A very hot May Day

Today is May Day. I almost missed it. I noticed as I was putting an appointment in my date book this morning just before I rushed out to meet with a client. 

To me, May Day is all about flowers. I love making little bouquets from my garden and sharing them with friends and neighbors ... This is what I made for a neighbor last year:

And this is a bouquet a friend gave me a couple of years ago:

I had some free time this afternoon thought I could pull off making a few little bouquets except that we have had a few days in a row now of unusually hot weather and all my pretty rose blooms were gone. So instead of picking flowers this afternoon I ended up just deadheading my roses. And planting some fun new orchids I bought last weekend at the Southern California Spring Flower Show.

They are called Epidendrum Orchids and I thought they would bring a little Spring color to my succulents. Because of our drought situation I cannot justify pretty flowers in my courtyard containers that need to be watered everyday in the heat so I have planted all succulents. The orchids do not need to be watered often either, and since I have had success growing orchids inside my house I thought I might be able to grow them outside as well ...

A happy orchid inside

My new Epidendrum Orchids outside

I hope flowers were part of your May Day today as well! And if you live local ... I hope you are staying cool!

A great front door

Did anyone surprise you with a bouquet of flowers yesterday for May Day? 

I had good intentions but after I made my first bouquet, I ran out of flowers. I seems that all my rose bushes bloomed at the same time and most were too far open to use. 

I had just enough to put a little surprise on my next door neighbor's door. 

She has a new front door color this year and I thought it would be fun to show you. We chose the color (Benjamin Moore's Stratton Blue HC-142) to coordinate with her newly remodeled interior.

I know I am partial, but I think it was the perfect choice!

May Day flowers

I had to share the May Day fun I had yesterday. I had been out of town and as I drove back into L.A. I was listening to the news of all the protests for May Day - L. A. marches, airport strikes and street closures but not a single mention of flowers. Seriously?

I came home, dropped my bags down and spent the next couple of hours working around the house. (Okay, this is an entirely different post in itself but I have been moving and re-moving the furniture around in my living room and cannot seem to get it right. I thought I had it to my satisfaction before I left for my trip but when I walked in the front door after being away (which is always my litmus test), it did not make me happy... so that is what I was fretting over at the moment). The day was overcast and about as un-springlike as you can get - down right gloomy actually. So after a little while I decided to run up to the store and pick up some pretty May Day flowers for myself. As I walked outside to get into my car, look what I found on my gate!

I cannot even tell you how excited I was! Aren't they gorgeous?

I was so very touched that someone (Ahhh such a dear friend to do this for me!) had left these for me! 

It made me wish that I had done the same ... and it was at that moment that I knew that I had to make at least one little May Day bouquet of my own to pass along. The problem was that it was getting late and I did not have a lot of time. So I grabbed my scissors and went outside to my front yard ...

I turns out I had just enough to make a couple of little bouquets - and a few perfect David Austin roses even. I added some scrapbook paper, a glue stick, a hole punch and a little bit of ribbon ...

Delivering them was almost as fun as finding my own special bouquet. I have to remember this next year!

Happy May Day

I loved when my girls were little how we would leave flower posies on their friend's doors on May Day. The tradition is to leave them in secret so the recipient has to guess who they are from. Sometimes the girls would make sweet little bouquets at school and sometimes we would make them at home. Oh, I miss those days.

pinterest

I do not have kids at home anymore but I still love the idea of May Day and the secret little bouquets. How do you celebrate May Day? Have you ever danced around a May Pole?

Yummy Tasty Recipes

Martha Stewart

Nest of Posies

No matter how you celebrate, I hope someone leaves some pretty flowers for you today!