Spring is springing

As the flowers in my yard begin to sprout up daily I have begun to think of all the yards I have lived in over my life time.  Those in Arizona that consisted of desert sands and those in all the other places that had a variety of grasses and flowers.  We've had banana trees, cacti, roses, lemon trees, pear trees, etc.  In nearly every home we lived in, with the exception of Arizona, my father always planted Marigolds and Pansy's, his two most favorite flowers.  I can smell them in my memory as I type this.  He planted these for himself, he always planted rose bushes in every yard as well even in Arizona, those he planted for my mother.  The roses were his gift to her.  Somehow these flowers made every house we lived in a home to me.  No matter how many places we lived or where they were, when those flowers were planted it seemed like it was home.  The smell of those particular plants still represent home to me.  Isn't it funny how certain smells evoke warm memories of home, just one more reason to love spring.