The morning is a delight. Though there is a bit of a spring chill, the day is filled with sunshine. My yard is getting its spring clean-up. The air smells of dirt and dead leaves and flowers. Henry is barking constantly at the sound of the blower. I have shut both doors, but Henry still barks. Nala is having her morning nap. Nothing bothers her. Everything bothers Henry.

When I was a kid, my father did his yard work on Saturdays. He always used a hand mower. Every spring he’d have it sharpened. When he mowed the lawn, it had to be in certain pattern. I used to volunteer to mow his lawn, but he aways preferred to do it himself. I never got his pattern right. He was not a big flower man. He seemed to prefer pansies for the small front garden. I came to love pansies. They all have faces. Some wear hats. They have the brightest colors. I love the pinks and the purples. They fit perfectly in my front garden where they get the morning sun.

In my backyard, violets have spread. They came from my parents’ house. Every time I see them, I think of my mother and her little garden. It was in the corner of her backyard. Her little garden was filled with flowers. A statue of St. Francis held his arms and hands out, and my mother filled his hands with seeds. She also had bird feeders hung off the clothes lines. We used to joke because she mostly got pigeons. She used to call them her country pigeons.

Every year I buy more flowers for my front garden. Except for the pansies, I buy perennials. In the spring the bulb flowers bloom. When the other flowers start to poke their heads above the ground, I figure how where I might have room. Yellow is the color of most of the flowers. This year I’m adding reds and pinks.

The deck rails have clay pots on them filled with herbs along the side and flowers in the back. I use a mixture of annuals and perennials in the back. On the side, the lavender and the rosemary are my favorites. When I pass by them, I rub my hand up those two plants. They are a delight to my eyes, my nose and my taste buds.