A Moment in Time
This character is based on Grammie Boothman; the fourth generation of Watson’s to live in Randolph. She would spend her precious spare time creating beautiful flower gardens in the front yard of our farmhouse. With the pastures and barns close at hand, the gardens created a beautiful natural boundary separating the two. The hand colored photograph of Edith Watson Boothman in her garden surrounded by all the shades of summer became an inspiration for this moment in time.
Creating and cultivating flower beds were considered a pastime and the farmer’s wives were expected to spend time in the fields and vegetable gardens in addition to keeping house, preparing meals and washing laundry – mostly by hand. Grammy Boothman wrote a short “How To” manual called “Washing Made Easy” where she described the best recipe for laundry soap and how to use it.
As with most New England farmer’s wives in the early 1900’s, Grammy’s chores seemed endless but she managed to make time to tend her flower gardens. Her gardens were filled with lilies, iris, columbine, and lilies of the valley, daisies and roses, which surrounded lilac bushes. With the White Mountains in the background, the pastures leading to the foothills and the beautiful flowerbeds in the foreground, the view sitting on the front porch was breathtaking.
Almost a hundred years later, we can still appreciate her love of flowers as we have descendants from those original beds she worked so hard to create.
The Lady Farmer is standing by her old-fashioned wheelbarrow with a trowel in hand. Inside the wheelbarrow is either a flowerpot with flowers or vegetables picked fresh from the garden. She is wearing a long dress with a broad-brimmed hat to keep the sun out of her eyes.
Creating and cultivating flower beds were considered a pastime and the farmer’s wives were expected to spend time in the fields and vegetable gardens in addition to keeping house, preparing meals and washing laundry – mostly by hand. Grammy Boothman wrote a short “How To” manual called “Washing Made Easy” where she described the best recipe for laundry soap and how to use it.
As with most New England farmer’s wives in the early 1900’s, Grammy’s chores seemed endless but she managed to make time to tend her flower gardens. Her gardens were filled with lilies, iris, columbine, and lilies of the valley, daisies and roses, which surrounded lilac bushes. With the White Mountains in the background, the pastures leading to the foothills and the beautiful flowerbeds in the foreground, the view sitting on the front porch was breathtaking.
Almost a hundred years later, we can still appreciate her love of flowers as we have descendants from those original beds she worked so hard to create.
The Lady Farmer is standing by her old-fashioned wheelbarrow with a trowel in hand. Inside the wheelbarrow is either a flowerpot with flowers or vegetables picked fresh from the garden. She is wearing a long dress with a broad-brimmed hat to keep the sun out of her eyes.