We are back in our garden in the summer for today’s Flower a Day. Back in the warm days of dew drops on the flower petals and pale pink light floaty flowers like little butterflies on our hydrangea bush. Although there are plenty of more dramatic flowers, these are some of my favourites as I really prefer the understated and simple. I hope you all have a day with such light and beauty in it somewhere.
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Sometimes the snow falls straight down and sticks. It sticks to everything and what it clings to just hangs there, with no wind to knock it to the ground. This snowfall was just like that. Still, peaceful and quiet. The bushes to either side of this little footbridge near our house hung so low with the weight of it that I had to almost crawl underneath. I really didn’t want to disturb the scene, it had such a peaceful feel about it. Walks like this are so rare. I wanted to share part of this one.
Early the next morning the snow was still clinging to all of the branches. This snow-covered lilac bush outside my window had such lovely clean lines of white and brown. By the afternoon it had fallen off.
Today’s Flower a Day photograph, one I took yesterday, is this beautiful ornamental cabbage! Who would have thought there would still be flowers blooming in Nova Scotia in January? (I know that there are snowdrops or other bulbs coming up in some gardens in the Northern Hemisphere now, but this is, as I said, Nova Scotia, Canada, and we are not anywhere near there yet – our winter has barely begun!) I found this outside a farm shop and it looked absolutely perfect, so intricate and furled and frilled and yet at the same time so…. bold. Bold to be there, outside, in the freezing day looking as lovely as any tropical plant. We may not all be like lilies, orchids or even asters, but we can be just as beautiful as cabbages in our own way. I hope that doesn’t sound too weird, for any who have read this far! Have a wonderful day, filled with your own kind of beauty.
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If only so many flowers were not of the Aster family (and so cheering) I would not be having quite so many World Wild Aster Days as I do. I wanted sun for you today. So here it is! I know the name of this plant is a rather ugly sounding one, so I am proposing that we change it to Sun Thistle. This is an edible plant (though I understand a little bitter) and was, once again, photographed along the edge of the road opposite my house. How can you help but like this bright, unassuming little flower that is everywhere in ditches and roadsides, brightening our walks and drives, as well as today’s post! I hope the Monday sun that it brings you cheers if only for a moment, as you go about your day. This is my wish as I get it ready to send out to you. XO
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Milkweed is a favourite of mine, though I admit that it is really disliked by some as it can be invasive. So why do I love it? Just look at those gorgeous little waxy flowers! And consider the fact that the leaves nourish Monarch butterfly caterpillars. Who wouldn’t love it for that reason alone? Although the caterpillars prefer the less common and not invasive Marsh Milkweed, they will lay their eggs on this variety. I love to watch the progress of the cartoon-like caterpillars as they grow from tiny striped threads into fat munching beauties, before they go into their cocoons to prepare for their life of elegance You can see these little beauties here. So I leave you to appreciate today’s Flower a Day, with all that it has to offer our countryside. Have a wonderful Sunday, all!
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Our fields and ditches would be much duller places in the summer and early autumn months without the glory of the Goldenrod yellow blooming everywhere. Today’s Flower a Day post is dedicated again to this underrated and often overlooked flower (which is NOT responsible for your seasonal allergies). So many of these wild plants brighten our lives in the countryside, so I am delighted to once again feature a favourite of mine. Enjoy this golden beauty along with a hug for all my friends. Enjoy your day, all!
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So my violet-thumbed better half is again responsible for growing today’s Flower a Day. It seems a bit lame to call it a blue violet, but as I don’t have a name (another acquisition from the hardware or possibly grocery store, where they don’t bother to name their varieties) this will have to do. Besides, it is a blue African violet. I love the contrast of colours here and how I can almost make smiling faces of the petals as they overlap. Have a happy day, with lots of smiles wherever you see them, my friends.
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Today’s Flower a Day is another that I photographed in a hardware store, next to the bags of potting soil and racks of tools and supplies. Such beauty is only enhanced by the contrast with the rather grubby surrounds and when I walked into the aisle all of the building supplies disappeared for me, eclipsed by this radiance. I hope you are like me and are drawn to this bright happy flower in its drab environment. Looking for and seeing beauty wherever you are makes ugliness fade from view.
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Just add water! Yes, these are clearly seeds to grow little suns with their lovely rays as you see in the background. Do we need such seeds? Absolutely! The warmth will be most welcome. Sadly I left these where they were growing and did not collect any or I would send some out to all of my Flower a Day sun seeking friends. Instead of seeds, this photograph will have to do for us all, so I hope it warms the heart if not the skin. I will be checking out the seed catalogue to find some of this wonderful plant for next winter. If I find the official name, I’ll let you know!
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