Brothers plant cannas at community garden
By Holly Neumann
For Ed Staal, of Iola, and his brothers John and Randy, visiting the Iola Community Garden has special meaning.
in the back visitors will find a bed of canna flowers that were planted in honor of their father Marv.
“Growing up in Michigan, I always remember seeing these big beautiful bed of red flowers at our house,” said Ed. “We all worked in the garden and our dad was always so proud of it. He loved those flowers.”
As time passed, the boys grew up and left the family home and started their own lives.
“I went into the service for 20 years,” said Ed. “When I retired, I moved to Racine. I returned back to Michigan to get a bushel of bulbs to start a garden of my own. I even brought them to my brothers and sister.”
“We all have our own gardens now,” added John. “We even share the bulbs. Dad would be very happy to hear that his pride and joy is being spread all over.”
Three years ago, Ed moved to Iola and brought the flowers with him. And when he learned that Iola had a community garden, he wanted to share the beauty of the canna flowers with is community.
He worked countless hours to clear out a grassy area of the garden and the bulbs.
“This canna bed is in honor of my father,” he said. “After all, the bulbs are from the original stock that he planted in the 1950s. He would be so proud to see them here.”
Ed said there is a significant amount of work that goes into making this garden happen as the bulbs could not survive outdoors during the cold winter months.
“It is truly a labor of love,” he said. “In the fall I have to cut the stalks, then dig 4-6 inches away from the plant to get to the bulbs. I get them out trying not to injure them, then I haul them away and store them in my basement in a 55 gallon drum.”
“When it comes time to harvest the bulbs they are big, beautiful and healthy,” added Randy. “Some are almost the size of a sweet potato. There is always a lot of work to be done.”
In the spring, the process starts all over again, with the planting all the healthy ones that have been saved.
“Part of my drive to do this is so that the folks across the street at the living assistance can see a sea of red flowers,” said Ed. “Part of it is for the memories of growing up with a solid work ethic and seeing the benefits from what you can do.”
“This was our dad’s pride and joy,” said Randy. “He would be so proud and so happy to see that this tradition is being carried on.”