Friday, April 18, 2008

Spring Flora: Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder


Last weekend's Inspired Flora exhibit had me looking differently at all the plants that we have growing in our yard.

We are lucky enough to have some gorgeous flowering trees, like the magnolia tree that burst open this week (see above).

I'm not much of a gardener. I tend to plant things and let survival of the fittest take over.

All the fussing that gardening requires, especially in the heat of the summer - when I just want to be glugging a tall, icy lemonade in front of the A/C - is too much maintenance.

Several years ago, I planted an armload of tulip bulbs.


These hardy little bulbs never fail to disappoint, erupting year after year from the soil and mulch to pay tribute to the longer, sunnier days.

With fair skin that burns at the slightest provocation, I'm more of an indoor girl. Actually, I do enjoy the outdoors - especially when it's 80 degrees, sunny and clear, like it was today.

Although the spate of early spring weather may be short-lived, I took advantage of the sun and the flowers to capture some of the springtime magic that abounded in my yard. Enjoy!

4 comments:

Kitty said...

Flowering magnolia trees mean final exams, to me. They mean really nice weather and having to coop myself inside to get things done.

I don't blame you about the gardening. It's hard work. I'd rather just futz around.

Anonymous said...

Good morning, Kitty! It's funny how certain plants can trigger those memories, isn't it? The lilacs bloomed in my parents' yard around the week of my birthday... so the smell of lilacs always make me happy.

A friend of ours has a spectacular garden over her entire backyard. But she admits that before she has anyone over, she weeds for hours every night after work for a week. For me, that's too much - but for her, it's cheap therapy!

Anonymous said...

My grandparents were gardeners, my parents are gardeners so it is no surprise that I, too, am gardening. I love roses and my four rosebushes love the full day of sun they get in my south-facing yard. Today I bought wavy petunias and made up a couple of hanging baskets. Coming in May: my first vegetable garden!

Anonymous said...

Hi, Stephanie! Petunias are one of my favorites - their colors are so vibrant, so I'm sure your baskets look marvelous. Best of luck with the vegetable garden! Those will be some delicious meals, knowing you grew the vegs yourself, eh?

After years of growing herbs, we're finally going to grow tomatoes this year. A friend has had fabulous luck growing several heirloom varieties he gets as plants from a farm that ships from out west (Kansas? Nebraska?). And after seeing how many tomatoes he ends up with, we want to give it a go!