imee Giese digs Mother's Day.
Literally. Which is to say, come
the second Sunday in May, you'll
find her in the garden.
After her son, Declan, was
born, her husband asked how she'd really like
to celebrate her special day. She didn't have to
think twice. “We have a big plant, flower, and
garden center here, locally owned," says the
Denver mom, now 40. “So I said, ‘I would love
to go to Paulino's and just have time by myself
to really look at what I want to do in the garden
and plant our spring flowers for the house."'
She's not the only mom who celebrates by
getting her hands dirty. We asked our Facebook
friends to share meaningful Mother's Day
traditions, and it turns out moms love it when
their family says it with flowers. Or trees. Or
tomato plants.
“Our tradition is I get to go to the garden
,
store, pick out all I want, and spend the
day planting,” wrote Jenni Fisher from The
Woodlands, Texas. “It’s a day I look forward to
all year!" Erin Beelitz from Brick, New Jersey,
posted that her family gets her an annual
Mother's Day hydrangea. For the past 10 years,
another mother’s son has planted a tree in her
yard. One year, Colleen Lanchester Raynie from
White, South Dakota, surprised her mother
with annuals that she secretly planted the night
before Mother's Day. “It's no longer a surprise,”
she wrote, “But it's a nice tradition."
These moms also love garden shows. Several
mentioned expeditions to events such as the
tulip show in Holland, Michigan. Called Tulip
Time, it runs during the second week in May
and features an entire town abloom with more
than 6 million tulips.
» V «
G a r d e n
v a r i e t y
Stuck in a breakfast-in-bed rut?
For a M other’s Day tradition
w ith roots, grow your own.
BY TRICIA ROMANO
Timing is the key factor in these traditions,
says Giese. “Mother's Day is the start of the
planting season. It happens more or less when
you're safe from frost, so it's a really big day."
Her solo trips to the garden center have now
evolved into a family affair. “We all go and
pick out plants together. It’s turned into a
fun thing for Declan. He likes picking out the
colors and putting things together," she says.
“We've turned it into a true celebration." ■
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