I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996. At the time I had a son, 18, and my youngest daughter Amy, then age 13, at home. I was given eight months to live. My job as a nurse ended, so came the depression and side effects of chemo and radiation. There was very little money and Amy, knowing that I loved roses, brought me a 10-inch piece of a wild rose for Mother's Day. I planted it outside my carport, and as the years passed, it grew. I put lattice on the outside, and the vines grew until the lattice was completely covered. When my home became in very dire need of repair, the lattice had to come down, but I still have two rose bushes beside my carport--a constant reminder of the love my daughter brought to me on that Mother's Day almost 10 years ago. —Unsigned
About 15 years ago, I was becoming a gardener. There was a bank going from our yard down into a field [covered] by field grass. I had started digging it all out bit by bit, replacing it with perennials. I had also started clearing out the area under wild plum trees and sumac that run along our yard. All spring when someone would ask "where's Mom?", my husband or kids would just point toward the field.
Mother's Day weekend came, and as I was driving home, there in front of our house was a truckload pile of black dirt, and at the top of the pile was a yardstick with a big pink bow attached to it! What a surprise--it was the best Mother's Day gift I could have received. We still talk about this.
—Unsigned
Every year my children (now 19 and 16) get bedding plants for me for Mother's Day. When they were little, they would go in the greenhouse alone and pick out a flat or two of their favorite flowers, and I would go back and write a check. Then we could go home and plant everything together. It made for a wonderful Mother's Day. They still go to the greenhouse and bring home surprises each year!
—Patti Sanders
For many years now I have planted the annuals in my mother's garden for Mother's Day. I have also added some perennials so the work is less and variety more. She loves to sit in the yard and enjoy the flowers as she sips iced tea and reads her latest book. It's a gift that [keeps] on giving for the entire summer!
—Tracie Koss
The first Mother's Day gift I remember was as a second grader. The year was 1956, and I was the youngest of five children in Louisiana. All of us second graders had ornamental pepper seeds our teacher gave us to plant in our own pot and soil. We were taught how to water and care for the new seedlings. Wow, they were beautiful--and all the colors you could imagine. The plants were nice and bushy and to see the little peppers grow was exciting. When the time was right, we wrapped the pots in colorful florist foil, put bows around them, took them home to [give] to our moms for Mother's Day. My dad was home before Mom was and saw the peppers and decided to eat them. You see, my Dad loved any kind of peppers, the hotter the better (he was Cajun). He didn't realize that it was my gift to Mom. I was very upset. Years have gone by and my dad has long since been gone. My mom is in her 80's now and not in good health. She was the ultimate gardener and had the biggest green thumb of anyone I ever knew. Now all she can really do is look at the yard and not be a part of creating some new plantings or beds or vegetable gardens. So a couple of years ago my sister, brother and I bought her some dogwood trees and crape myrtles for Mother's Day. They were planted in her front yard near her window so she can see them clearly. Most of my memories of my Mom are about cooking or gardening, and she gave me the gifts that were once hers. I love to garden and cook for friends and family. This year I'll get her a Myers lemon tree.
—Unsigned
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