National Poinsettia Day 2024
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They make me think of an old acquaintance, one Ms Jeanette Bodie whom I haven't seen in some 40 years. Her family lived in Monetta and was engaged in a floral business and as such she was a horticultural wonderkind. My mother was a big fan of her mother, Rheunette H Bodie and her work back in the day.
Their motto was "Say it with flowers. Say it with Ours."
Fittingly enough today is National Poinsettia Day which happens each December 12. I view it's proximity to Christmas Day as totally appropriate. Congress created this national day in 2002 in honor of Paul Ecke Jr., and the work that he did developing the poinsettia industry through marketing and grafting. The plant is actually named for Joel Roberts Poinsett a US minister to Mexico who introduced the plant to the United States in the 1820s. This tribute to his foresight is a big part of Christmas cheer in my life.
Nothing says Christmastime louder to me than a bunch of poinsettias around the house.