“Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” — Khalil Gibran

*If you see an asterisk next to a link, it links to a video with sound. Just a heads-up in case you need to turn the volume down or pop on your headphones.

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HOME

When my son was little, he would bring me freshly plucked flowers from our garden or wildflowers found on our walks in the neighborhood. Often his little fingers wrapped around the tiny pink blooms he found in the front yard growing under our front yard swing. Smiling, he would offer his outstretched hand with a bouquet just for me.

Could this gift of flowers from child to mother have grown into the tradition of giving flowers on Mother’s Day we know today?

Whether you are giving flowers, time, or a gift you can hold in your hands, I have a few ideas that you can put together this week just in time for Mother’s Day.

Mother’s Day gift and card ideas on Etsy ($)

Help your mom or grandmother share her story on StoryWorth.

Flowers from your garden or purchased at a local grocery store, farmers’ market, or floral supply could be beautiful in one of these vessels for cut flowers on Etsy ($). If you’d like to help out Mother Nature, go for the recycled approach and empty out a beautiful honey jar, Mason jar, or find a glass milk bottle ($) or ceramic vase at a thrift store.

If you’re arranging your own bouquet, there are a few guidelines that are easy to follow. Stick with odd numbers of stems to keep it visually interesting. You can wrap them up in brown paper with a ribbon or put them in a vase with a frog at the base or the top ($) to hold stems upright.

Add a mixture of flowing stems, filler or stems with smaller blooms mixed with medium-sized blossoms and one stunning larger flower (or stick with monochromatic blossoms in similar sizes). Don’t be afraid to add in herbs, flowering branches, or even long stems of tiny strawberries. Take a walk around your garden and see if you can find something unique to add to your bouquet.

Looking to dive into cut-flower arranging? Have a mom who might enjoy learning more about cut flowers and arranging her blooms? Check out my Cut-Flower Love book list on Bookshop.org ($) and this article on Cut-Flower Garden Love from Central Texas Gardener. You can see more of Laura Brennand’s work on her website, La Otra Flora.

GARDEN

I absolutely love all the tiny petals and blooms making their way into the house these days. It is important to deadhead flowers (or trim back spent blooms) and herbs to keep them blooming, so I’m always looking for ways to extend their life once I’ve cut them. Sometimes they go into a vase inside, but often I’m drying them for tea, using them in recipes or finding creative ways to enjoy their beauty for just a little bit longer. Edible flower cookies are a wonderful way to be creative and play with your food!

Brighten up your day by treating yourself to these colorful ice cubes made with flower petals, borage blossoms, or lavender. Borage has a slightly cucumber taste that creates a crisp and cooling addition to water or sparkling water. Lavender is wonderful paired with lemonade. Rose petals are always a great match for hibiscus tea.

Simply add the the petals to an ice cube tray, gently pour water (or lemonade, limeade, or herbal tea if you don’t want to water down your drink) into the ice cube tray. Let the ice cubes freeze overnight. Drop them into a pitcher or glass with your favorite beverage.

Whether you are drinking a glass of lemonade on a hot day or just want to brighten up a glass of water, this is a simple way to enjoy the beauty of the garden every day.

Make sure any herb or flower you use in a drink has been grown organically to ensure safety. Check this list for edible herbs and flowers.

Extending the life of the flowers and herbs in the garden is important to me, so I’ve been drying them for tea. After collecting them, I begin by swishing the petals and herbs in a bowl of water and then let them float at the top so that the dirt sinks to the bottom. I carefully scoop the petals and herbs onto a towel to dry.

Once dry, they go onto dehydrator trays for 5-7 hours at 100 degrees. I wanted to find a little tabletop dehydrator that wouldn’t take up much room and finally landed on this dehydrator. If you have smaller leaves, just leave them on their stems until they are dry or use a finer mesh tray cover (most dehydrators have one included). I store my tea in these beautiful olive wood and glass jars.

When you make your tea, you’ll find that you need to steep the freshly dried herbs (or fresh petals and herbs if you prefer) a little bit longer. I find that 10-15 minutes usually does the trick.

As the weather heats up, I find that rose and/or cucumber water is really refreshing to drink and to mist on your face on a hot day. You can make your own DIY facial mist or purchase rose petal hydration mist on Etsy. ($)

Our strawberries are starting to ripen, and they are so sweet. This year we are growing Earliglow strawberries I purchased as bare root plants on Etsy. ($)

Our gardening tools needed sharpening and cleaning. My husband was kind enough to take on that task this past weekend. Not only does sharpening and cleaning your tools ensure a cleaner cut, but it also helps in preventing disease and spreading disease between plants. How to Clean Garden Tools

WELLNESS

Will the pandemic make us nicer? Better? More grateful?

*In Our Mother’s Garden on Netflix May 6 - a film about celebrating black moms and grandmothers and healing for generations of black women

CREATIVITY

This week I want to highlight one of my favorite collage artists, Elena Skoreyko Wagner. You can check out her work on Instagram @elenaskoreyko or her website. Everything she makes brings a smile to my face. Whimsy and color radiate throughout her work.

Recently she posted this little video on Instagram encouraging us all to JUMP IN despite the to-do list and all the things we have on our plates right now.

BOOKSHELF

I cracked open The Downstairs Girl ($) this week and I’m LOVING it. Highly recommended. Witty and heartfelt, it has me eager to turn the pages and find out what courageous act Jo will be up to next. I’ve been keeping a small journal nearby to look up historical references as I read. This book will have a permanent place on my favorites bookshelf when I finish reading.

I’m looking forward to picking up the youth edition of Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man ($) called Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy. ($) I plan to read the adult version myself and the youth version with my son.

Currently reading: The Downstairs Girl ($) by Stacey Lee

The House of the Spirits ($) by Isabelle Allende (on pause with this one as it was pretty heavy to read for me right now)

Currently listening to: Work in Progress ($) by Leanne and Steve Ford

Up next: Jayber Crow ($) by Wendell Berry, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man ($) by Emmanuel Acho, Garvey’s Choice ($) by Nikki Grimes, and The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together ($) by Heather McGhee

In case you are looking for book recommendations for kids (or yourself!), gift ideas for all ages or want to peek into my TBR List for 2021, head over to the 52 Seasons Book Shop on Bookshop.org.

COMMUNITY

Travel the world and learn about food and culture with your little ones through the adventures of *Waffles and Mochi on Netflix and then Pass the Love :)

"Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." - Desmond Tutu

Thank you for taking time out of your day to read 52 Seasons. I’d love to hear your feedback and ideas so that we can grow together.

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