Goodbye to gardening legacy and great man

Steve Kawaratani

“No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the garden.”

-- Thomas Jefferson

“Do not go gentle into the good night.”

-- Dylan Thomas

“You won’t be able to join us this time,” Uncle Sam told me

gently, “but we’ll go together next time.” My uncle had driven down

from Costa Mesa to comfort me -- the planned trip to the opening of

Disneyland with my cousins had been postponed, at least for me, due

to an upset stomach. I was inconsolable, so my parents turned to my

favorite uncle to salvage their weekend.

I admired Isamu “Sam” Tanaka from the first day I met him. Laconic

and more laid back than my father, he was his fun-loving counterpart.

Not that he didn’t work hard; he just knew how and when to party.

Last year alone, he drove to Las Vegas almost monthly, to test his

luck.

Sam Tanaka grew up in Huntington Beach and served in the army

during WWII.

He married my father’s sister, Yoshiko, six months after my father

and mother wed in 1949. He established a landscape gardening business

that prospered for over 40 years, until his retirement in 1990. Many

of Laguna’s finest gardens were under his care for decades. He truly

was the master gardener.

My uncle kept me busy -- from dividing Bird of Paradise in his

garden to planting the countless red, zonal geranium and nemesia he

loved to grow.

His affinity to plant culture was second to no one, including my

fabled father, Pete. After my father passed away, Uncle Sam kept my

mom’s kitchen filled with fresh vegetables and fruit.

The man loved to fish. I have to believe that he filled our dinner

plates at least two meals a week. I guess that’s the reason I am so

fond of yellowtail and barracuda. A novice fisherman myself, he

constantly supplied me with tips that still elude me to this day.

I was thinking about my Uncle Sam as I was driving up through Baja

-- how I wanted to share some fish stories and show him our recently

remodeled home.

It was not to be, as his great heart finally gave out last week. I

celebrate his life as he truly burned and raged until the very last

day.

See you next time.

* STEVE KAWARATANi is the owner of Landscapes by Laguna Nursery,

1278 Glenneyre Street. He is married to local artist, Catharine

Cooper, and has three cats. He can be reached at (949) 497-2438, or

e-mail to plantm@lagunanursery.com.