This Sunday is Mother’s Day and as a gesture of appreciation, consider giving your mom flowers. Speaking of gift-giving, did you know that carnations are the bestselling flower in the world? Personally, I adore flowers of all kinds–especially pink!

Give Your Mother Flowers this Mother’s Day

Now I’m not talking about the beautiful pre-cut variety that are delivered in a vase, often fetching a fancy price tag. Not at all. This year, I’d like you to consider giving her the gift that keeps on giving! A potted flower plant.

As a gardener, this is the gift that makes me smile. From gerber daisies to wildflowers, begonias to gardenias, my all-time favorite is the tulip.

Unfortunately, I’m unable to grow tulips in Central Florida. It’s too hot. So for me, these are most appreciated arranged in a vase–the perfect way to bring a smile to my face and brighten any room in the home. Then, to the compost pile where they become one with the earth. But there are a host of varieties that do well in Florida. My mother always had a gardenia bush outside her home. Bougainvillea, too.

Easy Flowers to Grow

Here in Central Florida, the easiest flowers for me to grow are gardenia, jasmine, lantana and impatients. Gardenia and jasmine are richly-scented while lantana and impatients add color to my sunny and shady spots, respectively, adding beauty and warmth to my landscape.

Flower Trivia

But more than beautiful, flowers hold an interesting place in history. Did you know that peonies were once thought to protect people from demons? They were also used for medicinal purposes to relieve headaches, the pain of childbirth and the treatment of asthma.

Some countries, like Malta, believe that the Chrysanthemum is unlucky to have the flower indoors. It is associated with funerals and All Saints Day. But, Feng Shui adherents believe the Chrysanthemum brings laughter and happiness to your home!

The Daffodils’s sap contains sharp crystals that protect the flower from grazing animals. And the sunflower is not just a flower. Both the fuzzy brown center and the classic yellow petals are actually 1,000 – 2,000 individual flowers, held together on a single stalk.