Flowers for Mother's Day

It has been our family tradition for many years that on Mother's Day I get to go shopping for the plants and flowers that we plant each year in the garden as my gift. I love buying and planting pretty flowers, so this is a perfect gift for me. (And since it is a gift, I don't have to add up the cost. giggle)

I was worried at first - I could not find Petunias in colors that I liked. I had settled on Dianthus, which I also like but DH does not. Then a cart came by filled with  deep purple petunias and I followed it until it stopped and I (politely) grabbed several pots. I also chose some white petunias for contrast, and a few sweet potato vines 
for added color. These were planted in railing boxes on our 2nd level deck. They look very nice now and they are going to look awesome in 2-3 weeks! Each one of the plastic liners now has a wood frame around it to hold it steadily on the railing and to look nice, too. I hope to get photos of them on the next sunny day.




We bought a Mandevilla plant to grow up in the corner, climbing up the shade cloth support and along the railing. I've never had one of these before and I am looking forward to watching it grow.

I also bought some Dianthus, a fern, white allysum and dichondra It's a beautiful mixture for the pot near my swing.



I have 4 strawberry plants (they have pretty blossoms in addition to producing fruit) on the deck.



They are near the swing also, so I can keep an eye on them. I hope to beat the ants and other creatures to at least a few of the fruits. LOL.

Mom and I each purchased one of these ceramic turtles at the flower show in March. Here is mine, with flowers added.

Mom got one that is mostly green, with smaller flowers painted on it. She hasn't added flowers yet.

The vegetable garden (no photos until things start to grow) will include green peppers, sweet peppers, cucumbers, green beans, tomato and watermelon. I may just add a pumpkin plant to that. We are going to try to grow upside down tomatoes this year. I hope to get that planted tomorrow. I have to get to the farm supply store and get some seed potatoes. Yes, I am going to try to grow my own potatoes this year. I think it will be fun to harvest them this fall.

I did not get as much knitting in as I had originally planned, but I had such a good time planting and enjoying sunny weather for a change that it didn't matter. I washed clothes and hung them on the line. I find that to be a rewarding activity - clean, fresh smelling clothes in the closet and saving money and energy at the same time. The weather cooperated and I was able to get 4 loads completed in one day.

DH and eldest son fixed a delicious leg of lamb dinner on the grill (rotisserie) and handled the clean up, then DH went out (I was tired at that point) to get ice cream for dessert. What a wonderful weekend.

I spun a little llama on my drop spindle and knitted on the linen stitch boatneck and my Laminaria shawl. I did not knit on ribbing in honor of the holiday. ; )

My mother was involved in similar activities at her house, (the way I feel about knitting, that's how she feels about her garden and pond) and later in the day my brothers gathered to "hang out", so she was happy.

We thought often of Bob's mother, who is no longer with us. We miss her a lot.