The Summerland Advocate-Messenger - Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community

It seems like I've been waiting for months for this. Now it feels so good as I open my front door and feel the heat of the spring sun on my skin.

I know that the soil in my garden, too, is feeling that warm touch of sunshine.

May, I welcome you into my world. So this week I celebrated May Day with not only my great-grandchildren but also friends.

Small containers were filled with treats and, out of tradition, taken to their houses. The original tradition I learned, leaving the treats on a door step, ringing the doorbell and disappearing, wasn't practiced. Regardless how a person did it, the welcome spring treats were well received.

If you research May Day, it was started many years ago and was a Labor Day event in other countries. It was also a welcome to Earth's flower season.

I like that and it is how I choose to celebrate May Day.

Flower season has been a bit chilly this spring. Gardeners have had to closely watch the temperatures and also battle windy conditions. Then we are still begging for rain.

The combination of those conditions hasn't deterred gardeners. My garden friends have prepared their veggie plots and early crops have been planted. Flower gardeners have held back due to the frost dates, but May 1 is here, so look out garden centers!

I have been digging in my flower bed, sharing pieces of perennials and oh yes, digging dandelions.

I'm also watching how the trees are budding and not so patiently waiting for lilacs to bust with flower buds.

As I dig those perennials for division and even as I look over the lilac bush, I just can't help but think of friends and family who are all a part of my garden. Without them I wouldn't have the collection of plants that I have.

Don't be afraid of digging and dividing perennials. That's half the fun of them, sharing with friends.

If you research division of plants, there are suggested times of the season to do it. Not in my garden. If a friend wants a piece, I say why not dig at the moment.

Spring seems to be a good time for me to dig before the soil hardens due to summer conditions.

I protect the roots in plastic so they don't dry out before replanting. Usually they are put in a box and they are off to their new home.

Once planted I hope the new owner thinks of me when they get blooms from the plants.

Even the veggie garden allows for sharing with friends. You can share starter plants or the produce you grow.

Wouldn't a box of perennials with perhaps a blooming annual be a fun May Basket to receive?

May Day is past and for me the day will always have memories of pretty little crepe paper-covered baskets, filled with sweet treats, I received as a young girl. I was a country kid and when May Day rolled around I so wanted to live in town as I thought everyone ran around their neighborhood ringing doorbells and leaving pretty baskets of treats. That probably wasn't so, but I was often gifted with a May basket from a town friend and I so thought it was very cool.

On the morning of May Day my kitchen was filled with the aroma of fresh baked buttermilk brownies to put in May baskets. My morning was busy making the basket deliveries to great-grandchildren and friends.

There was still time in the day to head out to the flower garden and dig yet a few more plants for division and fill a box or two for another type of May Basket to gift to a garden friend.

Yes, I think I will celebrate the month of May welcoming Earth's flower season.

I hope you too can celebrate the warm sun, trees budding out and perhaps a box filled with green plants.

May Day can be more than one day. Let's fill the season with fun times with friends and family as Mother Earth brings us flower season.