Mothers Day Recap

Tony and Ashley picked out a green pear scented soy candle for me and brought the grandbaby girls over for me to hug for a little while. They are so charming.
Skip and Tree sent a pretty flower arrangement in a perfect for me ceramic box with white roses and lilies and we had a nice long phone conversation.
Patrick? You tell me. Ashley says he probably worked the Mothers Day shift so his colleagues could have the holiday off. She is sweet and I like to think that way too. But I miss him and we will see him in a few weeks now. Knock on wood.
Frankly, seeing and hearing and hugging is tops with me.



Today after I came home from the Home Street garden I was doing some paperwork and the patio door was open. I kept thinking I was breathing in the fragrance of some spring flowers, or maybe my neighbor was drying her clothes with some new fabric softener. I went outdoors for a minute ... hmm? Just everyday springish nice air ... the scent was in the house. Of course, it took a while for this old nose to figure it out - Skip and Tree's flowers were scenting the whole room. It was the lily there on the table, doing what lilies do.

Green Thumb Sunday - Daffodils for Mom

The photos are from a couple of weeks ago, but their sunny color brightens up my day and I hope yours. I used to give my Mom daffodils, so they mean sonmething to me.

Gardeners, Plant and Nature Lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.

A Herb or Not a Herb?

Useful plants is how I've always described herbs. My tree peony isn't useful, as far as I know, for medicine or flavoring or any of the other multiple ways herbies make use of plants. But there must a niche in the concept of usefulness that contains the usefulness of plants to memory, association and symbolism.
My youngest son brought me this 'Japanese tree peony' for mother's day, many years ago, before they became popular. It was the most unusual plant he could find at the nursery. I should have suspected then that he would grow up to be the wonderful and unusual young man that he is. If you were the mother of a strong willed child who marched to the beat of his own drum, then you will understand why I say that. But all of my children are unusual individuals.
See how this plant recalls associations for me? When it blooms every May, I always remember the day he gave it to me.