Sweet Fragrances and Sweet Memories

Spiderwort from my Mom

I've been working out in my yard quite a bit for the last couple of years. I've never thought that I had much of a green thumb but my thumb seems to be getting a little greener as I get older. Maybe it's just that I have a little bit more time now that my kids have gotten older and can spend the time necessary to fertilize, weed and water them. Whatever it is, my plants don't seem to be dying on me nearly as quickly as they used to.

I don't know a lot about shrubs and flowers and vines although I do know for certain what poison ivy looks like now. I came in contact with that little plant about a month ago at my oldest son, Nathan's, place in Auburn and had my first allergic reaction to it. That plant left a lasting impression on me and not a pleasant impression either. Contrary to the feeling that I have when I see poison ivy, many of the plants and flowers that grow in my yard conjure up thoughts and feelings about special people who have been in my life; folks like my Grandmother Sutton who had the greenest thumb I've ever seen, or my Mama. My Grandmother Sutton and my Mama worked hard in their flowers. It was truly a labor of love to them. I didn't understand as a young person how anyone could find digging in the dirt and sweating in North Alabama pleasurable. We have what I'll call "yuggy" weather here. That's yucky plus muggy. It can be 90 degrees outside but when the humidity is factored in, it feels like 105 to your body. That's "yuggy"!

My Mom

I've come to realize though that beautiful plants and flowers don't just happen. They require time, proper growing conditions, and God's hand. I think my Mama and Grandmother Sutton were just tickled when they would walk outside each morning during the spring and summer months to see what beauties God had surprised them with on that particular day!   While I do love the beauty that the flowers bring,  I've probably come to appreciate even more the fact that the beauty lies not only in the flowers as they bloom but in  the memories of the ones who gave them to me.  Those flowers bring both a sweet
fragrance to the air and sweet memories to my heart.