Do people still secretly give flowers for May Day any more? This is a fond memory from my childhood.
My mother helped us make cones out of construction paper and tape, then we'd cut flowers from our yard for the cones. Afterward, we girls delighted in leaving these make-shift baskets on neighbors' front porches. While leaving flowers on doorsteps was beginning to fall out of favor in my childhood, it was a happy tradition that my sister, best friend, and I looked forward to each May 1.
Anyway, my husband cut a sprig of rhododendron for me this morning when I was out, leaving it in a small glass bottle on the kitchen table.
Here are some of my other happy flower moments from the day, some more frugal than others.
Marigolds that I grew from seeds collected from last year's marigolds, which were grown from seeds that I collected from the previous year's marigolds, which were purchased from the store. Never ceases to amaze me that I can collect my own seeds for planting flowers the next year.
More flower plants, just no blossoms. These are petunia plants that I grew from seeds that I collected from 2023's flowers, which were grown from seeds I called from 2022's flowers, which were flowers that I collected from 2021's flowers, which I bought at the store in 2021. With petunia's you really never know what you're going to get. I began with solid red, white and dark purple flowers in 2021. So far I've had dark pink, violet, dark purple, white, striped, solid, and spotted blossoms. I wonder what they will be this year?
I added Creeping Jenny to my hanging baskets of begonias on the front porch. I'm getting a lot of blossoms on the begonias already. Creeping Jenny does flower, so I'm hoping I can collet seeds in late summer to start my own plants next year.
This is the beginning of my container lavender garden. I love lavender. My whole family knows I love lavender. My son and daughter-in-law gave me this planter for my birthday specifically for lavender. My daughters gave me 3 tiny lavender plants, as well. This English lavender plant was a tiny one three years ago and needed a new space this year. I've used marble chips as mulch on the soil surface. I love the look of lavender against white, both the pot and the rocks.
I bought the marble chips in a large bag (50-lb) at Home Depot in the outdoor garden and landscaping section for $6.47. They also sell smaller white rocks for indoor plants in the house plant section in 5-lb bags for $6.78 each. I knew I would need several of the smaller bags if I wanted to put a white rock mulch on top of my soil in all of these pots (which will be 5, in total), so I went for the larger landscape bag of marble chips. Rock or gravel mulch is recommended for lavender plants to aid in combatting humidity.
Here's a small English lavender plant that I bought last year. It's needing a larger pot, as well. I'm working on that pot this afternoon. More to come on that.
And then I have the 3 tiny lavender plants that I'll pot in a few days. There aren't any lavender blossoms on any of these plants right now. Their fragrant leaves will have to tide me over until early summer when they bud and bloom.
Are May Day flower baskets a part of you childhood memories? Did you mark today with flowers in any way?
Happy May Day, friends! If I could, I would leave a May Day basket or cone on each of your doorsteps.
