Thanks to cool, rainy weather the past few days, the potted flowers I put out for Memorial Day survived nicely.
Today, though, it was time to bring them home. After a few days, the city removes flowers and decorations not retrieved by family and friends, so I always err on the side of “too soon”.
They have, after all, served their purpose on the holiday, and now it’s time to serve a happier, more decorative purpose on my front steps.
My camera battery “died” after the first two floral portraits. A third flower will have to wait to be photographed. This is how I let my brother and sisters know I took care of Memorial Day here.
A cousin who usually decorates two of the same graves I do (her father and our paternal grandmother; my parents) didn’t make it up to Alliance this year for whatever reason. I’ll call her because it is very unusual for her to miss Memorial Day. She publishes a major issue of her newspaper this time of year — I just got it in the mail the other day — and I am concerned she may have worked herself into a bad cold or something. This special edition always takes a lot out of her, so I am concerned she missed the holiday here.
I know she will feel better knowing those two graves were tended to, so this is how I will let her know, too. I pray she is OK.
Nice job.
I was just glad I was able to get it done. It looked possible I wouldn’t.
The flowers , bégonias and geraniums, keep the memory.
The geraniums are traditionally the ones we put out in this family, though I broke a little with that tradition this year by putting out two other varieties as well.
Many cultures believe it a taboo to use cut flowers as they represent death and dying; whereas, potted flowers and plants celebrate life and wellness. I think your choice of using potted plants greatly honors the life of your loved ones as your relationship is only on pause. One day you all will be reunited and living flowers represent your continuing relationships. It is a lovely idea and now you can enjoy their beauty the rest of the summer and think of your loved ones.
Your cousin’s welfare will be in my prayers. I hope she is okay with other reasons for not making the traditional trip. Sometimes, traditions must be changed to accommodate those left to live them.
Be Well, my friend.
Though I don’t consider artificial flowers taboo, your comments about the reason to use real, living plants echos my feelings exactly!
I haven’t contacted her yet. Because of her work habits and deadlines to be met, I will wait till after I know she has this week’s paper out — it’s a weekly.
I do not think cut or artificial flowers taboo but I very much like the idea behind living plants/flowers!
🙂
Lovely flowers! Hope all is well!
Me, too. I’ll call my cousin Friday, though I sometimes see her on Thursdays if she comes to town.
Please keep me posted!
I will.
Thank you
Hope your cousin is alright, Doug. I’ll keep her in my thoughts and prayers.
Thanks, Lavinia. I know better than to try to call her in the morning or until after she’s completed her newspaper for the week, so it will be Thursday most likely that I finally call her.
You did a great job for Memorial Day and I certainly hope your cousin is alright. May is a rather hectic and rough month for many.
Thanks! I hope she’s OK, too. She tends to overwork herself on her special editions.
That shows true dedication.
Her paper is the paper of record for her county, so she feels compelled, I think, to do more than just put news out. The special edition she does on the ranching industry each year (he “Beef paper”) features family histories of local ranchers that make it a must read paper of the year in this area. Very complete and very interesting!
You must be extremely proud of her!
I am! She should take better care of herself, but she’s received many journalism awards for what she puts out. (That feeds the frenzy!)
Oh my…we hope your cousin is ok. Mom recognizes begonias in the first pot In the hanging basket are those geraniums? How nice you can leave them and nobody takes them. Not so sure around here. It is lovely that you do this every year. Makes us feel happy that you are honouring folk.
(((Shoko, Kali and Jean)))
Yes, begonias and geraniums. I usually put out all geraniums, but the alternatives this years were nice, too, I thought.
Beautiful flowers. If, you are in a warmer climate you can cut back the geraniums and winter them over. I always want to be in that kind of climate cause digging bulbs and saving them for next year never works with me. Either they dry out too much and become dust or Shoko is in there batting them about.
Jean
It seems my mother used to do something with geraniums to save them for the next year. It seems she unpotted them, dried them out, then replanted them the next year as dry rooted starts. I could be wrong about this…!
My grandmother left them in the pots, only watered them very moderately (I think in the mid of winter she stopped completely) and cut all the green parts back. She wintered all her geraniums and was very well rewarded for her efforts.
I’ll have to give that a try. I know my mother put them in a dark spot in the basement, too. I don’t have a basement here, but I probably can improvise.
Very nice flowers. That is too bad that they get removed so soon, we can leave them there til the 4th of July.
Most people put out artificial flowers or cut real ones. I think it is so they don’t feel that bad if the city trashes them before they can pick them up. I don’t know. I’ve always preferred real over artificial flowers.