I realized the other day that I had not posted in since June 2011. Facebook has become a shortcut of sharing pictures and information and this blogger has been lazy.
So what led me back to NCGram today was the promise of Spring. When I walked outside for my daily walk, I noticed that the hyacinths I planted last Fall were beginning to bloom.
I love flowers but have never had a green thumb. When we moved to NC, I decided to plant things that reminded me of others (and hope that they survived). We planted a forsythia bush, daylilies and hydrangea in memory of my grandmother. We planted a camellia bush last Fall, it hasn't bloomed yet but seems to be okay. My grandmother always had a yard full of beautiful flowers. I picked what I hope are easy ones and so far most have continue to bloom. We planted rhododendron in memory of my parents. The wild ones are so beautiful at the family cabin. We planted a Japanese maple tree in memory of the one in Scott's grandparents' yard. I have daffodils that Nikki & Josh gave me one Mothers Day. Not been so lucky with a rose tree (from Josh & Nikki), it survived but the beetles kept eating it until I let them win. I had tulips because Amy & I love them, never had much luck though. When I buy annuals for the porch, I always buy geraniums. The year before Daddy died, we took some to his sister for her balcony planter. She had moved to a retirement facility and he thought she was missing her own flowers.
All of this comes back to the hyacinths. When I was little we lived next door to my grandparents and my great grandmother. She had hyacinths planted in the front yard of our house (which had previously been their original homeplace) and she had planted some on my great grandfather's grave. In her final years, her sight was mostly gone and she didn't get outside much, but every Spring I would bring her hyacinths when they bloomed. She always smiled and I think it was because she felt like he was close again. Now I remember them both with this sweet flower.
We are told that smell and memories are closely related because the olfactory bulb is part of the brain's limbic system, an area so closely associated with memory and feeling it's sometimes called the "emotional brain," smell can call up memories and powerful responses almost instantaneously (How Stuff Works).
I hope your Spring calls up wonderful memories for you.
