Culture

Of pansies and peonies

|Cheryl Stringer in Meeting house, Portland Press Herald|

When I was a little girl, my favorite flowers were pansies. I loved their cheerful colors and happy little “faces.” I am still charmed by them. My husband and I have a yearly spring tradition, a “pansy run” to a local nursery.

The peonies that Cheryl A. Stringer planted after her flower-loving mother came to live with them have thrived. Photo courtesy of Cheryl A. Stringer

A few years ago my mother moved in with us. We soon learned that our scattering of flower pots on the front steps and the back deck was not enough for her. “Look at all the room you have on that hillside,” she said. “You could fill it up with flowers!” Keep reading