M, N, and O – Flowers with Story

Today I’m participating in #The Flower Hour and am tasked with finding plants that start with M, N and O. Here’s what I chose and why.

M is for Mint, a prolific, some say, invasive plant, that is none-the-less a bee magnet in the herb garden. There are many varieties of mint – peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint – and none will let you down, pull them out and they keep coming back!

If you’d asked Tiger, the very best is Catmint, one of his favorite snack foods in the garden, and so it reminds me of him.

N is for Nasturtiums, another hardy herb, sometimes served on top of greens to add color and a peppery taste to your salad. Nasturtiums remind me of my mom for no other reason than I remember her growing them when I was a kid. Nasturtiums are undemanding – she was too – in fact they insist on having poor soil for blooming. If your soil is too rich, you may end up with a bunch of leaves, though even those look good with raindrops.

O is for Orchid and orchids cheer me up. Perhaps because they remind me of Hawaii, a favorite place of mine where I took the photos below,

or perhaps because of their smiling faces; despite the beauty, I can’t help seeing a freckle-faced kid!

Earlier this year during a difficult time, I bought an orchid; it was Valentine’s Day, so it was in a little red cup with hearts.

I admired it for months before the blossoms dropped off.

I still have it sitting on my windowsill and hope it will bloom again. But even if it doesn’t it served its purpose.

~ Susanne