It may be 100+ degrees outside here today, but it is springtime and the desert is in bloom, which got me thinking about flowers - and I LOVE FLOWERS! Even tho I grew up in Chicago, we had a double city lot and our yard was a veritable symphony of blooms during any season that was warm enough for flowers to grow.We had crocuses and daffodils, tulips and narcissus, hyacynth and forsythia in the early spring. Irises, lilac and lily of the valley followed shortly afterwards along with hollyhocks and primroses and day lilies. And the cherry trees added their own white blossoms to the mix.
I always used to love leaving for school and wondering what new blossoms would greet me on my way out the door!
During the summer, the seeds that my father and I planted in late spring burst into bloom with marigolds and zinnias, bachelor buttons and pansies, my beloved yellow carnations and
whatever other flower seeds I could talk him into buying me! Morning glories and hollyhocks lined the back fences, while the front side fence was graced with a mixture of snowball bushes and dahlias. Calla lilies and gladioli stood tall along the back of the central garden, flanked by peony bushes and at least 7 or 8 varieties of my father's prized roses.Many years we would plant sunflowers back behind the vegetable garden and they would grow to tower over our heads by the early fall. Autumn brought the asters and mums until the frost would fall and we would begin the job of preparing the perennials for the harsh winters.
Living here in the desert, the growing seasons are definitely different as are the types of flowers that thrive here. Of course most of the cacti produce blooms, but surprisingly, roses grow wonderfully well here as long as they get some respite from the heat of the summer sun. Vinca and ice plants (moss roses) handle the summer heat and dry climate pretty easily and I've had some luck with salvia and lobelia and other desert friendly flowers.
Everywhere you look, you'll see california poppies, bright yellow and purple lantana and orange mexican bird of paradise... and
bougainvillea and oleander grace many of the brick enclosures that are common property boundaries in this part of the US. For all their welcome color and beauty, they still don't compare to the garden I grew up with and I cherish the memories of those warm weather days and the palette of color that greeted me just outside my porch door!I'm curious... what is YOUR favorite flower? Mine is the yellow carnation (Peace roses are a close second... or wait, no - maybe purple stock or green bells of Ireland...lol... I must admit, I don't think I've met a flower I didn't like!) Leave me a comment and let me know!
Sweet Stylish Pen Bouquet - TussieMussieInk
Yellow and Orange Daffodil 8x10 - ValentinePhotography
In Bloom - 8x10 Fine Art Photographic Print - violentgreen
Orange Tulips Fine Art 5x7 Print - jselep
Lavender Vintage Rose Silver Plated Bobby Pin Set - katker
Romantic Maroon Rose Brooch - Leeya
Bright and Beautiful Poppies - Chiyogami Glass Tile Pendant - MadeByJo
Vibrant Purple Aster Flowers, (4x6 Fine Art Nature Photograph) -BonnieBoden
Pink Pansy Flip Flops with Pink Rhinestones - SolelyCharming
3 comments:
I love roses, nothing like a classic.. but possibly my favorite is Lylac. Not so much for the color ( they are pretty) but the smell. Lylacs have the most heavenly scent. Cut them and put them in your bedroom .
Lovely collection of images -- thanks for including my "Vibrant Purple Aster Flowers" in the group. :)
My favourite flowers are those of the country of my birth. In an Australian winter there is nothing better than wattle to cheer you up, and, for the amazing you can't pass Sturt's desert pea.
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