Fern Michonski / Fern’s Music
Pre-School Music Education Expert: The Children’s Advocate for Love and Kindness, Inspiring Creativity and Joy.
May 9, 2012—National Wildflower Week!
I thoroughly enjoy flowers and I’m sure everyone else on the planet does too. I just spent this past weekend planting all of my lovely new lavender impatience in my front garden, spreading out the mulch, putting out my variety of hanging plants, and generally sprucing up my yard for the upcoming summer months. Once this was accomplished, I spent the next several hours trying to convince my dog that he should not walk through my newly planted garden or spread out for a rest in the middle of it! Next I placed a very nice little fence around the edges of my garden so my young students wouldn’t step on the flowers. I must admit, I have better luck convincing the children not to stomp through the garden than I do with my dog!
Then I noticed on the National Wildlife Federation website that this week is National Wildflower Week. I love that idea! Yes, it is fun to purchase flowers and decorate the yard with beautiful annuals and perennials. However, it’s easy to forget about the wildflowers that are gifted to us each and every year for free! As a child, I always used to do a wildflower exhibit at the local country fair. I would search among the grass for the queen anne’s lace, the paintbrushes, dandelions, daisies, violets, and whatever else I could find, carefully picking them, pressing them and labeling them for a marvelous display. It was great fun and I learned a lot. With this thought in mind and remembering my childhood, I looked around my yard for the flowers that were already smiling up at me—the ones I didn’t plant—the ones that were gifted to me for free. Violets are all over my lawn! In fact, they are so pretty, I felt bad about mowing the grass! And yes, I know most people have a fit when dandelions start popping up throughout their grass. However, I have to smile when I think of the children who frequently show up at my door with big bouquets of dandelions mixed with violets and little bluets they have picked from my lawn as they walked up my walkway. Those smiles and bouquets, offered with a hug, bring sunshine to my heart. So, kudos to the National Wildlife Federation for pointing out that this is National Wildflower Week! I am happy to hear that the wildflowers of the world are getting the attention they deserve. I’m a fan. For those of you who want a perfect, pristine, green lawn, that is fine. However, in my yard you will find purchased flowers neatly tucked behind fences and wildflowers dotting the grass, brightening my landscape. Though the purchased flowers are lovely, it’s the wildflowers that welcome happy children to pick to their hearts delight and welcome my dog to spread out in the midst of them to take a nap.
So, Happy National Wildflower Week and here’s a song to help celebrate the occasion. It is called, Pretty Flowers—Just For You, Track 8 from my Easter CD, “Kids! Hopping Into Easter With Fern!” Have a wonderful week and don’t forget to stop and smell the flowers.
