KENNEBUNKPORT (NEWS CENTER Maine) — Nestled in the heart of Kennebunkport where Mrs. Bush has spent every summer for the last 73 years is a garden dedicated in her honor. Lovingly named after the nickname her grandchildren call her, Ganny’s Garden was dedicated in 2011.
The garden is adorned with 17 trees planted for her 17 grandchildren and all of their initials are carved in garden stones along a shallow stonewall.
A bench with bronze cast of her famous floppy hat, her favorite book “Pride and Prejudice” and a pair of mismatched Keds shoes also adorn the plot on the Village Green.
Lisa Linehan is the associate director for the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust. Linehan says it was just part of the former First Lady's charm and spunk that she would often walk around Kennebunkport with two different colored Keds shoes.
Inspired by a needlepoint carpet that Mrs. Bush made in which she hid each of her grandchildren's initials among the flowers, the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust mirrored her own creation when designing the garden.
Mrs. Bush was at the dedication seven years ago.
“I hope you know how much this means to me. And I am just so grateful to all of you I just can’t believe it,” said Bush.
Mainers stopped by with flowers on Wednesday as news spread of Mrs. Bush’s passing.
Linda Rice, of Kennebunkport, stops by the Ganny’s Garden often but made a special point to come today.
Even though Rice did not know Mrs. Bush well she felt a deep connection to her and would often see her around time. Rice remembers the first time she ever bumped into Mrs. Bush was in Walmart where she and Mr. Bush were buying flowers for their garden.
“On a personal level, she made me feel like it was ok for me to stay home and raise my five children and not have a wonderful career doing something else. I will always be grateful for her example in that way,” said Rice.
But Barbara Bush did not always feel fulfilled by the seemingly endless work of motherhood. After her children left home, Mrs. Bush admitted to falling into depression. She told USA Today back in 1989, “suddenly women’s lib had made me feel my life had been wasted.”
Her husband helped her overcome her doubts and find satisfaction in seeing their children develop into productive adults.
“She is a strong spirited independent woman. Someone, you would hope your daughter would grow up to be,” said Lisa Linehan.
Last summer Mrs. Bush in her electric wheelchair joined Linehan on a tour of land in Kennebunkport.
“Secret service was trying to figure out how she was going to navigate the bumpy path and she just said “get out of my way boys” and came scootering through. A true testament to her spirit. She could do anything.”
Mrs. Bush passed away on Tuesday, April 17, 2018. She is survived by five of her six children, 17 grandchildren, and her seven great-grandchildren. Her legacy will live on in her descendants.
The silver fox as her children called her once said:
“At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, or a parent.”
Lisa Linehan thinks Mrs. Bush is a model example of a mother.
“Mrs. Bush is the matriarch of our nation. Not just her family. She is really someone that we can all look up to and strive to be as mothers. And someone that showed care and love for her family and put it into everything she did," said Linehan.