What Mother’s Day Means to Me

I have always associated Mother’s day with the start of the gardening season, with flowers, and warmer temperatures. Getting out in the yard, and enjoying the sunshine. My mom is a gardener, with several beautiful gardens, and a large pond.

One of our annual Mother’s day rituals is to go to Cox Arboretum (near Dayton Ohio) flower sale every Mother’s Day. The flower sale raises money for the park, and it is a huge event. I can always find those herbs, and flowers I don’t see anywhere else. I have found many great treasures for my garden there. My mom is easy to shop for on Mother’s Day, I let her pick out her favorites while we are there, or buy her a hanging basket from the local greenhouse. We usually make a day of it and go to lunch. We also visit other greenhouses in the area. It all adds up to some great memories.

I remember when I was a child our school went to the local greenhouse down the street to purchase a flower to give to mom on Mother’s Day. I loved plants and flowers even then, geraniums were my favorite, and they still are. I always picked the largest flower I could find for my money, nothing but the best for my mom!

Growing up, we always planted the bulk of the vegetable garden on Mother’s Day weekend, if it wasn’t raining. I guess that is why my brain associates Mother’s Day with sunny days, and digging in the Earth. I am now much older, and I am still blessed to be able to share the love of gardening with my mother, especially on Mother’s Day.