Daisies, azaleas... even dandelions can make May Day fun
Though April is always a fitful month, there are always at least a few reliable flowers to be found.
As the month winds down, I keep my eye out for anything that might make a good cut flower, since one of my favorite holidays is almost here. When I was a child in Massachusetts, kids all over the country spent the last days of April making little baskets to fill with flowers. The first day of May was observed almost exclusively by children as a simple celebration of the arrival of spring. We delivered our little baskets as secretly as we could, dangling them on our neighbors’ doors, ringing the bell, then rushing, giggling, to hide in the nearest bushes. We’d watch happily as our elders graciously pretended not to hear or see us, loudly expressing their pleasure in our sweet, childish offerings. Perhaps their pleasure wasn’t all feigned, for after all, who wouldn’t be heartened and comforted to find a little bundle of beauty hanging on their doorknob?
In elementary school, the art teacher taught us several ways to make baskets. In kindergarten, we rolled construction paper into cones and pasted on paper strips for handles. By grade school, we mastered baskets made like a paper cocked hat; fold a letter sized sheet in half length-wise, then again (but lightly this time) in half width-wise. Bring the two ends of the folded edge in and up to create a cone with a closed point. Fold the upper edge flaps down to make the pointy little “hat.” Flip the hat upside-down and it becomes a little basket. Tape or staple on a handle of paper or ribbon, line the cone with waxed paper or an old plastic bag and it’s ready to fill with flowers, bunched up, with their cut ends rolled up in a damp paper towel. Making these little flower bundles takes me straight back to second grade art class and my immense pride in mastering the art of the May basket.
As for the filling, almost anything will do. I always searched the spring garden for whatever was in bloom, which could vary wildly depending on the length and severity of the Massachusetts winter. Usually the mini bouquets combined fragrant lily of the valley and sticky azalea blossoms with velvety pansies, and they always included a few bluebells and dandelions. Though adults see them as weeds to eradicate, children and bees see dandelions as beautiful, like glowing, shaggy little stars. Just as I did, my grandkids now appreciate the adorable way that hollow dandelion stems curl up at the base, forming tight little coils. My grandkids especially making living May Day garden baskets with recycled pint-sized cardboard berry boxes. Lined with waxed paper, the flat boxes are filled with a handful of potting soil, then clumps of moss, then we tuck in those ubiquitous wild violets and tiny lawn daisies to make enchanting mini gardens. For these, we use criss-crossed pipe cleaner handles, taped and stapled for strength since planted baskets are heavier than the usual kind. It’s devastating to see a lovingly filled basket hanging upside down from a door knob, its broken flowers scattered, so sturdy handles are a must.
No matter what the weather will do this week, I’m sure to find enough flowers to fill my little baskets. Made by anyone of any age, May Day baskets don’t need fancy flowers; part of the joyfulness of such artless tussy-mussies is the way they turn the ordinary extraordinary. Even the most plentiful and ordinary of garden blooms will make enchanting little bouquets to greet each recipient with the sight and scent of spring.
Contact Ann Lovejoy at 413 Madrona Way NE, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 or visit Ann’s blog at http://www.loghouseplants.com/blogs/greengardening/ and leave a question/comment.
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: May Day's welcome for your spring flowers
