succulents

We are finally enjoying perfectly wonderful spring weather out here in the Pacific Northwest – time to get started with my type of gardening. Unlike several of my friends who have green thumbs, mine, in fact, is kind of brown. I am not great with plants, and my friend Stacy has made it her business to drop by my house from time to time to take care of my outdoor container pots. I think she feels sorry for them, or me, or both. But there is one type of plant that I’ve developed a love affair with: succulents. These tiny guys seem to thrive in my house (the possibility that it is because they are desert plants that can survive with little or no attention has not escaped me).

Last week I stopped by Molbak’s – an amazing gardening store in nearby Woodinville, Washington – to get some new spring succulents. My dad has huge, beautiful jade plants that he has been growing in terracotta on his back porch for years and, when I was in college, he would occasionally clip off some branches for me to bring back to spruce up my apartment. Since then, I’ve always tried to keep at least one jade going strong in my house, along with other favorites like hens and chicks and stonecrop. And it’s fun to put together combos in pretty low bowls and see how long I can keep them alive. Again, the fact that they are drought-resistant relatives of cacti with their own built-in water storage system doesn’t hurt. See, even us brown-thumbed girls can enjoy gardening!

knowing where you come from

I’ve always loved Mother’s Day. It’s fun to spend time thinking about the special people in our lives and important to make sure they know how much we appreciate them. I am lucky enough to have a wonderful mother and mother-in-law and to be the mother of two lovely daughters. My girls get so excited about the homemade gifts they make for me, and I can vividly remember my own creations for my mom and the happiness I felt making and giving them. And even though they are no longer alive, on Mother’s Day I love to think about my grandmothers and how important they were to me.

I don’t think I realized when I was little how unusual my family was. I just knew that my grandparents were close, but it was many years before I truly understood that the bond had been formed a lifetime before I was born. All four of my grandparents grew up in the same small town of Speedway, Indiana. In fact, my grandmothers Marion and Marcy had been friends since the beginning of grade school. I have seen a picture of my Memo and Grammy side by side at their Kindergarten graduation, and a picture with three of my four grandparents graduating from middle school hangs in my house. I also have a photo of my two grandmothers sitting together, both pregnant at the time with my mom and my dad. I think about how amazing it must have been to have a friend growing up – sharing so many firsts in life together – and then see your children grow up and marry each other. How beautiful would it be to share grandchildren with your best friend? They both loved me, but they loved each other too, which was something intangible I felt from the time I was little.

So happy Mother’s Day! Enjoy the special treatment, pamper those you love and remember the details of your own unique family and how important it is to know where you come from.