What's Growin' on

What’s Growin’ On . The BCMGA Newsletter Heather Vincent, Editor February, 2008 Vol. 25, Iss. 26 Barbara Gene Ross September 12, 1937 ~ February 10, 2008 Mrs. Ross passed away Sunday, February 10, 2008 in Lake Jackson. She was born September 12, 1937 in Alvin, Texas to William & Bertha Mienke. She was an avid gardener & President of the Brazoria County Master Gardeners Assoc. Her parents & husband Gardner Ross preceded her in death. Survivors include her sons; Charles Ross & wife Cynthia of Alvin & Michael G. Ross & wife Theresa of Marshall. Sister; Penny Anderson & husband Ronel of Alvin Grandchildren; Zachary K. Ross of Ca., Gabriella G Ross & Jade W. Ross of Alvin, Amy Brunson of Ohio, Michael Gene Gardner Ross of Katy, Sandy Lyn Ross of Habblock Germany & Brandi Hasting of Marshall. Honorary Pallbearers will be Members of the Master Gardeners Assoc. In lieu of usual remembrances donations may be made in Barbara’s name to the Brazoria County Master Gardeners Association 21017 CR 171 Angleton, Texas 77515 -1- Evidence that Barbara Ross touched us all… A personal note about Barbara Ross: I took the Master Gardener classes in early 2005 and immediately started working at the Education Station. I’ve always been interested in tropicals, so I started helping Barbara maintain that bed. I think she was surprised that I kept going out there and always helping in the tropical bed. So it didn’t take long and we became good friends. Carole Wenny and I used to go over to Barbara’s house on most Friday’s and some Tuesday’s after working at the Education Station. We would often have cheese and crackers all washed down with lots of white wine. Gosh we solved so many of the world’s problems It didn’t take long to realize what a great person she was; so full of life and so dedicated to the Master Gardeners and the Education Station. She had so much energy that she kept lots of us busy. She also loved to move plants around – we moved so many plants I had to constantly update the map we made of the garden. She had great plans to improve our association and make our demonstration gardens a great show place. Her sudden loss was a great blow to me. It is not easy to lose somebody you care about. I actually had a dream about Barbara on that dark Sunday that we all got the news. I dreamed that she had found Butch, her beloved husband, in the afterlife and she was smiling and happy. When I woke up Monday I felt that maybe Barbara was in a better place and I was being selfish for not wanting her to go there. Ed Barrios Barbara was an avid republican and very active in the republican party. She thought everyone should be active in politics including me. I told her I wasn't interested in politics because I thought all politicians were crooks and if they were not crooks when they entered office they were soon there after. She half-way grinned and said, "Yes, but they're my crooks". Carol Farmer I met Barbara Ross in 1995 at our first BCMG training class. She and Gwen Collins came in together and sat quietly at the very back table. That was probably the last time I ever saw Barbara sit quietly anywhere. She soon had us involved in beautifying the Brazoria County Fair grounds and so on and so on. Once we were invited to use the greenhouse facilities, we tip-toed around the grounds, afraid to make additions least we upset someone. Not Barbara. She put in her “blue” flower bed, then her “yellow” flower bed and just kept on moving. Barbara dared when myself and others would have sat quietly by. She probably stepped on all of our toes more than once but she did get things done and went right on to the next project. I am very proud to have known her and called her friend. I will miss Barbara very much. Donie Stowers When I first met Barbara Ross, she scared me silly. As we all know, she felt strongly about many things, and she did not suffer fools gladly. But as I weeded my way around the Education Station, I began to realize that she was a gifted gardener, a funny lady, a helpful and giving person, and a true original. As we began to get acquainted, she sometimes referred to me as “the Yankee”, and she was certainly a proud daughter of Brazoria County, but I think it surprised both of us to find that we had a lot in common. Sometimes, while working on the beds, she reminisced about growing up as a farm kid in Texas (which, it turned out, was not so different from farm life in Ohio, except for those copperheads). And she certainly knew her plants. I like to use scientific names, and Barbara often refused to do so. But once we agreed on the identity of a plant, Barbara’s knowledge and experience was like consulting a book on growing stuff in coastal Texas. Only better than a book; you could ask questions. I remember the beginning of the tropical garden in what once was a sheep pen. Barbara had a crew of us crawling around trying to install landscape cloth in a tortured, twisted pattern. I thought then it was too twisty to work, but Barbara was right, as I discovered she usually was. Once planted, the layout looked good from the beginning; it’s amazing now. Barbara Ross was one smart lady, she had a great sense of humor, and she was always happy to help however she could. I know I’m going to miss her. Ann McLain 10 years ago as an intern I had signed up to complete some of my volunteer hours with Barbara at the fairgrounds. We arrived early on those days, so it was not to hot to work, the county had four or five inmates that came out to help us. We pruned shrubs, planted flowers, pulled weeds, talked about the diseases of some of the existing plants and of course mulched the beds. All of this teaching she was doing was not only for me but for the inmates. They enjoyed the outside work and had some good questions for us through out the day. The thing that has stuck with me over time about these days was that Barbara had gone to the grocery store before coming to the fairgrounds and had purchased I think at least one package of every type of cookie on the shelf. We took a couple of breaks from our gardening chores, had cookies and sodas and when the work day was done, Barbara insisted that the inmates take all of the cookies back with them. I feel the inmates really appreciated her generosity and I have a great memory of Barbara. Cheryl Vining I want to say something about Barbara Ross other than the obvious, that she was warm, loving, gracious, helpful, and caring. She was one of my many mentors whose advice I anxiously sought. She was out-spoken about her most heartfelt desires, sometimes gruff, determined to accomplish the things most important to her. Barbara was fun loving, down to earth, (literally – as most of us have witnessed her muddy knees), a creator of beauty, and a true friend. I’ll miss many things. A glass of wine in her beautiful back yard, or walking with her through her beautiful tropicals. But one of the -3- things I’ll miss most about her is her humor. I will never be able to sit down at my computer without thinking of her. Because, the first thing I look for is a joke or two from Barbara and Carole Farmer. I know that she loved to laugh along with me at the political as well as the “slightly raunchy” jokes we exchanged, and I can picture her scanning her emails for the latest goodies. So, at the risk of being a little “raunchy” myself, here are a couple of samples of the things we loved to laugh about. This was “Typical Barbara”. Debbie Soderman Old Ain’t For Sissies!!!! I’m in your garden. I think of your legacy: Wonders of Nature. Ellen Pedisich A golden heart stopped beating Hard working hands were put to rest The work needs to continue For there is so much left to do It will take us all united together To complete a dear friend’s dreams Beverly Straughan Everyday Memories When we were asked to write a few thoughts about Barbara, I tried to remember what stood out the most. Was it the first time I met her at a Master Gardeners meeting, before I took the course, and she took me under her wing? Was it the day she told me to get out of her house because I called her a “hot head”? Was it the day I confronted her, crying because she hurt my feelings? Or was it all the in between times we called each other because something new was blooming or I finally got a seed to germinate or something was bothering one of us. All of the above and many, many more. She has been removed from my speed dial, but not from my heart, and especially not from my everyday memories. Barbara Brown Reflections of a Garden Goddess – by Lee Withers Saying goodbye… This has and will be the hardest column for me to write.

Load more