Today we are indoors for our A Flower a Day, which is just as well, as with the temperatures we have had for the past few days it’s time to admire the beauty of my indoor plants. For some reason I thought I had posted a photograph or two of my kalanchoe plants. Every time I saw this photograph I passed over it until yesterday when preparing this post. I searched everywhere to find what I thought I had featured on here and there simply wasn’t one of these. I love these plants (I have 2 of them) and try to keep them flowering, which so far I have had success with. This red one is here seen lit by the sun coming in the window, looking so cheery and bright! I hope my almost forgotten and long overlooked kalanchoe brings you a bright spot to your day wherever you are! I send it with another hug to all, but especially to those missing family and friends now and maybe feeling alone. You are not. We are all still here. Together in this.

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Last year in October I shared two photographs of Evening Primrose for Flower a Day especially to give you all a double burst of sunshine. Today I am sending you one bright ray of light from this delicate beauty. Evening primroses are a night flowering plant (I suppose you guessed that) and are a native plant to our area, attracting moths and large numbers of native bees among other beneficial insects. Their roots are eaten by small mammals and the seeds by birds. They are also known for so many medicinal uses for human beings which earns them the nickname of “King’s cure-all”, that I feel they can be rightly considered stars of the plant world. They even have a lemon scent – basically everything you would ever need in a wild flower. As if that weren’t enough, their beautiful colour brightens their surroundings and this post and hopefully your day.

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Sometimes I get a heads-up from someone about a potential photo subject for my Flower a Day and I always find that exciting, especially at this time of the year when subjects are few and far between. I never know what I might see when I get there which heightens my excitement. The tiny flower today is not a result of this, but the receptionist at the clinic where I photographed this mini orchid did call me today to tell me of a new bloom on another plant in the clinic, inviting me to come and feature it. I love that some members of the community feel involved in my project and this makes it even more special to me. So thank you to all who have played a part in Flower a Day postings in some way and who continue to do so. We are all in this together and you all inspire me! Keep strong everyone. Love to all.

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Today’s Flower a Day is like a flower in appearance, but in fact, as you know it’s more of a vegetable, though in this case ornamental. It was in the same display as the pink one I shared a few weeks ago. I loved the rich colour and those gorgeous textures. The advantage here is that with the cold temperatures there are no insects to munch on the leaves. I’m all for insects, but they do make a holey mess of a cabbage plant in the summer. I hope you enjoy this edible delectable today. Its leaves remind me of a rich flounced skirt twirling on a dance floor, seen, I suppose from the viewpoint of the floor. Is that weird? Anyway, enjoy the dance floor fun for a change today.

And today’s bonus post for today features a voracious bird visitor so I hope you will visit that post if you get a chance. It is here.

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Electric dahlia? I know you are thinking that’s the name of this flower. It might be. But I don’t know. The package that it came in (according to the photo on the label) described the contents as “Electric Assortment”. But the name works for me for this flashy beauty… Though ‘fireworks’ might be better. So for today’s Flower a Day enjoy the excitement – electric or fireworks or whatever name conveys the thrill in these colours to you. I hope this is the start of a day with some excitement for you all. And if a hug helps, then you can be sure that one is on the way to you from me!

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There are so many reasons that I loved this photograph when I took it, and why I want to share it with you for the Flower a Day today. I have learned so much from this project, from the blatantly obvious (names of flowers and where I am likely to find them, what they look like at various stages etc.) to the not so obvious. For example I have learned to open my eyes and look closely at plants that I thought I knew well. Here is a prime example, in the seed pods of a very familiar plant, the peony right outside my kitchen door. I had never seen the seed pods before! So with newly opened eyes I saw this wonderful open pod filled with seeds. It reminded me of a jester’s cap with the tassels on the ends. And then there is the little spider and the webs woven around the stems and leaves as well as the lovely texture in the base of what was the flower, just under the jester’s cap. So I hope you don’t mind that this is not in bloom now, but appreciate as much as I did seeing this stage of one of my favourite flowers. Enjoy the unexpected today my friends! This might be just one of many.

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This comes with thanks to my friend James for the flowers in today’s Flower a Day posting. Our trip to his garden early on in my project at the end of July last year provided me with a wonderful array of flowers with beautiful backdrops. These glorious yellow daylilies are bright among the self-set dill plants that are scattered everywhere in his garden. He has such a display of colour and beauty in flowers and vegetables everywhere you look that it was a real inspiration for me. I went away with so many photographs and even a few little plants including dill to put in my own garden. I never get tired of daylilies – is it beginning to look as if we are having World Daylily Day events rather frequently? Today I really wanted a splash of summer sunshine in our post. And there it is! I hope you can feel its warmth.

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