Do you have a green thumb? I wish I did! My mother, my grandmother, and her mother before her all loved growing beautiful flowers. Who doesn’t love the sunny face of a bright, yellow sunflower? Or the surprise splash of vibrant color in the middle of the median where some wonderful state worker has planted wildflowers?
Nurtured by the almost daily afternoon showers, and the bright Florida sun, flowers are everywhere this time of year. And, in pesticide-free gardens, the bees are nearby, turning the nectar into golden honey.
My grandmother, whose wedding is celebrated in Annie Laura’s Triumph, loved trees and flowers–indeed all growing things. Mama remembers her taking Spanish moss from the woods and throwing it over the massive oaks in her front yard, hoping to achieve “tree lace” of her own.
My mother loved to take pictures of flowers. I remember when I was much younger thinking how silly she was. Now I understand. Flowers are transitory being. My mother wanted to capture beauty—preserve it. It was her way, I think, of holding a sparkle of eternity.