I have been in love with flowers all of my life. So was Mother. She always had a garden of some sort or other - mostly vegetables. When she planted vegetables in the back yard, I planted flowers. Oh, I tried to grow a carrot or two, but my heart was in flowers. I particularly loved to go to the store to pick out my seeds. I picked seeds according to the pretty pictures on the packets. Bulbs were "labor-intensive." So, I focused on seeds. Needless to say, that didn't work very well, but that didn't keep me from trying. Later on, I learned that my favorites - jonquils, narcissus, tulips, and iris - all came from bulbs, not seeds. Flowers were important to me in grammar school, high school, college, and afterward. They were my pick-me-up when I was depressed. They made a holiday special - Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, July 4th. They made a boring Sunday sermon interesting. I remember going with my family every Sunday after church to the Dixie Hunt Hotel Dining Room for Sunday "Dinner" (we didn't call it "lunch"). Daddy and Mother knew everyone there. People were constantly stopping by our table to say "hello." That, of course, bored me to no end, so I entertained myself by studying centerpieces on the tables, deciding which ones were pretty and which ones were not. Each table had a vase of fresh flowers. Mrs. Benson at Benson Florist probably did them. She did the flowers for just about everything in town - marriages, funerals, and special events. Her showroom was always filled with arrangements. Mr. Benson probably did arrangements, too, but he did most of the driving to deliver the goods, along with my first cousin, Leonard Parks. I remember walking into the front door, hearing a bell jingle, smelling a delicious smell, and seeing showroom arrangements. I loved it About seven years ago, I started walking - early in the mornings. During my walks, I took snapshots of flowers for fun. I snapped whatever caught my fancy. Roses - for the most part - interested me. So I shot roses and posted the pics on Facebook. I developed a core of "flower fans," who suggested I publish my posies. So, voila Enjoy