What flower shall I photograph to add to Flowers for Mom for Mother’s Day? Is there a certain flower that you associate with your mother?
As I build this photo series, there are many days on which I feel called to create something unique to mark an occasion. May 4th is one such day. It is the birthday shared by my husband and youngest daughter. In a garden nurtured by a dear friend I call the Flower Fairy, I found sweet woodruff and ajuga growing side by side. To me, the delicate white flower is like my daughter, and the tall purple flower, my husband. They are each wonderfully unique, growing together and making the world a better place as they bloom.
My mother’s birthday in March posed a photo challenge. While walking with friends we passed many classic spring flowers showing their colors, but I was not feeling inspired to claim any of them as “the” flower of the day to celebrate March 11th. Then I found it on an incredible tree I had never seen before. Thanks to a handy app, my friend identified it as a royal empress tree – the perfect flower for my mother’s birthday! Thank you to those who shared your own flower photos on her birthday via social media, e-mail and text. Mom was delighted as we looked at them all.
Many things become more beautiful when shared. Flowers are one such thing. In celebration of mothers, the Jackson Hospital Foundation is giving people the opportunity to make a gift to support their healthcare work in honor or memory of mothers. In so doing, an image specially selected for the honoree from my Flowers for Mom series will be hung in a sun kissed walkway that connects two of the hospital towers. For my mother, I find this to be a perfect way to recognize her on Mother’s Day. May the images honoring her Alzheimer’s journey be a cause to “smell the roses” for many individuals in years to come.
