The seasons of life come and go, but there are moments when everything comes full circle. This past week, my little granddaughters and their parents spent the week at our house. One morning, I took my youngest granddaughter over to my mother’s house to plant marigolds. My mother passed away in January, and here it is May! We are preparing to sell my mother’s home, and the yard needs a great deal of work. Each and every year for the past few decades, I have helped my mother plant marigolds and other flowers in her gardens.
This will be the last time I plant marigolds at my mother’s house. The timing was right that we could do the planting just before Mother’s Day. It was a very festive occasion with my little granddaughter not yet three years old, carrying the flowers, one by one, to set into the earth. It turned out to be a wonderful morning, full of lessons to be learned and sweet remembrances of days gone by.
At her tender age, Emily is full of wonder at the natural world. We found worms and she squealed with delight. She does not like insects at this point in her life, so she screamed at a passing bee. She told me that she loved flowers, and in particular, she said, “I love these Mary’s flowers.”
Children do say the sweetest things! According to much that is written about the meaning of marigolds, they have been referred to as ‘Mary’s gold’. It is believed that early Christians left these lovely flowers at the altar of the Virgin Mary as an offering. (To Emily, they are just pretty flowers, and Mary is a lot easier to say than marigold!)
Emily carried each plant carefully, lest a flower break off. And some did happen to bend and break. We collected those on the porch to put in some water. I was amazed at how hard Emily worked at this gardening task. She took her job very seriously and wanted to help with every detail. She loved putting her foot on the shovel to dig a hole for each flower. She talked endlessly about butterflies and dirt, about bugs and sticks she found on the ground.
It occurred to me suddenly that I had begun gardening at a very young age myself. I remembered all those trips to the garden center with my mother and grandmother to choose just the right marigold flowers for my mother to bring home. I remembered the flats of orange and yellow flowers, the wide- open blue sky, and the lazy clouds drifting above me.
It is not easy to lose our loved ones, and yet, they pass on such a legacy of love. Standing in my mother’s garden, I felt such a sense of peace. The youngest generation was continuing with the traditions of the past. Here in the garden, I felt God’s grace in such a pure and holy way. It was as if I felt His warm embrace, reassuring me that love does come full circle.
The seasons of life do change. Our hearts must surrender our sorrows for joy, and the love lives on within us for all time. We pass that love on from one generation to the next.
The garden is indeed full of ‘Mary’s gold’. God’s mercy and grace abounds everywhere we look. It is good to work in the garden. It is good to celebrate life and the blooms that flourish so beautifully. And whether we are little children or full-grown adults, the garden holds mystery and wonder, vines of understanding to ponder, and dreams to seize with passion.
Mother’s Day has come and gone. Lazy clouds drift in a deep blue sky. We open our hearts and our minds to new beginnings; the circle of love demands all that we have to give. It is a circle without end…
“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them.”: Psalm 34:7
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”: Rev. 22:13
This is just so dear, Linda.
If anyone understands family and the place of a grandmother in the ‘heart’ of things, you do. I often reflect on all that I have learned from your family, and I am deeply grateful. Thank you for sharing all that love, and all the incredible faith stories. It inspires others and it means so very much.
This is such a heartwarming and hopeful reflection, an important reminder of why we were put on this earth.
Love is the only thing that ever really matters. I think of your fond remembrances of your grandparents’ cabin and how you kept it in the family. All those wondrous family memories safely kept so beautifully. The little niches in the house became little niches in your heart; you carry all that beauty within your soul. That is what love does!
Indeed love does!
🙂 🙂 🙂
I felt it deeply Linda. Just being a part of the circle with each new generation is such a blessing to teach and pass on.
Ours is an orchard, a flower garden and two raspberry patches. Adding new trees for and with each grandchild when they get old enough to help care and taste the fruit of their tree.
Oh, I love the idea of an orchard! How wonderful! When I was a little girl, we had two Mulberry trees, one with purple berries and one with white berries. Each year, I so looked forward to those berries. Even today, nothing compares to how good they tasted. I thank God for those trees and the childhood memories I have of picking that fruit. Your grandchildren are indeed blessed!
So sweet and precious, Linda. I shall never look at another marigold without renaming it “Mary’s gold”.
It’s too cold here to start planting annuals. In a week or two I’ll start when there’s no threat of frost.
Enjoy those little granddaughters! They grow up so fast. Praying all goes well with the sale of your Mother’s house.
The little ones do grow up so fast! We are having a bit of a cold spell at the moment. However, the roses are starting to bloom, and they are beautiful! (You are wise to wait until the threat of frost is gone.) Thank you for the well-wishes with my mother’s house. We still have much to do, but we are making progress!
Linda, I’m not sure I tapped in and thanked you for replying. Keep us posted on how the work goes with your mother’s house. I know the different emotions you will feel as you work and get things settled. My mom has been gone for several years and believe me, I miss her as much today as I did when she first passed away. Moms are so wonderful. I feel your mother must have been a very precious person in your life. I’m praying that God will bless and comfort you, as all the wonderful memories come to your mind and heart.
I thank you for your prayers! My mother and I were very close. She was a friend as well as a mom! I do cherish the memories. Our beloveds are gifts from God. Each one is precious and one of a kind.
what a loving tribute to your Mother and generations of gardening women!
I too love Mary’s gold, planted heaps here when I moved in but something ate them. A large self propagated bush arose, the biggest one I’ve seen … but as soon as the flowers started opening this too was eaten 🙁 Every single leaf, so I will pass my remaining seeds onto a friend further up north and pray the gold eating bugs aren’t there. They are widely used in India for weddings, offering garlands, etc … so very significant there 🙂
I am sorry that your marigolds got eaten up! 🙂 In Virginia, we have voles, and they eat up all my tulip bulbs. They love tulips! I have tried many things, such as putting the bulbs in cages when I plant them, but nothing works. The voles always manage to get my tulips! I have also had caterpillars who ate my tomatoes. (All God’s little creatures get hungry!)
lol yes amazing what they will go for … never heard of voles before so glad to hear about a new lil critter who loves tulips! Keep gardening 🙂
There are always surprises to be found in the garden! Fresh air, growing things, and sunshine, this makes the garden a wonderful place to be.
so true and I am blessed to have a good sized one … some neighbours travel out to family or the community garden to make one 🙁
Wishing you many blessings in the garden and happy surprises! I love when I find something growing in a place where I did not plant it! I had thrown some old Iris bulbs into the woods because they did not seem good. Then, I found them blooming a few seasons later. 🙂 You just never know when something will bloom!
too true and what a glorious example 🙂
🙂 🙂 🙂
“The seasons of life do change. Our hearts must surrender our sorrows for joy, and the love lives on within us for all time. We pass that love on from one generation to the next.” A poignant reminder that we are here in this existence for brief moments that we must fill with love, compassion and joy. Our gifts to the next generation are memories of days such as you spent with Emily planting marigolds. In the years to come, she will remember the day she planted “Mary’s Flowers.”
Each season of life holds blessings…If we live our best in each and every season, we do create treasured memories. I hope Emily will remember this gardening day and I hope she will plant ‘flowers’ throughout her life. May these ‘flowers’ bloom from seeds of love that remain with her all of her life. She may not become a gardener, but the garden of life is full of possibilities!
Linda, it sounds like Emily is a budding gardener and will carry on her grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s legacy. Thank you for sharing this special time in the garden with us. I hope you write this post out to put with Emily’s treasures so she will have it in later years to read and remember.
That is a very good idea! I will print it out and save it for her. Time goes by so fast. Thanks to your suggestion, I will start a keepsake box for her, and for the other ones as well. One day, that will be a fun box to open…maybe on a sixteenth birthday!
Those marigolds are divine! I can just imagine your mom’s joy simply seeing them 💗 And yes, Love is all there is 💗
Marigolds are beautiful flowers! They always remind me of summer, but they bloom well into the fall. 🙂
For so many years, you planted marigolds and other flowers in hope. In recent days, you planted them as a goodbye, tenderly handing over a much loved yard as a blessing to the new owners. You tuck so much love into your giving, Linda, and with your precious granddaughter watching and doing as you do, you have taught her to love and give as you do. May new love come to be in your mum’s home. And may the God who watches over You fill your life with new blooms.
Thank you so very much! 🙂 I do hope the new owners will be happy in that house! There is nothing quite like a little garden to welcome you when you arrive home. Flowers make everything cheerful and there are so many to choose from. It is always hard for me to choose which flowers to plant because I fall in love with most of them. I do have some favorites, and marigolds are one of them. 🙂
I believe you were the one who taught me that marigolds were Mary’s Gold. These were the old-fashioned flowers I grew up knowing and loving. Of late, I’ve been having a longing for the old and for quiet. This marigold~post has done just that for me🧡🔆
Yes, the tried and true tends to stay with us! My mother always planted marigolds in the front gardens of the ranch house where I grew up until the age twelve. We moved to a new house after that in a town not so very away. Still, my earliest remembrances are of that house with a sea of yellow marigolds. Strange the things that tug at our hearts, the things we never forget.
Lovely post, Linda. Reading your precious telling of these stories gave me a lump in my throat! Emily sounds like a little angel. Many blessings to you, my friend! 🌞
Thank you! I wish you blessings as well! We must celebrate each and every season of our lives!
Absolutely! 🌞
🙂 🙂 🙂
What beautiful and tender moments for you and Emily, Linda. The circle of life, the stories and traditions live on in you from your mother and now you get the privilege of passing them on to your darling granddaughter. There certainly is joy to be found around children and double joy when we can spend time with them in the garden making new memories. God bless you and yours!
Wishing you blessings also! Spring is a special time for new beginnings! 🙂
I’m so sorry for your first mother’s day without your mother, but what a lovely way to spend the day. It helps to know that family traditions, and even family, carry on, doesn’t it? Bless you!
Wishing you blessings as well! Yes, we do carry on, day by day! 🙂
So lovely, Linda, although I know you must be missing your mother a great deal. I can smell those marigolds. They have such a distinctive smell. And I can so picture in video! your grandaughter and the worms! What a sweet time with her.
Marigolds do have a fragrance all their own! I love the larger ones because they give such a ‘pop’ of color. I do miss my mother, but I celebrate all the wonderful memories. She was one who stayed ‘young at heart’. I know she would want me to do the same. The little ones remind us that the moment at hand is an important moment. Every day is a new day to make memories that we want to remember!
Oh, this is so lovely, Linda. Your post filled me with peace in these troubled times. “Mary’s Flowers” is adorable.
I think “This will be the last time I plant marigolds at my mother’s house” could be the opening line of a poem or story. Such a lovely tradition, and now memory. Perhaps little Emily can plant flowers are your house, too–a new tradition.
That is such a happy thought…that Emily could begin planting Marigolds at my house! It is a wonderful idea! Thank you for suggesting that we start ‘new traditions’. I think this will be at the top of my list! 🙂
You’re so welcome, Linda. After I wrote it, I thought perhaps I was being presumptuous. I hope you do it!😊
🙂 🙂 🙂
A lovely post for Mother’s Day, Linda. Children are little fonts of wonder and enthusiasm, aren’t they? What fun. And I agree with you that getting our hands in the soil, whether planting flowers or trees or food, connects us with spirit. It just feels so good. <3 <3
Yes! There is nothing quite like gardening…fresh air, sunshine, watching things grow! There is always some element of surprise which makes it all the more fun! 🙂