"In Perfect Blum (or a few days late)"

If "April showers bring May flowers," what do May showers bring?

Well, it appears we can expect either continued or future blooming of trees and flowers, or the abrupt end of the annual blossom cycle as can be attested by many places in the cemetery, as well as my back patio and yard at home. A recent onslaught of rain, after a mild spring and winter, has put more than a damper on outdoor events and activities over the last few days. The precipitation and blustery conditions have altered the vibrant spring landscape of just a week or two ago. Colorful petals  and important seeds from  neighboring trees and bushes have fallen to the ground, some traveling several yards away.

Meanwhile, bees of the Megachilidae family have been working overtime, busily transporting pollen between plants, while some of us have been sneezing up a storm because of the powdery substance. It's all part of the plan when talking of angiospermous trees such as dogwoods, redbuds, Japanese magnolias, flowering plums and cherries. All of these are among the season's earliest bloomers. It appears, that I may be a week too late to capture optimum photographs, but there is still some hope for the present and days ahead.

​Speaking of blooming, it's been an interesting spring here already at Mount Olivet. We recently unveiled a new "Tree & History" Walking Tour with the Frederick County Forestry Conservation Board. We designed the tree sojourn last fall and winter, and its been so refreshing to see the trees covered in leaves and flowering once again. Our inaugural guided tour of this occurred on Arbor Day (April 26th) and it seemed like the perfect spring day at the height of color and blossoming trees.

While I'm on the subject, this Tree Walk follows others the Frederick Forestry Board has done for Baker Park and Hood College in recent years. Like those offerings, we now have 19 specimen adorned with small signs containing a QR code. With a simple capture of the code using the smartphone's camera  feature, users will have access to a comprehensive website, packed full of information, images and maps that will virtually aid the trail follower.

​Hedges and bushes throughout the grounds are still looking looking robust, and in different stages of bloom, while flowers of many varieties have been popping up as well. One particular place to look in our cemetery is in the middle of Areas S, T, and U. This is where we have the World War I Memorial Gazebo and Never Forget Garden. Here, one will find 11 white "Knock Out" Roses in a bed of poppies that encircle the memorial. Poppies are synonymous with World War I, (read the poem "In Flander's Fields") and are often used as a symbol of sleep, peace and death. It's very fitting that these flowers are in full bloom in the weeks leading up to  Memorial Day.

Some of these have been recently planted as part of a new project our Friends of Mount Olivet group has taken up by beautifying our unique collection of "cradle graves," located throughout the historic section. These burial monuments were popular around the American Civil War era of the 1850s-1860s and were designed to look like bedsteads with a headboard, footboard, and side rails. In days of yore, flowers and evergreen woody vines like ivy were planted in these beds, both  literal and figurative.

Cradle Grave in Area H belonging to Capt. William Winder Polk (Area H/Lot 26)

Victorian era bedstead

Cradle Grave of Thomas Baltzell Tyler (Area B/Lot 113)

We'll be discussing these new offerings of our "garden cemetery," in a few weeks on May 18th and 19th (1-5pm) as we will again be a stop on the Beyond the Garden Gates Tour. A favorite of residents and visitors alike, this particular Celebrate Frederick event has grown to draw over 800 visitors annually, and has raised thousands of dollars for local garden clubs and multiple beautification projects around Frederick. Special thanks to this year's major partner and facilitator of the event, the Tasker's Chance Garden Club. 

On those particular Saturday and Sunday afternoons (18th and 19th), the Key Memorial Chapel (behind the Francis Scott Key monument) will be open to participants and boasting  info and exhibits, as will our greenhouse. This latter structure is the temporary home each year for many lilies destined for  Carroll Creek and the wildly successful "Color on the Creek" initiative. We hope to have some lily ponds of our own in the near future. ​

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​On a recent walk, just over a week ago, to check on our legion of historic gravestone cleaning volunteers, aka "The Stoners," I stumbled upon a most fitting burial plot on a sunny day prior to the recent stormy weather that I referenced at the onset of this article. This was in Mount Olivet's Area H, and I later learned that I had found myself taking special note of Lot 385. Six family members reside here in the proverbial shadow of a large granite marker that announces their name as "Blum."

This impressive gravestone, simply stating the family surname, "sprouts" out in the center of the lot, with individual member foot stones located around its perimeter. For those of you with an understanding of the German language,  Blum translates to "bloom" in English. The noun "die Blume" is the word for flower. Ironically, no flowers can be found in the lot or surrounding lots, but I was taken with the beauty of a pink Dogwood tree standing proudly in the distance behind the plot. 

The head of this household was a longtime Frederick tailor named John Nicholas Blum, born January 1st, 1845. From the limited info I found on this gentleman, I learned he was a native of Hanover, Germany. His wife Elizabeth, better known as Elsie (nee Biene), was also a German immigrant hailing from Hesse Cassell. She lived from 1838-1921. 

I found this couple in the 1870 and 1880 Federal Census records. In both, they were living at 100 W. All Saints Street. The couple had four known children, all of whom are buried here in this plot: Louise Christine (1870-1930), George Nicholas (1871-1872), Augusta (1874-1932) and Bertha M. (1876-1932).

1880 Census showing Blum family living on West All Saints Street in downtown Frederick

From what I could learn, Mr. Blum was an active member of Frederick's German Reformed Church. He appears to have changed careers by the early 1880s as I found him working at the toll gate house east of Frederick City by 1883. A series of interesting articles speak to a few newsworthy events our subject was involved in. These are all from the Frederick Daily News, a publication in its infancy at this time.

Frederick News (Nov 26, 1883)

Frederick News (Feb 14, 1884)

Frederick News (March 27, 1884)

In 1884, Mr. Blum moved his family out of downtown Frederick after buying a 31-acre farm near Monocacy Junction. The purchase price was $2,800.  In keeping with this week's theme, I found it interesting that the Blum's new home is referred to (in the article) as a "garden farm."

Frederick News (May 12, 1884)

Unfortunately, Nicholas Blum would die less than two years later on Valentine's Day, 1886. He was only 40 years old. Mr. Blum would be buried in this lot in Area H, where his son George had been laid to rest 14 years prior in late July, 1872. 

Frederick News (Feb 16, 1886)

Footstones would accumulate here in the Blum lot, much like petals under some of our trees this week. added to the space as additional family members passed from among the living. This group whose names and lives were captured and duly counted in the 1880 census record I shared above, would now gather here in death (in both body and name). Nicholas Blum's wife lived a good, long life into her 80s, dying in 1921. However, the three Blum daughters would be gone by the end of 1932. They each died in their late 50s which seems sort of representative of those pretty flowering trees loosing their leaves a bit prematurely as it seems. All three sisters (Louise, Augusta and Bertha) are buried here, but Bertha, the last to die, does not have a footstone.

​I had gone back the other day to take a picture of Bertha's gravestone, before knowing she didn't have one, and was surprised to see how differently the landscape looked just a week after I had last been there. The Dogwood (behind the plot) was devoid of all pink petals. Of course, the sky wasn't a brilliant blue as I had seen earlier, but now was cloudy and ominous looking, and the grass was understandably wet from rain.

​However, there was some good news and a silver lining. The stone cleaning team had been here during my absence. Water and our D2 cleaning solution, compounded with additional rains had worked their magic on the Blum grave markers. I could now read the footstones clearly! Just one week, and they looked so much better, dare I say "new." The central Blum family stone even glowed, as if it was in "perfect bloom," if you will allow me to say. 

​So, what have we learned this week? First off, springtime colors, like that of fall, come fast and furious. Enjoy them while you can because the season cycle is always turning. Second, gravestones can magically "re-bloom," like buds and flowers, into the beautiful memorial originally placed over a loved one's grave, even if it was a century ago like Mrs. Blum and her daughters, or Nicholas Blum and son George 140-150 years ago.

Most of all, both entities, nature and gravestones, are here to remind us that life is such an amazing gift, and it sadly passes by too quickly, doesn't it? Quit worrying over dumb stuff, and focus on the beauty of all things big and small. I saw a quote recently, and it seems to speak to this thought perfectly: 

“It is true, as they say, that the blossoms of spring are all the more precious because they bloom so briefly." 

-Murasaki Shikibu (973-1014) from her work The Tale of Genji.