My mom has a green thumb and grows beautiful chrysanthemum plants in her yard. Many years ago, I remember seeing her pinch the tips to encourage flower growth, staking and tying the plants up for support. The most beautiful color that I’ve seen is a golden yellow and burgundy color. This particular flower reminds me of a variation of spider mum but in smaller proportions.

Falloween Chrysanthemum Flower Arrangement

The chrysanthemum is a gardeners delight in the late summer and fall. The colorful flowers are commonly used in floral arrangements with shades of white, yellow, red and purple. They are very easy to grow and propagate. They vary in growth habits, color and forms. The blooms range from a large puffy spider mum to a small button mum. Their height ranges from 12 to 40 inches, spread from 12 to 24 inches, mounded or upright.

When I see chrysanthemums it reminds me of my mom along with all of the other beautiful flowers in her yard.

Falloween Floral Arrangement with Chrysanthemums

See more of our seasonal floral arrangements.

Chinese New Year is celebrated on the 1st day of the First Moon of the lunar calendar and varies from January 21st to February 19th until the 15th of the moon. Preparation for Chinese New Year begins weeks in advance when the house is thoroughly cleaned, plates of oranges, tangerines with leaves intact and Pomelo’s (grapefruits) are placed in the house including the container for rice and a Lien Hop. If you haven’t heard of a Lien Hop, it is a round container with many sections. It is filled with dry goods such as preserved ginger, candies & sweets to serve to guests and relatives. The family celebrates with an elaborate nine course meal on Chinese New Year’s Eve such as a fresh cooked chicken with all parts including the head and feet, noodles, Fat Choi Soup for wealth, prosperity and long life. The flowers used in Chinese New Year celebrations are water Narcissus and plum blossoms.

On Chinese New Year, children receive good luck money in a Lai See envelope and wear new clothes and are told not eat anything that is sour or your clothes will wear out sooner.

There are twelve animal signs for the Chinese Zodiac. The animal signs for one another in an established order, and are repeated every twelve years. These are the signs: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

2010 is the year of the Tiger.

The origin of Valentine’s Day varies with some experts stating St. Valentine, a Roman who was put to death due to his beliefs. St. Valentine died on February 14th. There are many other varying opinions as to origin of Valentine’s Day.

February 14th eventually became the day for giving & receiving love messages, flowers, candies and expressing your love to your special one in your life. Children in school exchange Valentine’s Day cards with candies. A higher percentage of women purchase gifts for Valentine’s Day whereas men purchase red roses for their love ones.

Speaking of Valentine’s Day, the most special Valentine’s gift I ever received was a creative one based on the five senses. My husband and I were dating at the time when he presented me with a gift for each of the fives senses; touch was a stuffed animal, sight was a picture, smell was a dozen red roses, hearing was a recording of love songs and taste was a large heart-shaped candy on a stick. That is one Valentine’s Day that I will never forget.

So what do Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day have in common? Sunday, February 14, 2010.

Gung Hay Fat Choy and Happy Valentine’s Day,

Patty

This article was originally written two years ago for a gardening magazine submission in memory of my father. I thought this story would make for a great first blog post.

Yellow Pansy

My father, Lip came to this country when he was ten years old and had to work hard to learn the English language. He attended school in Pasadena, California and had a special friend in class named Patricia who taught him how to read and write. He always had a smile on his face and as an adult, made the extra effort to help people especially to those people who are less fortunate by giving away electronics or would not charge a fee to those who could not afford to pay. He was employed and later was self-employed as a TV and radio technician until a series of strokes and heart attacks in the mid-1980’s forced him into pre-mature retirement.

His disabilities limited his mobility, but Dad liked to help my mother maintain the garden by sitting down or kneeling down to enjoy nature while using his bare hands to pick up piles of leaves or feeding the birds. My parent’s yard was planted with many types of fruits, flowers and a beautiful dichondra lawn. Fruits such as the Santa Rosa plum, white and yellow peaches, guava and flowers such as roses, camellias, carnations, fuchsias and many others but no annuals were ever planted in the yard. My parents said the reason why they planted so many fruits was because while they were younger they had enough teeth to eat hard fruits, and as they got older they could only eat soft fruits.

Their next door neighbor of over 30 years, Mr. Rodriguez planted annuals amongst the permanent flowers in the flower bed. One particular annual was the pansy. Pansies come in many colors but my dad was fascinated by the way they looked. He commented to Mr. Rodriguez that pansies always smile at you. Over the years, pansies have been planted in the neighboring yard.

Throughout the years, my parents maintained their yard by themselves or with the help of my sister and I until my father passed away in 1997. Eventually the dichondra became too much for my mom to maintain and was overtaken by weeds and California poppies. It took many years to convince my mother to have her lawn replanted.

Last fall, the weeds were replaced with new Marathon II sod, a few new roses were planted, the flower bed along the fence was cleaned up, and plants were dug up then replanted along with some annuals for the first time. I surprised my mother by purchasing some majestic giant pansies and my mother commented that Dad said they had a happy face that always smiled at you.

It is now the spring of 2005, and the front yard is beautiful. The neighbors have complimented my mother’s front yard. The pansies are happy with a smiley face along with an abundant amount of California poppies in the yard. Everything from pansies in a nursery, courtyards or formal gardens remind our family of my dad, who is buried at the most beautiful resting place in the San Gabriel Valley, Rose Hills.