Happy Mother's Day!

I hope you had as lovely a day as I had.  After lunch, I had the chance to browse in a store while Peter and Kevin were off playing tennis with Andy and Chris Rinek (Peter's nephews and Kevin's cousins who came to visit.) I came a across a small book titled Mother's Aprons Strings, a small "gifty-type" book filled with motherly advise, euphemisms and remembrances and fell upon this page where an anonymous person--a gardener of course or at least the child of a mother who gardened had written, "If I had a flower for every time I thought of my mother, I could walk in my garden forever." 

What a lovely reminiscence on this very special day when we think of our mothers, especially,  and also aunts, sisters and daughters--all loving caregivers in some way or another whether they have children of their own or not. 

I remember my mother, who long since has passed away, loved peonies and lilacs in particular, and I think of my mother-in-law who loves all flowers, but mostly herbs and still takes time to teach her friends how to make intricate "tussie-mussies" full of meaning, nostalgia, hopes and promises. 

So, on this Mothers Day, I strolled through my own gardens and took time to think of my mother, Georgia, quite the character in her day, as well as my mother-in-law, Lynn.  I thought of my sister, Chris, and all of my sisters-in-law, nieces and female cousins.  I named them in my heart, one by one.  

I recalled my friends, the young girls to grown women throughout my life, and their love and support for me.

I know I am truly blessed with a garden full of wonderful women that not only come in and out of my life but also come in all shapes and sizes, each one a unique and beautiful individual.

As early as it is in this growing season and considering my penchant for lavender, I find that I have an affinity toward pink flowers, or at least all shades corresponding to and complimentary colors of pink, threading together the textures and hues throughout their garden homes, a very feminine trait, indeed.  Who can resist pink in all of it's simplicity and complexity?

Although they may appear fragile and delicate on the outside, flowers are tough as nails on the inside, withstanding the forces of nature (maybe that's why she is called Mother) offering up beauty and grace even in unforeseen growing conditions.They are stern yet elegant and flutter with ease while flirtatiously batting their pretty petals at the sky.

The ever-changing flowers in my garden seem closely related to the ever-changing landscape of my life. Yet, even after all of these years, I know that my mother's love is constant, just as I know the flowers will keep growing in my garden because "if I had a flower for every time I thought of my mother, I could walk in my garden forever."

Happy Mother's Day! I hope you had as wonderful a day as I had.