The earliest Mother's Day celebrations we know of were ancient Greek spring celebrations in honor of Rhea, the mother of the gods; the ancient Romans also had another holiday, Matronalia, that was dedicated to Juno. But those were in honor of one particular mother. England's "Mothering Sunday," begun in the 1600's, is closer to what we think of as "Mother's Day." Celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent, "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England.

In 1907, Anna Jarvis started a drive to establish a national Mother's Day. In 1907 she passed out 500 white carnations at her mother's church in West Virginia--one for each mother in the congregation. In 1908, her mother's church held the first Mother's Day service, on May 10th (the second Sunday in May). That same day a special service was held at the Wanamaker Auditorium in Philadelphia, where Anna was from, which could seat no more than a third of the 15,000 people who showed up.

By 1909, churches in 46 states, Canada and Mexico were holding Mother's Day services. In the meantime, Ms. Jarvis had quit her job to campaign full time. She managed to get the World's Sunday School Association to help; they were a big factor in convincing legislators to support the idea. In 1912, West Virginia was the first state to designate an official Mother's Day. By 1914, the campaign had convinced Congress, which passed a joint resolution. President Woodrow Wilson signed the resolution, establishing an official national Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May.

Many countries of the world now have their own Mother's Day at different times of the year, but Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Japan, and Turkey join the US in celebrating Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May. Britain still celebrates Mothering Day on the fourth Sunday of Lent--but they now call it Mother's Day. By any name, and at any date, it's a special day to honor a special person.

Having trouble thinking of a gift? Why not do something a little different for Mother's Day? Instead of giving her a bouquet of roses, plant her a rose garden! If she already has a rose garden--add to it! If she lives in an apartment, consider a potted rose plant--many roses will do quite well in containers (ask us for suggestions).

Why give one bouquet that will soon fade away, when you can give years of pleasure from living roses instead?

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There are many ways to add life to a dull garden. One is to add plants with different foliage textures; another is to add plants with unique colors or bold-shaped foliage. Sometimes all it takes is a few well-placed plants that have completely different foliage from the rest of your garden to make a dramatic impact on the look of your garden.

If your have a morning sun, afternoon/shade or full shade location, consider plants such as acanthus with its large oak-shaped leaves and spikes of lilac flowers or alchemilla (lady's mantle) with its wavy foliage and yellow flowers. You might try the glossy-leafed bergenia with pink-red flowers or caladium, which comes in a multitude of different foliage patterns, or ligularia with its large-toothed foliage and spikes of lemony yellow flowers. If you are looking for something really different, consider the eye-catching marbled foliage of brunnera and hosta or the unique shiny fan-shaped leaves of fatsia (Japanese aralia).

For sunny locations consider plants like the smoke bush (cotinus) with its burgundy purple foliage and wispy white blooms, 'Gilt Edged' elaeagnus with silvery gold and green foliage, the burgundy foliage of physocarpus (ninebark) or the unusual black foliage of 'Black Lace' sambucus. For something even more dramatic try a few burgundy or variegated foliage canna lilies, New Zealand flax or variegated weigela. For more height you can always plant a Southern magnolia (soulangeana).

Spring is the time to fertilize your permanent plantings. Most ornamental trees, bushes, lawns and ground covers will respond well to fertilizer right now. In good years, abundant spring rains green up the hillsides and bring out wildflowers, gardeners don't have to water as much, and salts are leached out of our soils. On the other hand, heavy rains also wash soluble nutrients, especially nitrogen, down to lower levels--sometimes out of reach of roots. In that case, fertilize the basic landscape with a complete granulated fertilizer high in nitrogen. If you have a straggly ground cover that's never quite covered the ground, a sprinkling of granulated fertilizer as soon as the weather warms will do wonders. Water it in thoroughly or apply it when the weatherman says that it's going to rain.

This doesn't mean you should simply fertilize everything in sight. Many plants fall into the broad category of specialty plants because they require special handling. Some specialty plants, including cacti, succulents, and native plants, have little or no need for fertilizer. Others, like azaleas, ferns, roses, fruit trees, and vegetables have unique requirements. Ask one of our knowledgeable garden center experts about the best amendments for your own garden's individual needs.

There are other exceptions, too. Old overgrown gardens in rich soil sometimes become virtual jungles, feeding on their own refuse. To fertilize a garden when there's no sign of nitrogen deficiency--like stunted growth, yellow leaves, or disease--may simply contribute to more growth. Growth requires constant pruning, and once invasive plants have become established, you will wish you had never planted them at all. Feeding them would make their growth even more unrestrained.

Plant new permanent specimens. Spring is one of only two optimal planting times each year, when gardeners plant almost anything grown in the permanent landscape, such as trees, shrubs, vines, and ground covers. The other is autumn. Planting in fall is traditionally considered to be just a bit better than planting in spring, but after a year or two you'll never know the difference. Now through early summer is the time to look your garden over: objectively look at its strengths and weaknesses; replace troublemakers you don't like; and add permanent specimens where needed. Choose drought-tolerant plants over heavy water users if you can, and be sure to group plants according to their needs for water, sun shade, and soil type. Before purchasing any plant, research its requirements and growth habits.

We would be happy to help you select the best plants, amendments, and fertilizers for your specific landscape. You'll be on your way to building a better garden this year!

When most people think of annuals they think about upright varieties for borders and containers. But when planning your annual garden, think about more than just upright plants. There are a number of wonderful trailing varieties that are perfect for providing a splash of color between shrubs, on a hillside or cascading over a rock wall or trailing from a hanging basket.

For a hillside, it's hard to beat trailing lantana, with its showy purple and white blooms. A happy plant can reach 3-4 ft across in diameter. If you are looking for a slightly flatter foliage that hugs the ground, consider the mauve-flowering scaevola.

It's easy to perk up your landscape by planting patches of million bells (callibrachoa) in spaces between larger shrubs. This colorful annual comes in a variety of bright hot colors including red, yellow, apricot, white, pink, fuchsia, blue, and violet. Another alternative would be verbena, which is available in many colors, flower sizes and flat or mounding foliage. These plants also look great flowing over rock walls or pool edges.

For large splashes of color in the landscape, use petunias or ivy geranium. Both grow incredibly fast and come in every color under the sun. You can dress up the edges of a boring-looking vegetable garden with nasturtium, whose orange, red and yellow flowers are also edible.

All of the above mentioned plants perform well in hanging baskets but there are a few plants that make great partners with them and are particularly suited for container planting. To add some texture and unique foliage color to your hanging baskets consider using silver dichondra, licorice plant (helichrysum) or parrot's beak (Lotus maculatus). All have silvery grey foliage that provides a great contrast to other plants.

While most plants in hanging baskets perform better with a little shade from the afternoon sun, one annual is particularly suited for slightly shadier confines. Use trailing lobelia, which comes in many shades of blue, rose and white. Its cheerful little blossoms are perfect for any container.

Answer:

It can if you have bad drainage or have plants close to a downspout. Most neighborhood properties are designed to allow water to drain away from the home, and if you have any type of slope at all your plants should be okay barring a 30 day torrent of water. However, plants next to downspouts can suffer, so it is wise to add a downspout extension to steer water away from prized plants in areas where water might collect.

If you still face a bad drainage situation, consider re-landscaping that area with bog-loving plants. If you hate bog-loving plants, you could always sell your home. After all, what good is a home if you can't plant your favorite plants around it?