Oh, mid-February, cometh. Some celebrate Valentine's Day, and others celebrate Galentines Day - I call it Universal Love Day. It is a day when I celebrate those that I love in a special way. In his later years, my dad used to say, "Give me my flowers while I'm alive." As I created this week's bouquet to honor my parents and my ancestors, I now understand the importance of one simple act that does not have to happen only I'm mid-February. Every week, I place flowers for those who paved the road before me. My family has had slaves, sharecroppers, merchants, politicians, farmers, and even florists. I am a descendant of those who braved the journey, suffered at the whip, toiled in the soil, gave back to their communities, instilled a major sense of pride, and appreciated the beauty of the simple bouquet. Our journey, our story, will never be sharecropped again. I am a seedling of Orilla to Minnie Bell, a branch of the Hunter/Herron family, and a sprouting twig of the Shephard/Speight family. I am a unique cultivar. I share my love and flowers with my ancestors each and every day. Do you honor your ancestors with flowers? Do you give those you love flowers while they can enjoy them? #allaboutthegarden #ancestorlove #familymatters #floralgifts, #allthingsbeautiful (at Prince George's County, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CoccoGzODq4/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=