Spring here in the Pacific Northwest is grand and glorious - everything bursts into bloom and because of our cool climate the flowers last an unbelievably long time.
We went for a couple rides lately and these are the flowers I found in bloom.
Allium
Columbine (Granny's Bonnet) - with a bit of Cottonwood fuzz stuck on a bud - we have hundreds - perhaps thousands of Cottonwoods in town (and more in the country) and when their seeds fly it is like snow - they form deep drifts along the sides of the roads.
Not sure of the name of this bush - it is similar to the familiar Snowball Bush but the "snowballs" line the branches, rather than forming at the end of the branches. We see these all over town, as well as the traditional Snowball Bushes
With Rhododendrons
Close-up of the "snowballs"
Rhododendrons are blooming all over town - I was impressed by the way this one had been pruned and formed into a tree shape
One can never have too many rhododendrons
A very tall white Lilac bush - it was about 20 feet tall.
Ox Eye Daisies along the roadsides - there are carpets of them everywhere this time of the year, sometimes the hillsides are solid white with the Ox Eye Daisy (small, wild cousin of the Shasta Daisy)
And then there are the irises - we drove out to see our favorite little plot of irises - about 30 x 30 feet - just full of irises. You can write down the names of your favorites (they are all labeled) and in the autumn you receive a phone call to come and pick up the tubers of the ones you decided to buy. It is a small garden, set in the edge of a hay field - and full of glory!!!
Some of my favorites - though it is hard to pick one favorite.
Over half the Irises were not blooming - perhaps next week end we'll go out again and get more photos.
Elderberries grow in vast patches here - and sometimes just a long bush. This is a photo from last year, but they are blooming right now - we just happened to drive by the Sisters at the right time when a lone Elderberry bush was in full bloom. Don't you think the Sisters make a fabulous background?
And of course our beloved Dandelions - fields of them. They are done blooming and the wishes are appearing. I'd like to be near a field of wishes when a breeze comes up. Like Fairies dancing in the breeze.
Spring is glorious!!!!
12 comments:
Gorgeous! I've never heard columbines called Granny's Bonnets before, but it fits!
What a beautiful post! I absolutely love all your gorgeous blooms. Wonderful job on all the mosaics. Still pretty chilly here. Might go to a greenhouse today...we'll see.
Wow, gorgeous blooms and images.. I love the irises..Lovely mosaics. Have a great day!
Such gorgeous flowering blooms!
Oh, Jo! How glorious!
THE PALE ORAGE IRIS IS AMAZING. AND I ADORE THE SNOWBALL "TREE."
Sorry about the caps. Bur all those flowers ARE exciting!
xo, m & jb
Beautiful flowers! It must be nice to live where the Rhododendrons bloom! And all those Irises! Wonderful.
Heaven, JoAnn! You found some amazing blossoms and all of them are truly beautiful. We have pretty much the same flowers blooming around here though I haven't found a patch of iris that would rival yours in beauty.
You are so very far ahead of us. It seems you get a lot all at once but our flowers really like to take turns. And you are right that Sisters makes a very attractive backdrop.
Love all of these beautiful photos! Oh my. They are gorgeous. What a great way to share iris tubers. They are so pretty.
Spring really has sprung for you! Simply marvellous display of flowers, heavenly (atishoo!).
Beautiful flower pictures. That clipped rhododendron bugs is amazing. Over here we also use the term granny bonnets for your columbines but we also call them aquilegia.
Lovely photos of the irises - wow! So many colors and shapes!
I have a rhododendron at the entrance to our house in a little side garden. When we first bought it, some 30 years ago, it bloomed for one year and then quit. Only in the past two years has it decided to bloom again! It is not yet open but perhaps this weekend it will grace the birdbath that it is wrapped around! So pretty!
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