Sunday, May 3, 2026

Sunday, May 3, 2026

Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2006. Mattie was four years old! I mentioned this in a recent blog posting..... that we used the coffee table in our living room to unofficially track Mattie's growth! The photo Mattie was holding was taken when he was under two years of age. I loved that photo so much that I displayed it on our refrigerator. That day, Mattie took the photo off of the refrigerator and posed next to the coffee table with it. Mattie couldn't get over how much he had grown! The smile says it all!

Quote of the day: Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace. ~ May Sarton

About two weeks ago, I bought some flowers to plant in my flower pots! However, with the cold snap that we had, I never got to the planting. Thankfully I have been able to keep everything alive, but today, after I got back from taking my parents out to lunch, I forced myself outside! I spent about two hours in the garden. We all turn to different things to manage stress. My garden is my therapy. I snapped some photos so you can see why I fell in love with this space, way before I ever saw the house!

Given the winter we had, I am absolutely amazed that the perennials came back in my flower pots! 

I am a fan of lantanas and geraniums. They are hardy flowers that make it through our summer heat! Typically I plant a lot of petunias, but I have found from previous summers they don't do well in this very sunny spot! So I changed it up this year! I planted all these flower pots this afternoon. 

Begonias and verbena..... more flowers that handle our very hot and humid summers!

The rhododendrons are in bloom! I haven't seen them look this vibrant in quite some time. So perhaps the winter inspired them in some way! I don't know if you can see Mattie's tiny oak tree. It is in a flower pot! Mattie loved the one oak tree we had near our apartment in Washington, DC. Before we moved in 2021, we took acorns from that tree. We planted them in two flower pots and the little trees come back every spring. It is one of many tributes I have in the garden to my Mattie!