The earliest Mother's Day celebrations we know of were ancient Greek spring celebrations in honor of Rhea, the mother of the gods. But those were in honor of one particular mother. England's "Mothering Sunday," begun in the 1600's, is closer to what we think of as "Mother's Day." Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent, "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England.

In 1907 Anna Jarvis started a drive to establish a national Mother's Day. In 1907 she passed out 500 white carnations at her mother's church in West Virginia -- one for each mother in the congregation. In 1908, her mother's church held the first Mother's Day service, on May 10th (the second Sunday in May). That same day a special service was held at the Wanamaker Auditorium in Philadelphia, where Anna was from, which could seat no more than a third of the 15,000 people who showed up.

By 1909, churches in 46 states, Canada and Mexico were holding Mother's Day services. In the meantime, Ms. Jarvis had quit her job to campaign full time. She managed to get the World's Sunday School Association to help; they were a big factor in convincing legislators to support the idea. In 1912, West Virginia was the first state to designate an official Mother's Day. By 1914, the campaign had convinced Congress, which passed a joint resolution. President Woodrow Wilson signed the resolution, establishing an official national Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May.

Many countries of the world now have their own Mother's Day at different times of the year, but Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Japan, and Turkey join the US in celebrating Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May. Britain still celebrates Mothering Day on the 4th Sunday of Lent — but they now call it Mother's Day. By any name, and at any date, it's a special day to honor a special person.

Having trouble thinking of a gift? Why not do something a little different for Mother's Day? Instead of giving her a bouquet of roses, plant her a rose garden! If she already has a rose garden - add to it! If she lives in an apartment, consider a potted rose plant - many roses will do quite well in containers (ask us for suggestions).

Why give one bouquet that will soon fade away, when you can give years of pleasure from living roses instead?

Something special for Mother's Day!

This unsusual hydrangea flowers on new wood to extend color throughout the season. Deadhead promptly for repeat bloom. Clear blue mop-head blooms turn pink in alkaline soils, and are 8 inches in diameter. Deep green foliage is lush and mildew resistant. An excellent cold-hardy addition to areas with morning sun and afternoon shade. Deciduous. Morning sun to part shade. Moderate growth to 5 feet tall and as wide.

To keep your blooms blooming blue, add Hi Yield Aluminum Sulphate. Use 1 tablespoon aluminum sulphate per foot of plant height, or 1/4 teaspoon per potted plant. Mix this in water and apply it as a drench several times in spring and fall. Never use fertilizer that contains phosphorus (unless you want them pink). Phosphorus is alkaline, so the use of it will raise the pH of the soil and turn blue hydrangeas pink.

Lilacs and spring are as synonymous as summer and watermelon. Every spring, when they start to bloom, I get instant recall of summers when I was a child. The scents of a garden can do this for us, and lilac is hard to miss.

Lilacs grow best in full sun and well-drained soil, where they take two to three years to establish themselves in a new site. Once established they can live for centuries. Soil pH (alkalinity or acidity of the soil) may affect the plant's growth. Lilacs do well in an alkaline soil with a pH of 6 to 7.

To ensure abundant flowering, cut off all spent blossoms each year and prune the flowering stem back to a set of leaves in order to prevent seeds forming, thereby directing the energy usually spent on seeds to next year's flower production. If this is not done, good flowering years may be followed by bad.

When the plant becomes leggy, renewal pruning is required. Remove about one-third of the oldest stems at ground level each year for three years. This encourages the growth of vigorous new stems from the base. By the end of the three years the plant should be fully rejuvenated with its blossoms once more at nose level.

The plants should be fertilized in early spring and again directly after flowering with an all-purpose fertilizer, such as Dr. Earth All Purpose, watered in well. Note: even as tough as lilacs are, they will still need supplemental water during periods of drought.

Alfalfa. Isn't that the stuff that gets made into hay and is fed to livestock?

Turns out that's only part of the story. Alfalfa can also be a big boon to gardeners - by making their roses happier and healthier.

It's a crop with a long history. Because of acid soils and high humidity along the Atlantic seaboard, early colonists couldn't grow alfalfa well and nearly abandoned it. But it came west with the Gold Rush and flourished, and today the crop has become so popular in California that it is known in many agricultural circles as the "Queen of the Forages."

Besides being praised in agriculture, alfalfa has become a hit in horticulture, too, particularly in rosedom. As a mulch for garden roses, it does far more than retard weeds.

As it disintegrates, alfalfa yields an alcohol, triacontanol, to which roses take a particular shine. When it reaches their roots, roses act as though they've been aching for a stiff drink and manifest their appreciation with basal breaks, rosarian lingo for new growth emanating from the bud union (the landmark created by budding hybrid roses onto rootstock).

Rosarians live for basal breaks; they're the ticket for increased vigor and better production. An annual mulching with alfalfa nearly guarantees such spirited developments.