Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mother's Day!  I've spent nearly all of my mother's days the same way with a few exceptions.  I am willing to bet I am not alone.  I spend them in the yard and garden.  Mother's Day is the turning point in the year - the sign that it is safe to plant.  Safe that frost won't sneak up on your tender seedlings and snatch them up in a brutal overnight gone bitter cold.  There were more than a couple times that I forgot the golden rule of waiting until Mother's Day to plant and got impatient only to lose some of my early planted flowers to frost.  
As I think back upon all of the years of Mother's Days that have passed, it is the earliest ones.  The leanest ones.  Those when we has the least.  We didn't plant a lot of varieties of flowers, but I always planted marigolds.  They were my grandpa's favorites.  I guess it's my
tribute to him.  He had a beautiful garden.  When I was little girl and went to his house, I thought he had the biggest and most beautiful garden.  The lesson for today is to really pay attention to these zone charts and freeze dates and don't let your impatience get the best of you.
Traditionally, I receive some plant each year from one of my daughters.  Last year, I got my Lace-cap Hydrangea.  This year, I got a really pretty day lily and a large purple Phalanopsis orchid from her.   Day lilies are great plants.   They put on a wonderful show for a flower and they are super fragrant.  Each of them has a different zone range but they have a great zonal range.  The lilies have average watering needs and need good drainage.  They'll come back the following the year in greater abundance and continue to multiply.  This is a great plant to share with your friends by just giving them some of the bulbs.
I admit that today I was a bit impatient myself and cut that little baby off my orchid and potted it.  Now, we just wait and see if it will get some roots and live on its own.  I also repotted it with some fresh potting media.  

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