Karen Edwards is a legend around these parts, especially if you enjoy horticulture and gardening.
Before I really knew her I loved it when our local newspaper would share an article featuring Karen and her plant knowledge.
I have taken my kids on "field trips" to Karen Edwards nursery -it was an overgrown paradise off of Nelson - several times over the years. Plants and trees grown and over, trees growing through the roofs of greenhouses. Blooms that would take your breath away...
One year ago, about this time, my dear friend Marilyn and I took a "field trip" there, something the two of us also loved to do. It was supposed to get very cold that night. The first hard frost was predicted for that night. Karen told us that she planned to get many of the plants in the greenhouses before it froze. We imagined she stayed up half the night doing this.
A few weeks later, she came down with pneumonia and got pretty sick. She ended up in the ICU - in the coming days there was a large liquidation sale at her nursery.
I drove by with sort of a lump in my throat.
Marilyn and I have thought of her many times since! I learned this summer that our neighbors have visited with her occasionally and recently Marilyn contacted Karen and asked if she would be up for a visit. She was!
Marilyn and I went to see her last week.
This woman, nearly 80, is tough as nails. She has a work ethic that is rare and also admirable. Last year in November/ December, we actually did not know if she was going to make it, as her nursery was liquidated and her land was sold. But to our pleasant surprise, she is doing well. Really well. She was so fun to visit with and was able to share with us important parts of her past - of her history - that we found to be interesting and inspiring.
Her father had a nursery after his time in World War II and after working at Boeing. She shared with us the start up stories of that process. Karen is one of five children and her father shared his love for plants and his work ethic with his kids. Karen and her siblings would sell pansies that they grew, 10 cents each or 12 for a dollar.
She taught at Big Bend Community College and subbed for the Moses Lake School District. I am not sure when Karen purchased the land off of Nelson and had her nursery dream come true, but so many know this hard working, knowledgeable woman -a special addition to Moses Lake's history.
Last week when we visited with Karen, she said things like "eventually..." and "I hope to..." I shared this with Merit and he said he appreciates the fact that someone who is almost 80 still has a lot to look forward to.
