I love hundreds of types of plants. I am in love with a dozen or so.
The twinkle in my eye during March belongs to my yellow Epimedium.
It peeks out from under a Pieris japonica bush and an Autumn fern.
Its butter yellow blooms dangle from wiry stalks like tiny lanterns aglow.
A perfect place for a fairy to read a book.
Even the leaves are lovely.
FLOWER
My maple tree is now a popular hangout for my little furry friends.
They are eating the samara fruits off the tree. These are also called whirlbirds or helicopters due to how they fly in the wind
I love watching their little paws picking the nutlet bundles.
Sometimes they even hang upside down to pick them and perch on tiny twigs to eat.
I wish I could climb up there with them.
FLOWER
Flaky confetti fell last night.
Nature was partying as we slept.
Now my flowers are covered in flakes.
Wearing snow on their heads like fancy fascinators.
At least none look hungover.
Sneaky snow.
.
Sneaky flowers.
Sneaky spring.
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Sometimes flowers merge.
This is especially true for the cutest daffodil in the world, Tete a Tete.
It tends to grow two flowers to a stem.
Sometimes the two get smashed together.
Sometimes they fuse together.
Occasionally they join into a Siamese-twin type of flower.
These are at first noticeable due to their extra petals and larger cup/corolla.
If you look closely, you will notice two pistils, the female part , in the center.
Also double the number of stamens(male parts) surrounding them.
If you cut these blooms open, you will see there are still two separate ovules in the double-sized ovary.
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Columbines come in many sizes and colors.
My largest have purple blooms. My most numerous have pink blooms.
The white bloomers stand out in shade.
My favorite is named Little Lanterns/ Aquilegia canadensis.
It usually resides in a hypertufa trough.
I put it in the ground over the winter to avoid freezing.
The pencil shows just how tiny it is.
The blooms look like tiny glowing lanterns.
I will be moving it back into a trough.
I had to lie down flat on my belly to get these photos.
Dirty again. I must remember to clean off the pencil before putting it back behind my ear.
FLOWER
This chime has a ghost
My cousin who left us
and took with him sunshine and laughter and love.
And left behind darkness.
A shadow
of where he used to be
in our family.
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I do love an occasional screaming flower.
But my heart belongs to the quiet ones.
The ones with the dainty detail, that makes you look twice and pause.
Like this Picotee Amaryllis.
Yes it is white, but with a green throat and a hint of red around the margins.
Beside the screaming red and white “incorrect bloomer”, it may be overlooked.
But let it stand quietly alone, it inspires awe.
FLOWER
I got this plant for my mother as a Mother’s Day gift last spring.
We have divided it into three. Now my sister and I have one also.
The bracts were an unusual light pink when I purchased it.
Mine is now blooming white,
except for one pink spot.
The three flowers are in the center, each emerging from a bract.
The bracts are the colorful part. The tiny blooms are usually white.
FLOWER
I have many daffodils.
Tall and short, yellow and white, white and white, orange and white and even some doubles.
I love them all, but one type always stands out the most and shines the brightest.
Even though it is the tiniest.
I love it that there are clusters of them all over my gardens.
My parents gave me a pot of them blooming one spring over two decades ago.
I have been dividing them and sharing them for over twenty years.
They are like little spots of sunshine.
Tete a Tete is the cutest daffodil in the world.
It is a miniature Narcissus. Its name comes from the fact that many stems have two flowers.
They look like they are having a little chat.
I would like to mention the unusual vase that belonged to a dear friend Beth.
It has a eight-parted, fluted, clear glass vase and a silver stand decorated with roses.
She would love to know that I have shared it on my blog.
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floweralley 