50+ Lifestyles

Publisher’s Corner

By Eloise Graham

My Memories of May Flowers

May Day and May Baskets

Do any of you have fond memories of making May baskets, filling them with flowers and candy and then delivering them to neighbors? My mom would walk me to a neighbor’s house (I was probably pre-school) and I would sneak up to the door with my basket, ring the doorbell, leave the basket and run back to my mom. Then we would pretend we were just out on a walk. The baskets were made out of construction paper folded up to make a container, maybe similar to the Chinese carry-out cartons. Only these homemade baskets were much smaller. I am pretty sure the candy I used was after-dinner mints, lemon drops and maybe a few M&Ms. Flowers would usually be violets and grape hyacinths from out of our yard.

I was sure I had made it to the design elite when, in 2nd and 3rd grade Brownies we had sheets of heavy wallpaper samples to choose from. Some paint store had donated their old wallpaper books to our Troop. This was sooo much prettier than the plain colored construction paper I had used in the past. Floral designs, plaids, bold colors, paisleys, pastels, stripes… what an array to choose from. Rather than making the little boxlike baskets with cut-out or string handles, we rolled the sheet of wallpaper into the shape of a cone. It was probably about the size of a waffle cone from Whitey’s. We then glued the edges so it would retain its shape and used a paper punch to make holes for a fuzzy pip-cleaner handle. The candy was about the same, with maybe a few individually wrapped butterscotch or peppermints. These baskets were much bigger and held more goodies. They were even large enough to accommodate daffodils, tulips and lilac branches.

Mother’s Day corsages and floral gifts

Do you remember Mother’s Day corsages? It seems on Mother’s Day Sunday everyone was wearing corsages or boutonnières. Some were red, some were white. Many of the corsages were carnations. I remember hearing that red corsages were to be worn in honor of a mother that was still living and the white corsages were to be worn in memory of a mother that had died.

We didn’t spend money on florists’ corsages. My mom made corsages from the flowers that were blooming in our yard. She would create one for herself with a white tulip surrounded with sprigs of bridal veil spirea, and my sister and I would wear red and pink tulips.

I had this red versus white theme embedded in my mind. When I was eleven or so, my older brother and his wife sent Mom an orchid corsage ordered from a local florist. I was totally confused. The orchid was yellow and purple. How was that going to work? They were not going to be able to be home for Mother’s Day so they sent her a corsage as a gift. She was very pleased, and wore it with pride.

Some restaurants give their female patrons a single carnation on Mother’s Day. This tradition was started over 100 years ago by Anna Jarvis. For more information about her, read Mary Schricker Gemberling’s article on page 22 of this issue.

Do you remember planting a flower in a cup, either in school or in Sunday School, to take home and give to your mother? I remember the flower was usually a marigold, pansy or petunia. Each child got a paper cup, some dirt and the small seedling flower to plant, nurture and give to Mom. I guess this red/white thing didn’t pertain to flowers that were gifts.

Memorial Day bouquets and vases

I have a few memories of Memorial Day picnics, frolicking with cousins I didn’t know very well. My family would drive about twenty miles to the town my dad grew up in. We’d meet up with other members of his family at an aunt’s home. She had a large yard with a row of peony bushes along the side property line. We’d pick big bouquets of the fragrant blooms and place in mason jars or vases. Then drive to the cemetery and decorate the graves there. When ever I smell peonies, memories of playing with cousins, gathering flowers, solemn ceremonies and big picnics come to mind.

I hope you have enjoyed my trip down memory lane thinking about May and it’s flowers. I hope it made you think of some of your floral memories.