may day flowers + “hello sunshine” printable

when i was a child, my mom and i lived with my grandparents in the rainy northwest. when i was about eight years old, my *grandpa was eighty-something and he had a notorious flower garden. i first learned about may day from this grandpa. each may first, he would slowly and carefully roll paper into cones, and take me out to pick flowers from his garden. then, we would go for a walk in our neighborhood and choose homes to leave the flowers at as a surprise. he would stand back, let me go to the door, leave the flowers, knock, and run…

one year, i was caught in the act and our local paper wrote an article about my grandpa and i keeping the may day tradition alive… and this week, almost thirty years later i am doing the same thing with my kids in honor of grandpa.

only, we are using glassware in place of paper cones because i like the idea that after the flowers die, there is a little treasure to keep.

have you ever prepared and delivered may day flowers? have you ever received may day flowers? i am so excited for sunshine, warm weather, and spring this year that there was no way we could skip this delightful may first tradition. i really enjoy making people happy, even more, i like to see them smile. surprising someone with flowers is sure to do both if only for a fleeting moment, right?

the “hello sunshine” printable can be found in my shop – HERE – and spread some flower love! xo.

*i shared another story about my grandpa here, and why i am fond of red poppy’s.

{photos and styling by me, Jane Rhodes. hello sunshine tags designed by lovely lindsay for seejaneblog}