In my recent cleaning, I came across a notebook that had leaves in it, and a few words on each page. I made that notebook with Grandmother’s help just a few years ago, when dh and I were looking at houses. There was one we were putting in a bid on, and it had the most extensive array of bushes and trees and plants. She and I walked that yard together, and I pulled a leaf off of each kind, and stapled it to a page, and wrote down what she said it was. She amazed me with her ability to identify the plants even without blooms, just by the leaves.

My Grandmother has always loved flowers. When she was able to tend them, her yard was a riot of colorful blooms from early spring until late in the fall. She set out pansies each year until well into her 80s. And she transplanted her own bulbs until my mother and uncle begged her to stop. She knew just what to do to keep each one healthy and thriving. Even in the house, she had beautiful plants!

For those of you not as blessed as I am, Proflowers has developed the Florapedia. It’s a flower guide that lets you know how to take care of different plants as well as offering decorating tips, and ideas for which plants to give for different occasions. It’s not surprising to me at all that the folks I’ve come to think of when I think of having flowers delivered have come up with this great resource. And I’ll confess, there’s more than a thing or two in the care guide that I did not know.

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