Spring Home & Garden 2021

Colorful reminders that
life is still beautiful
By: Kendra Norman Holmes
HHJ Managing Editor
“When I was a little girl at my grandmother’s house, I would
see flowers. My grandmother and my mother both loved
them. When I saw all the beautiful colors, I fell in love with
them too. My planting started in my mother’s yard, and
in my grandmother’s yard. I remember all the times when
people would come by and say, ‘Oh, what a beautiful yard!’”
Perry resident, Eula Fluellen is now 75 years old, and her
love for flowers has not diminished in the least. If anything,
it has blossomed … pun intended.
Born in Henderson, an unincorporated community in
Houston County that is about eight
miles south of Perry, Fluellen is the
second of 13 children born to her
parents. She is the only one among
them, however, that embraced the
generational love for buds and blooms
to the degree that her mother and
grandmother did.
“I think my other brothers and sisters
love flowers too, but they probably
just think this is just too much work,”
Fluellen said. “It’s definitely a lot of
work, but when I look at the beauty of
what comes out of the work, it’s worth
it for me.”
Fluellen said that these days, she’s pretty much a “homebody,”
but inside the home is not where you’ll most likely find her.
She is outside in her yard as much as possible, doing what
she does best.
“They had contests where I lived,” she further recalled. “They
judged who had the most beautiful yard in Henderson, and
my grandmother and mother would always win.”
Fluellen said that she started out with marigolds and
zinnias because that was all that her family had access to at
the time. Each year, she would pick the seeds, let them dry
out, and then plant again the next year.
“Then I remember that there was this lady who had some
pretty flowers that I didn’t know anything about,” she
shared. “I just loved those flowers, so I asked her for some
seeds, and she actually gave them to me. I planted those
flowers everywhere I could until the day my grandmother
said, ‘Don’t you dig up any more of my yard. We’ve got
enough flowers!’” Fluellen said through laughter.
Now, in her own home and with her own well-manicured
yard, there is no limit to her planting.
During spring and summer, her lawn,
which can easily be seen on the side of
Highway 341 in Perry, is filled with
the vibrate colors that only flowers
can bring.
“My husband has asked when I’m
going to stop adding to the beds, but
there’s no such thing as having too
many flowers,” she insisted. “The more
flowers I plant, the less grass he has to
mow; that’s what I say.”
Fluellen is the mother of four
children—two sons and two daughters.
Of them, her oldest daughter seems to
appreciate flowers the most, but whether or not Alfreda
would ever take her appreciation to the level of her mother’s
remains to be seen.
Daylilies are Fluellen’s favorites. She has about 2,000 of
them blooming each season. Much of how to care for and
manage her massive collection came through “learningby-doing,”
but she also learned a lot from connecting with
others who share her passion.
“I think it was in 1992 that I joined a daylily club. We would
Spring 2021
7