I have so many sweet memories of my mom. She had a reputation of being a great cook and was always feeding everyone. I’m not too bad in the kitchen, but mom never liked us to help her much except to do dishes. We did shared a love for gardening, but my mom really excelled at house plants, me not so much.
She had several different kinds of plants. I think orchids were her favorite but mine was her gardenia. When it was in bloom she would often let me pick a flower and wear it in my hair to school. It is a real treat for your sense of smell and sight. They say fragrance plays an important role in memories and the smell of the gardenia is sweet and intoxicating. It also has beautiful creamy white petals that slowly unfold like a graceful dance into a beautiful rose-like flower.
Unfortunately I’m not as good as my mom in growing them. But every so often, in the Spring when they are in the stores, I can’t resist bringing one home. So this one was so beautiful and it was begging me to take it home, so of course I did. The sight and smell of the pretty white blossoms always bring back happy memories of my childhood and my mom.