Hoping For Fresh Snowballs For Memorial Day...

 Decades ago my mom planted a snowball bush near my childhood home. She planted it next to a rain gutter outlet where, not only did it get water from the sprinklers, but received a healthy dose of water every time it rained.

When we built a house across the street, we did the same thing, planted a snowball bush where the rain water flowed. It flourished. When we moved a few years ago, we had to put in a yard. One thing we wanted was to do the same thing my mom did, the same thing we did.

So, that's what we ended up doing.

Last year we found a tiny plant and dug a hole at the base of a rain gutter outlet. This spring, we're seeing some tiny snowballs.

Each spring the snowballs at the old house were so beautiful, huge, white, incredible. We always hoped they would last until the end of May so we could cut off some of the snowballs and put them on my parent's gravestone. Almost every year, the didn't make it. If you know anything about the snowball bushes, the snowballs are very fragile. A light breeze could destroy them. We even tried when they bloomed late in the spring to take some to the cemetery. We ended up with a car full of white pedals.

We live at a little higher latitude now. Things progress a little slower up here. I'm hoping that these little snowballs will last until the end of May so we can take them with us. It might happen, it might now. At least we can say we tried.

Here's hoping.

Snowballs And Cemeteries...

I don't recall exactly when my mom planted a snowball bush in front of our house, but she did and because it was planted directly in front of a downspout, the bush received a lot of water. Over the years the plant has evolved until only the upper branches sprout snowballs. It's kind of a weird-looking bush right now, but I still love it.

Since snowball bushes always seem to bloom around Memorial Day, we would always clip off a few snowballs and take them to the cemetery to place on my father's headstone. It was always nice to take something from our yard as a memoir for a loved one.

Following my mother's example, we planted our own snowball bush and we placed it directly in front of a downspout. This weekend we'll clip snowballs--twice as many--and take them to the cemetery. And, again, I'll feel good taking something from our yard to honor my parents.

Of course, within a few days there will either be a heavy rainstorm, or windstorm (or both...) and all the pretty white petals will go away. But, for at least for one weekend, they will look beautiful.