One of my best plantings yet!

 So yesterday me and my son went and planted a plum tree in the house where my wee mum grew up in Ardoyne, North Belfast.

I did a post a few years ago when I first found out where it was my mum grew up. When my cousin told me the address I had to drive by for a look.

As I pulled up at the house I couldn't believe what I was seeing!

Soon as I pulled up and seen all the Buddhas in the garden and then apple trees I had to get out and call in. This was a quantum entangled moment right here!

A lovely lady welcomed me in and I told her my mum grew up in this house. She did not know of my mum but she was more than happy to let me have look around. I told her that I was a big apple tree planter and a practising Buddhist and I just cant believe what is going on in what was once my mums garden!

I said I would love to come up and plant a tree in your garden in memory of my wee mum. The lady said its her husband who takes to do with the garden and you'll need to see him.

I called back again a few months later to see if he would be in and he was. I said I would love to plant a tree here if thats ok and he was more than happy to let me. He said he already has apple and pear trees and could you bring a plum. No probs I said.

So yesterday I went and bought a Victoria plum tree and planted in the garden.

This garden in the middle of Ardoyne is a little sanctuary, there is such a beautiful energy in it among all the hustle and bustle.

My mum was a wee catholic rebel who married my dad who was a dodgy protestant loyalist. During the troubles here this was not the norm. It caused many problems for us growing up. But with my dads nickname being ironhead or the anvil some called him, he could handle any sectarianism that may have came our way. And it did many times and many times I seen my dad use his ironhead. I watched one man before when I must have been around 7 years old shout abuse at my mum calling her a fenian b**tard and to get out of our estate. Wrong move on that guys part. When ironhead found out, he was straight round, kicked the door up the hall and beat the man stupid. This happened a lot growing up.

My mum was one of the only catholics in our loyalist estate where we grew up.

She used to always say "King Billy took the Boyne but he'll never take Ardoyne". (King Billy was a protestant who came to fight a battle one day in 1690 with catholic king James.)

My dad was heavily involved with one of the biggest paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland. The top men who were always all over the news would have been in our house daily growing and my wee mum used to wind them up saying "while the prods are drinking the taigs are thinking". You better get your acts together she would say.

My wee rebel mum could have handled anyone. When I was growing up you got the odd person in our estate who would have called me the Fenian too. When my wee mum heard this she went round and started throwing punches all around her. Most of the people in our estate respected her though and so did all the top paramilitary bosses.

My wee mum had seen first hand what problems religion can cause and she used to always say to me growing up, if your ever going to pick a faith to follow, pick Buddhism son, as they love everything, even the animals she said.

It was my wee mum who planted the seed of the Buddha in me. 

So you can understand how magical it must have felt for me to see Buddhas and apple trees in the garden of the house where she grew up.

Look forward to going back and watching the plum tree flourish in memory of my wee rebel mum. 

Peace and love guys. 

From the Phantom Planter and Wee Betty