Happy Mother’s Day!

Philodendron in the Window -acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

Philodendron in the Window is one of my earlier paintings.  I’ve always loved it for the colors and because it reminds me of Mom.   With spring in full force here in Atlanta I’ve been doing a lot of gardening.   My wonderful neighbor helped me by tilling up a 30 foot long patch of grass along our picket fence.   I’ve planted flowers and lots of veggies and am mulching heavily since they say it’s going to be a dry summer.   Unlike my Mom I was I never into gardening even though my degree is in landscape architecture.  Since we’ve been settled in our home for a while the little gardening I’ve done each spring is starting to add  up.  So here I am after eight years here with a vegetable garden in our front yard.

When my twin sister and I went off to separate colleges, we had different school breaks.  On a break early in my freshmen year, Mom showed me how to make cuttings of house plants for potting later to take to my dorm room.  That’s when I noticed she had lots of glass jars with various shaped leaves gracing the window sills in the kitchen and sun room.   Mom said she enjoyed the years my twin and I came home at different times because she got to know us as individuals better.  Now that I have a teen daughter I understand my mom’s comments. Teenagers are very much into their own world as it should be.  It’s later they begin to notice more about their home experience.  Wherever I’ve lived I always have plant cuttings in jars on the window sills, such as the one in this panting.  Happy Mother’s day to all mothers and the gifts they pass down.