Remembering Flowers

 Remembering flowers from my past, I think of my Grandmother Rebecca Rugg Miner. She loved flowers. In the summer she had a flowerbed of pansies, lilies of the valley, and the long green porch boxes filled with red geraniums. The pansies were her favorite. She said they reminded her of little boys with dirty faces. In the winter her inside windowsills were filled with cuttings from the geraniums. Their leaves had a spicy aroma when rubbed. At the end of her upstairs hall was a huge Christmas cactus with its green leaves and deep pink that blossoms cascaded down the sides of a stainless steel cream separator bowl.

I can’t really remember special flowers for my Grandmother Anna Nichols Kalp Beck, but she loved the huge oak tree in her side yard. She would often sit in a metal yard chair enjoying the shade.
My Mother Sybil Miner Beck loved her roses; often she had started them from cuttings. She would snip a rose stem, place it under a Mason jar, and cover it with straw for some time. She’d keep it covered, occasionally checking on its progress, until it took root and began to grow. She had several colors from a pale yellow to a bright crimson. I think her favorite was a parchment colored rose that had a large bloom.
My mother-in-law Retha Johnson Morrison always had bleeding heart baskets hanging on her front porch. I can remember sitting on the swing with Cindy Morrison Beck while we were courting and watching the humming birds visiting the baskets.
My wife Cindy’s favorite flowers were daisies. It was great for me in the summer. I’d often pick the wild daisies and make a bouquet with whatever other flowers were blooming at the time. The bouquet was there as a surprise for her when she came home after teaching. I won’t say I was cheap, but I will admit to being frugal.
My older Daughter Amanda Beck Yoder’s favorite is the calla lily. She had a large bouquet of them in her wedding. I bought a large framed picture of calla lilies as a wedding gift. It hangs on their living room wall.
My daughter-in-law Renee Largent Beck carried a wedding bouquet of wildflowers and daisies to honor my wife Cindy. Cindy died in March and their wedding was in August. Renee’s favorite flower is forget-me-nots.
My younger daughter Anna Beck Prinkey loves sunflowers. Sunflowers made up much of her wedding bouquet. The sunflowers were the usual color of gold with dark brown centers, but I don’t think it mattered what color they were. Now that there are so many variations available.