Dixie Shoopman's memoir explores her thoughts flower by flower, plant by plant, sharing her memories associated with each. Often poignant, always vivid, these short memoirs provide the reader with connections to the blooms surrounding us.

As the author sits in her daughter's back yard, she gazes around and recognizes that so many of the garden blooms and plants have a special meaning in her life. At the urging of her now-grown children, she shares the meanings of many of the most important flowers from her young life: the marigolds seeds that came in a bag of Fritos; the red buds branches her mother always displayed in a blue vase on Valentines Day; the zinnias that signaled summer. This beautiful collection reminds us of the treasured blooms in the memories of those we love, and even more importantly, it reminds us to get into writing the gift of our memories for those who love us.

Dixie Shoopman comes from a long line of Texas educators and gardeners. She spent her childhood in Baytown, Texas, weekends in Edna, Texas, and summers in Port Alto, Texas. After marrying her high school sweetheart, she and her husband Bert raised four children and traveled the world. She currently lives with her husband and poodle Daisy Jo on the beach in Port Aransas, Texas.