Meme Mose

I love the nostalgic quality of flowers. Just as a song can evoke a memory or a time, I associate certain flowers with people in my life. Sweet peas and weeping willows remind me of Meme Mose. We lived next door to my maternal grandmother so, needless to say, we spent a lot of time around her house. There was a porch type of swing underneath a willow tree, and whenever she would swing with us she sang "how would you like to go up in a swing...." in her warbley voice. To this day, I can't swing without that tune going through my head. I've sung it many times to my kids, and now to my grandkids as we enjoy our porch swing. And of course, it isn't quite right unless you sing it in a warbley voice.

I had to grow sweet peas. First of all, I love them. But just as important...they're a Meme Mose flower. In her back yard was the washhouse (which was a little building they stored all sorts of things in, and I was always dying to rummage through but seldom got to), and by the washhouse was an old fashioned metal gate that led to the road. Sweet peas grew all over the fence beside the gate. I loved getting bouquets because sweet peas are the perfect bouquet flower. The stems are stiff and the perfect length to gather into a little nosegay. And they're purple. What more could you ask for?