A Full-time Life

Category: Flowers and Gardens

  • SILVER (?) TRUMPET TREE

    NOTE: TYPEPAD has been down…victim of a cyber attack. Hope it is fixed now.

     

    Fort Myers version of  yellow Spring flowers — against a blue blue sky!

     

      Yellow tree capecoral theater

    An article in our local newspaper last month said that this flowering tree is called a Silver Trumpet (tabebuia argentea).  I'm not sure why silver, because to me these  blossoms are way closer to yellow-gold.  

     

    P1040058

     

    It blooms sometime around mid-March to early April and, whatever it is  called, the beautiful yellow blossoms are more than welcome.  

     

    P1040057

     

    These last two pictures are from a couple of weeks ago (and the flowers were already past their prime) … now the yellow petals are mostly just carpeting the ground under the trees.

           

    P1040060

     

    These trees don't get super tall and are a graceful shape even when not flowering, so they're used a lot in home landscaping and also in parks and along the streets in Fort Myers. 

    And they are definitely a feast for the eyes during their short blooming season. 

        

       SHARING WITH:  

    SKYWATCH FRIDAY and   TODAY'S FLOWERS.   

    Thank you  to Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy for SWF and to Denise,  Pupo, and Sandy for Flowers.

  • WILD IRIS ALONG A COUNTRY ROAD

     

    P1040084Almost all flowers make me smile …. flowers in yards, flowers in public gardens,  flowers in nurseries and greenhouses, flowers in private gardens, even supermarket bouquets, but especially wildflowers.     

    There is something very special about flowers that thrive without any attention at all.  There they are —  just adding joy to the world without any help from anybody.

    And it is magical to find them unexpectedly.  

    So when we stumbled on a whole big field abloom with wild irises last week,  it was a very special occasion indeed.   

     

    WILD IRIS

     

     These were the first "real" spring flowers I've ever seen in Florida.  

    Most of the flowers that bloom this season  in the Pacific Northwest (or Northeast for that matter) don't do well in Florida's sub-tropic climate.  I don't know what it was about this field that was different or if there are other places in this state where they bloom and we just haven't learned about it.      

    I'm just glad we found these.  

       

    P1040075

     

    Every flower was perfectly graceful and perfectly purple!

     

     

    P1040079

     

    Except this one which was perfectly white.  And the only white one in the entire field of purple.

     

    P1040077

     

     Sharing the joy with FLOWERS FOR TODAY and I HEART MACRO

     

    Thank you to Denise and Laura for hosting these wonderful sharing opportunities. 

     

     

     

  • WATER LILY GARDEN

     

    Water lilies at Naples (Florida) Botanical Gardens, March  2014.

     

     

      P1030959-001

     

     

     

     

    P1030947-006

     

     

      P1030957-001

     

     Shared with  TODAY'S FLOWERS.  Thank you Denise.  Visit and click the links for a virtual bouquet from all over the world!

     

  • NOTHING BUT BLUE SKY …

    Honestly, I never thought I'd say this, but plain blue skies are just about as boring   a subject for photos as plain gray ones  (but much warmer).  

    And since we've mostly had plain bright blue skies lately (and since I've been missing SKYWATCH FRIDAY)  here are some contrasting colors against all that blue.  

     

     

    2014-03-132

     

     This flowering tree is called a Double Buttercup.

     

    2014-03-133

     

    No clouds in the sky?  How about some that grow on trees?  

    This one is called Silk Floss Tree.

     

    P1030974-001Both these trees were blooming at the Naples (Florida) Botanical Garden earlier this month.    

    Thank you to Sylvia, Sandy, and Yogi for hosting the wonderful SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

  • (DIGITALLY) PRESSED FLOWERS

     

     Preserving my pretty Valentine gift bouquet the modern way.  Sure beats pressing petals into the middle of a dictionary!

     

    02-25-14 004

     

     

      02-25-017

     

     The green flowers lasted longer than all the other blooms in the bouquet.  Must have been a good preservative in whatever was used to give them that odd color.  

    So I took a picture of the last flower and then indulged in some Picasa-play to make it even odder.

     

    VALENTINE FLOWERS2 2014

     

     

     

    SHARING WITH:  FLOWERS FOR TODAY (thank you Denise) and MOSAIC MONDAY (thank you Mary).  

  • SPRING TRADE-OFF

     

     

    Here in the subtropics  it's too warm for most flowers that are typical to this season  –  we never see daffodils, crocus, lilacs,  pussy willows, tulips.     For us, it's the only downside to having no real winter…without it, we don't get early Spring (it's only fair after all.)

     

    But we do have flowers.  Lots of them.  Just not the ones you usually think of in March.    Most-frequently-seen around here right now is the lushly beautiful hibiscis.    These are in my favorite color pallette — for flowers, sunrises, and even the walls in our "Florida room."

     

    2014-03-041

     

      The red ones like those below are nice too and are more commonly seen.  

    In any color, hibiscis are wonderful bright color spots and they make our winter/spring trade-off even easier to take.  

     

    Hibiscis-001

     

     

     

    But I'm looking foward to seeing some of the more typical Spring flowers on blogs from "up North" … where-ever and when-ever you all finally get some early spring!

     

       

    P1030860-001

     

     

     

    Sharing these Florida flowers of the season on TODAY'S FLOWERS and  I HEART MACRO.   

    Thank you to Denise and to Laura for hosting these wonderful sharing opportunities.  

  • HEARTS and FLOWERS

     

      

     Hearts and on flowers for Valentine's week   

       

    P1030782-002

     

     

     Penta plants are blooming now in the Butterfly Gardens at  

     Manatee Park in Fort Myers

    original

    It was fun to see the little heart shapes since we visited the park just before Valentine's Day. 

     

     

    Linked to  I HEART MACRO  thanks to Laura and to

    TODAY'S FLOWERS with thanks to Denise.

     

     

     

     

  • ORCHIDS IN JANUARY

     

     

     A neighbor couple grows beautiful orchids and staghorn ferns each season.  They attach  them to a large tree in their yard.  They do beautifully in the greenhouse climate we (usually) have here.

     

     

    P1030613-001

     

    They did survive the lower temperatures last week.   (Which tells you that it wasn't really all that cold!) 

     

    P1030614-001

     

     Thank you to Denise for TODAY'S FLOWERS,  to Laura for I HEART MACRO, and to Mary for MOSAIC MONDAY.  

      

    2014-01-061

     

     With or without the camera, I never take a walk around the neighborhood without a rest stop at this yard!

     

     

  • FALL FLOWER FINALE

     

     Here are the last of the flowers from our visit to Shore Acres Gardens.   

     

    P1020586-001

    For TODAY'S FLOWERS  with thanks to Denise.

     

    P1020555-001

     

    And below for I HEART MACRO, thanks to Laura.

     

    P1020555-002

    This one is a bit of a cheat for a macro shot, because obviously it is a crop of the picture above it… but I didn't notice the perfect center of this flower until I looked at the download.   I think it looks  like a picture made by a spin of a kaleidoscope.

     

    P1020571-001

    The late September rains pretty much did in the flowers around here, so this will probably be my last flower post  until we head south and I can add to my collection.  

    Thanks again to both hosts and to everyone for coming to see my "stolen" summer blossoms.  

         

     

     

  • BEAUTIFUL BEGONIAS (2013 edition)

     

    There was a perfect riot of bright colors …

     

     

    P1020592

     

    …  in the greenhouse at Shore Acres State Park last month.

     

    P1020591-002

     

    When I titled this post, I saw that I'd already done a post last summer called "Beautiful Begonias" so I changed up the title a little for this year.  

     

     
    P1020581-001

    Last year's post was from Bend Oregon … and there, the begonias were growing in flowerbeds.  Here on the coast they were being babied in the greenhouse.

     

    P1020594-001

     

    It gets warmer in the mountain city of Bend in the summertime …. but colder in the winter.   For the most part, the Oregon Coast is slightly cool and damp all year round.

     

    Linking with  flower-lovers all over the world through TODAY'S FLOWERS   (with thanks to Denise for hosting this lovely meme) and the amazing community of macro-photographers at I HEART MACRO (thank you Laura).