Ground Redeeming Anniversary Gifts

My Resident Gardener highlighted our beautiful Lady Banks’ Rose on RYGblog earlier this week.  Oh how I love her!  I love how she has created a lush canopy to welcome our guests.  I anticipate her beauty every spring as it is such a pinnacle moment when she blooms.  I always want to invite guests over while she’s blooming so they may be welcomed by her and enjoy her beauty with me.  I also love knowing she was a thoughtful gift that keeps giving year after year!  You see, what my Resident Gardener failed to tell you earlier this week was that his precious Lady Banks’ Rose was a very sweet, thoughtful, intentional, with-the-recipient-in-mind, Anniversary gift he received six years ago from his sweet, thoughtful and loving wife.  Yours truly!  So our Lady Banks’ Rose is not just beautiful, but she is especially special to us…she has more depth, more roots, more meaning, more value…..because she was a gift.

When we got married almost 14 years ago, we decided to celebrate our Anniversary each year with traditional Anniversary gifts…1st paper, 2nd cotton, 3rd leather and so on .  We have to get creative with our gifts and have had fun finding or making a gift incorporating each year’s theme.  So what does this have to do with “redeeming your ground”? Keep reading, as I think you will see the connection as this story unfolds.

As my hubby’s love for our yard and all-things-gardening has grown over the years, many of the gifts I started giving him tended to be related to this hobby of his.  So for our 7th Anniversary…to be celebrated with copper…was the first year that I remember getting him an Anniversary gift that spoke into his love of gardening.  A copper bucket of sorts which now adorns our gate year round and is where my Resident Gardener plants beautiful seasonal flowers to welcome our guests.  Successful gift if I do say so myself!  So then for our 8th Anniversary the theme was bronze.  I was struggling with this bronze item as I knew I wasn’t going to get a bronze statue for our yard….not really our style and definitely not in the budget.  I finally found a bronze watering can and I thought “that will have to do”….but that’s not really how I do gifts – I wanted more out of my gift!  So I went in search of a Lady Banks’ Rose!  My hubby had talked about wanting one, but had been having a hard time finding one.  So I went looking for one….and came home with two!  What better gift to go with a watering can than two plants that could be watered by it (well, kind of).  A perfect pair…or rather trio!  And so that is how our Lady Banks’ Rose joined our yard….as a thoughtful Anniversary gift for my hubby!

Ok but still you are asking….where is she going with this?  Keep reading.

Sometimes I get stumped on Anniversary gifts if the theme for the year is especially difficult…or just a bit odd.  One year in particular, when I was stumped and was searching the internet for ideas, I came across a list of flowers for each anniversary year. Score!  I remembered what a hit the Lady Banks Rose gift was and realized I was on to something here.  I was so excited to have stumbled on this resource and actually wish I had had it years before….many of these flowers would have been perfect gift ideas for my Resident Gardener, while still sticking with our traditional gift-giving theme.  So I couldn’t help but share this list with you as I am revisiting it myself right now in anticipation of our 14th anniversary just around the corner….especially since this year is ivory on the traditional list and I just don’t know how easy a gift of ivory will be able to come by these days.  A Dahlia however just might be something to work with! (Sorry Sweetie if this spoils any surprises!) […this is Doug…um yea it spoils it…Britt, you know I edit all the posts!!!  But that’s okay, I’m sure you’ll figure out another way to surprise me…at least you better…err…I hope!]

So for your inspiration and as a gift-giving resource, I’m sharing with you the Anniversary Flower List! (Click on it and you’ll get a PDF that you can print off.)  This is a compiled list of the two varying lists I’ve found out there…certain years may have two choices due to varied national traditions and geographic differences. If your husband or wife loves their yard, loves plants, loves gardening…use this list to inspire you as you buy their Anniversary gift this year and in the years to come.  Who doesn’t love a gift with thought and meaning behind it!  Maybe it’s the actual plant for your yard that you buy your spouse!  Or maybe it’s a coffee table book featuring that particular flower. Or maybe it’s even artwork of that flower.  Get creative, but be intentional!  You know your spouse and what would speak to their heart and soul.

I hope you’ll consider giving a plant or flower to your spouse for your next Anniversary.  Let this list inspire you…but don’t let it limit you. If your wife has been wanting a peony plant for a long time then get her one to plant in your yard or if your husband loves cooking with Rosemary, consider getting him a Rosemary plant!  Even though these aren’t “on the list” they would be wonderfully special gifts because they speak into your spouse and their interests.   Consider such plant gifts as ones that will  “redeem your ground”, encourage your spouse’s love for their yard and be a gift that you both will be able to enjoy for years to come as you watch it grow…together!

Now do you get it?  It’s simple really…..Plants make beautiful and thoughtful Anniversary gifts that inspire and encourage ground redemption and speak into your spouses love of their yard!  Gifts that grow along with your marriage!

What plants or plant-related Anniversary gifts have you given to your husband or wife?  I’d love to know so that I can add them to my list!!

Take care,