Paul got the biggest laugh out of that, as did all of us actually!
I love & Miss You Paul!
|
We Love You Paul
Husband, Father, Grandfather & Brother
| Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler |
"When Heaven Falls To Earth, It Becomes A Garden"
-Stouffer
|  |
|
Paul always wanted to use every single vegetable & fruit he would grow in his garden. In keeping with his tradition, this recipe really does epitomize Paul at his best and most resourceful!
Fresh From The Garden Zucchini Squares
Have you ever planted something in your vegetable garden and wished it would stop producing? If the answer is yes, the vegetable could be Zucchini Squash and I am at that point right now. Here is a new way to use up you Squash that your family and friends will love and it does freeze well also. This will work well as a side dish vegetable with your favorite meat or fish dish.
Ingredients:
5 large or extra-large eggs
½ cup of oil
¾ cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
5 cups of zucchini squash grated, 3 -10-inch squash
2 cups of regular Bisquick, not low fat
1 clove of chopped garlic
1 medium onion finely chopped
½ teaspoon of salt and pepper
½ teaspoon of dried basil or 1 teaspoon of fresh
Directions:
1} Combine your cheese, eggs and oil together in a large mixing bowl. Stir in your Bisquick and Zucchini squash, mix well. Add all the remaining ingredients and mix well until uniform looking.
2} Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a rectangular baking dish 8" by 13" or 9" by 12". Pour the mixture in the dish and level. Bake for 35 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.
3} Cool a bit and then cut into 2-inch squares and serve. Sprinkle a bit more Parmesan cheese on square and a leaf or two of fresh Basil for a great tasting side vegetable. Enjoy!
|
Printing articles
1. Take the mouse cursor to the top of the writing which you want to copy.
2. Go right up to the left edge of the writing you want to copy, the cursor will change from an arrow to an I-like shape.
3. Now left-click and highlight the article from top to bottom. You will need to continue holding down left-click until it is all highlighted.
4. When you reach the bottom, first check that all the part you want to copy has been correctly highlighted, then right-click and select 'Copy.'
5. Open a word processor such as Notepad, Word Pad or Word.
6. Right click and select 'Paste' - the copied article will now immediately transfer to your computer screen (some word processor systems will require you to use a 'paste' button/symbol at the top of the screen).
7. If the article appears in bold or a font size which is too big, simply highlight again and while it is highlighted take it out of 'bold' or whatever.
8. Now just select 'Print' from file options.
Using this system for copying articles will save an enormous amount of ink, as well as paper.
(Please Just Note: Just about everything here is subject to Copyright - this means that while you are perfectly free to copy and print, it is not permitted to add any text to, or to change any article written by anyone or indeed most other writers - if you intend distributing it or putting it on your own website. No article should be put on another website without e mailing me first).
| |
Telephone:
(855)660-4261 Sunday
Morning(6AM to 10AM)
|
|
