Honoring ALL Mothers

   

Happy Mother's Day!

    
     I got to thinking about my wonderful mother, Marie, and how special she will forever be to all her children.  And there are so many ways by which women are mothers.  One of those includes fictious mothers we may not be able to physically touch, but who are still real and vivid in our emotions.  To that end, I honor Miss Ella Dunnigan from my Goodbye Lie series.  So many

Miss Ella Dunnigan

readers tell me how much 
they admire Miss Ella, matriarch of the Irish-American family in the 1880 and 90s on Amelia Island, Florida. In reading the family's story, we soon realize she is the kind of person who sets the standard for motherhood, what with her gentle and caring ways toward her little ones, kin, friends and strangers.  She has her frustrations and regrets, like we all have,  yet doing what is right, drives her, in most matters ...   
     My sister, Peggy Brown, surprised me with the lovely Mother's Day roses pictured in the photo. Since Miss Ella is renowned for growing her own roses at Dunnigan Manor, I want to share their beauty with her (through the magic of imagination and electronics) and with you.  As human beings, we create memories every moment and those memories of our mothers are forever-cuddles to our hearts. Thank you, Lord, for such a gift.

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The Goodbye Lie Series 🠈available here

Lazy Gardener's Lush Flowers

Some may call this simple idea lazy.

Others may praise me for my economy of time.  I like the instant gratification of it plus the beauty.  You have curb appeal and you never have to use a shovel or gloves or get your hands dirty! 

What is it? Go to the garden shop and buy a flat of, in this case begonias, which are annuals.  Without counting, I think there are 24 plants in one of three flats I took home and perched on my front landscape timber. My method? Leaving each flat intact, place one or all in a location according to the required light instructions on the growing card which comes with the flowers, remember to water them and there you have your instant flower garden!  I heard once there is fertilizer in the container dirt already, so no need to pay for that.  Naturally, you can dig a hole and insert each plant into the earth, like *Miss Ella and **Peeper do.  After all, this is still America.  But if you haven’t the time or you don’t want to strain your back,  try my easy and tested method of gardening.  The pictures prove it works.  This is two months worth of growth, by the way.  Should the plants get too leggy, I may be forced  

to bring out the scissors and give them a haircut.  Even this lazy gardener will make that effort, if necessary.

In addition, I bought some moss roses (not pictured here), also known as portulacas or purslanes.  I think there are six to a flat. I cut them into 3s and placed them at the base of a rose bush and another section on a large yard rock.  I love moss roses because they don’t require much water at all in this Florida heat.  They will get leggy, but either pinch them back or cut them back, saving the pieces.  Toss the pieces on dirt/sand and they often will root on their own, making a patch of brilliant ground cover for you.  Happy flowering!  

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*Miss Ella and **Peeper are prime characters in The Goodbye Lie series set on Amelia Island, Florida. Miss Ella is a respected rosarian in town and Peep likes her hydrangea bush aka her door step plant. Catching Aunt Noreen clipping a stem to root makes Peeper happy because Noreena couldn't grow a weed if she smothered it in manure and spit tobacco juice on it.