Happy Mother’s Day to all ❤️ We had a small group of DH, me, DS2and my mother. The kids nominated DS2 to buy plants for my mom and me. We had a very lazy day, with lunch of quiche Lorraine I had made yesterday, and a dinner of chicken prepared like schnitzel ( cutlets pounded thin, dusted with flour and paprika, dipped in egg and rolled in panko and cooked in the smallest amount of oil possible), on a bed of creamed spinach and mushrooms, served with saffron rice. Watermelon pieces as a salad and coconut cake for dessert, all made by me. Our club restaurant isn’t open for sit down meals yet, and I did not want to risk going elsewhere just yet, so I had this all planned and it took just an hour to put it together. We ate in the informal dining area and I used one of the azalea plants the kids gave me as a centerpiece. Nothing fancy for a change, and I found a box of unused tray liners from Hester and a Cook when we moved and used those as sort of faux placemats. So glad we did not have a big do that required a lot of cleanup, as after dinner DH got a call, his mother died on Mother’s Day evening. She was in her late 80s and had Alzheimer’s for more than a decade, cared for in her own home according to her wish by round the clock helpers. DH and DS2 had driven to Alabama to see her the day before and found her especially frail, so it was not a surprise to anyone. Still, any passing is a blow, a jolt in the road. I’m more thankful than ever to have my mother! DH’s brother, a physician, was with their mom at the end. We will have a very quiet family funeral in a few days. “A life well lived is not to mourn, but to envy and inspire hope.”

Slumgullion, I totally understand...I have been trialing roses in pots for the last 5 years moving them around the yard to learn what microclimate they like, I have an area in the back patio that I have drawn and redrawn plans in my gardening sketchbook on what to plant. But I think this pandemic has encouraged me to bite the bullet and put things in the ground because life is too short to wait to experience an unexpected beauty. It is true, Belinda’s Dream is not perfumed like other varieties but it is a vigorous and buxom beauty. I was concerned after planting it in its spot that it was not blooming well like it did in the pot, but now that it’s been 3 years, the blooms are a commanding presence in that corner of the yard!

And to you as well!. Love the card. Cats and flowers and family in the backyard - perfect.

Moses,I love your Gardenia story! You did a great job with that gardenia and it sounds like a beauty. I agree August Beauty is one of the better varieties. I had a few at my old house and they bloomed a lot and were easier to care for than some others that I had killed lol! I don't know what variety this one is. It is by the back steps. There's another huge shrub right next to it, that I have yet to identify. That other shrub grows monsterous and tries to shade out the gardenia and I have to continually whack it back! The first winter we were here it rained then froze to 10F one night! Very unusual for us. This gardenia had branches burst open from the freeze. I had to cut it down to a couple feet high. This year it has come back enough to produce several blooms which have begun opening for Mother's Day! Diane, I too, wish you could smell her heady tropical scent! So heavenly.