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Start a Mother's Day garden

Give your mom and your mother (nature) a great green gift.

By PlentyMag.comWed, Mar 25 2009 at 11:30 AM EST
 5

Garden of flowers Photo: anneh632/Flickr
I had no idea the Mother's Day gift idea I came up with some 16 years ago would've been such a hit with my Mom. At the time I worked on the first certified organic farm in my state, and I easily spent half of my pay on perennial herbs, flowers and annual vegetable bedding plants. I wanted to share some of my bounty with Mom, so I offered to plant her a special perennial garden along the edge of my parents' sunny front yard. Mom has been into “greener living” for quite some time, so I knew neither she nor my father would mind if I dug up a little slice of the front lawn.
 
The first in what would become a series of Mother's Day gardens was a roughly two-by-four-foot planting bed next to the driveway. I installed Mom in a lawn chair nearby and provided a running commentary on the plants I selected for her and why. I chose hardy natives including yarrow, bee balm, and purple coneflower because, once established, I knew they'd happily thrive on neglect. And thrive they have.
 
Even in its first year, the little garden exploded with fragrant foliage and blooms which brought compliments from countless passersby. Mom would thank them and proudly explain that this was her Mother's Day garden. It was the beginning of what would become a cherished family tradition. Over the years the planting bed stretched further down the length of the driveway, and in went black hollyhocks, pot marigolds, blanket flower, and eyeball plants for novelty's sake. When the garden could go no further in one direction, we widened it to accommodate another year or two. Eventually, we would cross to the other side of the driveway to begin planting there, and, now, again, we are starting to run short on space.
 
Aside from pleasing Mom, the Mother's Day gardens — offering shelter, seeds, and plenty of nectar — have pleased the local birds, bees and butterflies, too. What's more, there's no gift wrapping or wasteful packaging involved, and each year's garden addition means a little less lawn to mow, saving on time and fossil fuel. With another Mother's Day in the offing, I've already got my seeds started.
 

Story by Susan Brackney. This article originally appeared in Plenty in April 2008.

 

Copyright Environ Press 2008

 
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Related Topics: Gardening , Mother's Day

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anonymous
Miss Pat 04/21/2012 09:22 AM

Five or six years ago my son planted a rose bush, "Opening Night" beside my back door. The first year there were three large red long-stemmed flowers. This year there are twenty-four buds working. The early spring (winter took a vacation this year) has this bush along with two more Mothers Day roses, "Love" and a Dvaid Austin rose, "Queen Elizabeth" already set with many blooms. I love roses and with the added fact that my son gave them to me as a gift makes the three bushes very, very.... More

anonymous
Nancy Lawson 05/06/2011 12:55 PM

I always planted flowers for my mom in the Spring and did for years. Now that she's gone I plant pansies around the headstone for her AND my Dad.

anonymous
l 05/05/2011 11:13 AM

I've been working a garden for my mom for years now since she her accident that incapacitates her. Her garden is loaded with flowers and herbs that we pluck for birthdays and other events throughout Spring into Fall.

anonymous
Denise Deshaies 05/04/2011 18:09 PM

My mother loved to garden and did until a stroke slowed her down.She passed away two yrs ago,and I love to garden and I sence her precence with me whenever I work in my garden,

anonymous
stephsproimage 05/04/2011 12:26 PM

My mom and I would do this every year for my grandmother, except we used annuals and filled in around her perennials that were already in place. As my grandmother got on in years, she was unable to do the work neccessary to plant, so every mother's day, we'd take her an assortment of annuals and plant them in various spots around her home. She always loved them and took great joy in watering them every few days. Whenever we went over, we'd take a walk with her to view their progress and pull.... More

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