Friday open thread: flower report

[dolorosa_12]

I walked to the swimming pool this morning accompanied by a dawn chorus of birdsong: wood pigeons, sparrows, and blackbirds. When I emerged for the return journey, Ely was shrouded in misty rain, and the cathedral was disappearing into the sky.

Everywhere there are signs of spring.

Today's open thread is, quite simply: what are the flowers like where you are? Here, we've got cherry and plum blossom, daffodil bulbs emerging from the soil, flowering rosemary, and buds just starting to appear on one of the quince trees. Here's a photoset I put up on Instagram.

Please feel free to share photos or descriptions of your own floral scenery in the comments. For those of you in the southern hemisphere, flowers are probably going to be harder to come by, so instead: what is the plant life doing as things turn autumnal?

Comments

[blackcatofmisery]

I live in the upper American Midwest, and spring hasn't yet shown itself here except in the melting snow and growing puddles. Our first spring flowers are usually tulips and daffodils and cherry blossoms. Snowdrops, lily of the valley (one of my dad's favorites; they're spreading more and more every year), various blue flowers I never know the name of but enjoy... (I think one looks like potato flowers, but it's too early.) Pretty typical. Lilac comes later, which is one of my absolute favorites. We just got six inches of snow last week, so things aren't very nice looking outside, yet.

=^..^=~

[dolorosa_12]

Oh, all those flowers sound so lovely! It's so interesting that I'm actually further north than you, but with such a milder climate. We only had a single day of snow this winter, and it melted after an hour or so, and for much of the winter I've been going around without any coat or scarf.

Melting snow is definitely a sign of a change in the seasons, though.

[blackcatofmisery]

We get actual winter weather and temperatures, even if we don't get snow until later in the season. I will see people without a jacket or wearing shorts, and I just cannot imagine what went through their minds as they left the house that they'd dress the way they did. I get chilled just looking at them.

It's nice today, though. Above freezing, no wind, clear skies. A marked difference.