I had to had been about seven years old when my Mom taught me about the May Day flowers on door step tradition IN Europe. This was well before I would have ever imagined creating and owning one of the most successful flower shops in the Mohawk Valley; ROSE PETALS FLORIST 343 South 2nd Street, Little Falls NY.
I Was blessed to had grown up on a dairy farm just outside of Little Falls city line. We had all the beauty that can only be imagined with the many trees, shrubs and bushes.
There was always cat-tails, pussy willows, milk-weeds and black-eyed Susan’s growing close by as the various species of butterflies flew lightly over the flowers near our lawn.
We had beautiful rose bushes blooming in the east sun starting in June of each year as the large Peonies bushes in light pink and fuchsia would bloom in the spring in the north central part of our lawn.
We had Beautiful tall Yellow chrysanthemums growing along the entire border of the west side of the lawn four feet deep.
The Beautiful yellow backdrop off the fascia pennies always stayed with me, hence the very colors I’ve always used as my business colors for ROSE PETALS FLORIST!
My Mom taught me about May Day flowers and the practice of leaving flowers at the doorsteps of others in good will to express celebrating spring through beautiful flowers.
I remember her telling me that the practice is very prevalent ln Europe.
It can be my French heritage part that made me want to take take part in this neat idea.
My Mom grabbed the colorful construction paper and showed me how to make a cone. The makeshift cone of 1972 is what I now know, served as a flower sleeve.
The two of us walked outside and picked anything that was in bloom late april early May. I remember that the vegetation was so beautiful and different from how it is today. I can remember things differently passably because I was a child then or maybe the spring was prettier on that hill in 1972. The sun seems to had shown so differently when standing in children’s shoes
I remember searching the grounds all around our house and picking early spring flowers.
There were trees outside the west of our house and around those trees were tulips blooming well before any leaves would block the sunlight.
I gathered the tulips, the pussy-willows and branches and various greenery and placed the bunch carefully in the flower sleeve. I Made three bouquets for this project and I made a small vase if flowers for my teacher, my Mom.
My Mom gave me permission to leave the flowers at the doorsteps of houses within a half mile from our house. There were three houses
I was so excited as I went on my way to set a May Day flowers bouquet flowers at my Dads Aunt Mary’s House, then to Grandmas and the last place was a women I would ride to church with named Rosie!
Once I delivered the flowers, I RAN back up the road to our farm.
Life was different back then and my Mom knew how long it would take for me to get back home and little that I knew, she was able to know exactly where I was through the minutes of my adventure and without cell phones.
A little while after I returned home, the house phone would start ringing. Everyone loved their May Day Flowers as I Learned first hand about a gesture that is still in common use through europe – May Day Flowers on the Doorstep as a good deed and celebrating springs arrival.
Those are the days to always cherish. Almost fifty years has gone by since my Mom taught me about May Day. That lesson is still so fresh in my mind that with the correct lighting from the sun and the correct spring scent in the air, for a moment, I’m that Seven year old girl next to Mom learning about May Day Flowers on a door-step. Its Priceless!