What's Blooming?
 

What did you notice blooming on your walk to work today?

Tell us their names, describe their color or form (in Latin if you want), make up names, snap a photo, or write a poem - who cares - I just want to hear about pretty plants!

I love springtime. It's pretty much over around here, starting to turn into summer...
But I realize there are parts of the world where springtime has just begun!

And, let's face it, there are interesting plants that are pretty just about all year. So, yeah, they don't have to be in bloom - what caught your eye?

__ ____ __ __ __ ___ _____ _



Today I walked by some pansies, violas, there's a bunch of blooming, fragrant white rosebushes in front of this one house, bright red camellias are still in bloom. Oh! Fucshia! I love the pretty Fuchsia that's in bloom right now, all purple and pink. There's even a blooming guava out in front of the apartment complex.

Is it wrong that when I saw the thread title I thought blooming would be some new stupid thing to get high that the kids are supposedly doing in great numbers according to some channel 5 news report?

Such a topic would better match the trends we see with news, wouldn't it? Nope. Surely you've seen a pretty plant or two, Ustwo?

Sure, but I never got into botany as a biologist and I loath gardening, so outside of some nice lilacs I couldn't tell you any specific names.

I planted an orange tree outside my bedroom window a few years back and it's blooming now. I love the smell of orange blossoms and someday soon I'll be enjoying the fruits of my labor.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...geBloss_wb.jpg

The ornamental cherry trees are starting to lose their blossom to the wind; it leaves pink drifts of petals throughout town. My violas are in full swing on the front porch, and the lilacs are beginning to attract bees. The apple tree outside the bathroom window is still white with flowers. The rosemary around town is also blooming--tiny blue flowers all over. Rosemary really thrives here. Some tulips are still up, but most are starting to go south, and I've seen a number of irises in bloom lately, including some beautiful bearded iris and lovely wild iris out at my SO's parents' house.

i´m really missing the smell of jasmine right about now

To genuinegirly;

You are the most beautiful new bud
this bee has seen
on this incomparable day of Spring

As I watch you unfurl
your fresh new blossom
There is nothing I will miss
If you will only allow me
to alight on your petals
and share with you a sweet kiss

UnclePhil - A blooming onion! What a silly treat. Thanks for the contribution.

Willravel - Heavenly! At my parent's house we have several citrus trees - always a treat when they're in bloom. Must be intense to have it just outside the bedroom window.

Onesnowyowl - Now that is a picture to die for. All of that beauty!!! Seems this is the right time of the year to pay a visit to Oregon.

lotsofmagnets - Your spring is coming soon, in Iceland, is it not? Or is it snowy through July?

Bees - :blush:

The Dogwood have just sprung, as have the tulip trees and lilacs. It appears to be that one week or so when just everything is up and lively. The tulips and daffodils are still out here in Portland, while in Hood River last weekend I saw wild sunflowers.

Its wild out there.

14 year old girls.


buhahahaha.

A deep-seeded hatred for the persistent dreary weather that looms around New York City this late into the year.

hehe...you must live in brooklyn...

Usually May is the best month in Oregon, but this year that certainly hasn't been the case. And namako, I had forgotten to mention the dogwood, so thank you! The dogwoods here in town have been especially beautiful this year. The rhodies are also in full swing; the clusters of flowers range in size from softball to basketball. Oregon State University is famous for the diversity of plant life (particularly trees) on campus, but what really steals the show are the rhodies and azaleas.

Thanks for the bloomin' onion phil - I'm starving.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2352/...aab5c62a17.jpg

These tulips were beautifully blooming on Park avenue.

It's not all that bad Hal - just think of the sweltering summer coupled with 110 degree train stations. :thumbsup:

the joke here is that we get 10 months of winter and 2 months of spring/summer. nothing spectacular comes out here during spring summer simply because of the climate. perhaps i´m biased coming from au where spring is spectacular...

+1 to shauk :p

namako - dogwoods are remarkable when in bloom - always catch me by surprise.
shauk - so that's where you're lookin'.
Halx - what a bummer. You should make a trip out to central park for a weekend, infuse some cheer into your day.
onesnowyowl - the Rhododendrons and Azelias are in bloom here as well, aren't they remarkable?
Manic_Skafe - remarkable dutch tulips. I've always loved those. Their season is so short, but they bring so much joy. I remember the first time I saw a tulip popping out of the snow my first winter in Utah - I thought I'd never seen anything prettier than bright tulips against the white snow.
lotsofmagnets - I'm sure you have plenty of pleasant plants that pop up in springtime! Especially with all that remarkable sunlight.
Yeah, see? I just found this little online flora of Iceland with these pretty flower pictures:


What about poppies
http://www.iceland-nh.net/plants/dat...2007d-1234.jpg

Wood Crane's Bill (geranium)!
http://www.iceland-nh.net/plants/dat...um/y972613.jpg

and cornflower?
http://www.iceland-nh.net/plants/dat...2007d-1154.jpg

Well, my walk to work consists of walking to the back shed/office, so not a lot to see there, but we have these growing in the front yard:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camellia_sasanqua

It is autumn/fall here, though, so I'm not sure I'm in the right thread ;)

edit: yes I'm too lazy to go and find the camera and take my own picture.

Heya Spindles - What a pretty Camellia! I love hearing about what's flowering in the other hemisphere!

Just outside my window there are lilacs. Apples of all sorts are blooming. Down the block there's a dogwood flowering. We still have tulips. No one in this neighbourhood seems to go for irises, but i saw them in Madison on the weekend.

Thanks for sharing, guyy! Sounds like a beautiful time in Wisconsin!

Sorry I made you blush genuinegirly. Hey your not married yet!

Is your avatar pic a Pitcher Plant? I love those beautiful carnivores!

There is an Audubon sanctuary near my house that protects a wonderful sphagnum moss bog.
http://www.nhaudubon.org/sanctuaries/ponemah.htm

The Picther Plants abound there and when I visit I always take an eyedropper and a magnifying glass with me that I use to examine whatever insects the plants happen to be digesting at the moment.

Each month there is something new blooming around the bog. My favorite time is late summer when the wild blueberries are plentiful.
I visited recently just to see the brilliant magenta rhodora flowers that bloom in May. These are wild rhododendrons.

http://www.digitalnaturalhistory.com...june202004.jpg

Actually, my avatar is a bromeliad. Tt took the photo on our recent visit to the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers. It collects water at the base of the leaves, the little pool you're seeing. I'm not sure if this species excretes digestion enzymes into the pool, as some bromeliads do. I tend to think not because its inflorescence is there.

Here is a link to the photograph, much larger:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3188/...cc5da468_b.jpg

What a delightful bog, Bees! Audobon has such beautiful preserves. Thank you for sharing.

I always enjoy picking the native blackberries on the fire trails and in Tilden Park. I don't believe I've ever had a wild blueberry, though a friend from Boston once sent us a jar of wild blueberry preserves.

Your native rhododendron is beautiful. Is it a large shrub?

The native rhododendron is not large. It is more like a bushy azelea that spreads out laterally. When it is in bloom around the bog you can see magenta flowers everywhere!

Nice pic of your bromeliad.

With all these flowers, it must be a good time of year for bees.

That's right will. Honey bees alighting on nectar laden flowers is my favorite literary metaphore.

A couple of common South Floridian blooms:

Lantanas:

http://mgonline.com/lantana01.jpg


.. and plumerias which come in several colors:

http://www.uplandnursery.com/galleries/plumeria-14.jpg

Oh. OH. Gotcha. :thumbsup:

Jack in the pulpit was blooming in the woods the other day. I'm trying to upload a picture of it, but I've never posted a picture before, so I don't know if I'll do it right.

jewels - Isn't plumeria delicious-smelling?
Manuel_Hong - that Jack in the pulpet is quite stunning with its stripes. Congrats on uploading your first photo!

Oh it is, and you're very welcome.

To tell you the truth, for the past few months i've been in Oak Park, Illinois on weekdays, so the neighbourhood of the moment is there. I go to Wisconsin every weekend, and it is indeed beautiful. (I-90 is manifestly un-beautiful, so i'll be moving back in June. The peonies will be blooming.)

Aside from flowers, i'm also enjoying the frogs & birds. (in Wisconsin, that is) The field across the road has a giant puddle in it, and we've been watching the birds: cranes, ducks, geese, swans, turkeys...

a contribution rather than a hit&run....

taken right near where i live.

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...s/IMGP4120.jpg
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...s/IMGP4122.jpg

genuinegirly Thanks!! I'm pretty psyched that I figured it out.
Since it went so well, I'm gonna post another few shots of what's bloomin'! I've got A LOT of these pictures, so if you like them, I'll post more. For now, here's a couple of iris and a lilac.

I dunno about these things...

They've landed!!!

I love them, Manual_Hong!
Cynthetiq- Where is that? Crazy fun!

dunno, it's done by this group

http://www.1st-ave-machine.com/
maybe you saw the flowering AT&T commericals they did, they have some commercials you'd swear were real.

lotsofmagnets - not sure how I missed your reply before - pretty!!! Thanks for sharing.
Cyn - aha. I thought they looked like those commercials.

Trilliums:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2356/...3b4091.jpg?v=0

Apples

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2281/...35055a.jpg?v=0

Strawberries. Terrible photo, but hese are just about my favourite flowers.


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2328/...c2bac0.jpg?v=0


Creeping charley and white violets

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2226/...8a881c.jpg?v=0

Bleeding hearts. These smell like green coffee beans!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2161/...0461a6.jpg?v=0

Daffodils:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3290/...59cac3.jpg?v=0