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

[el_staplador]

I'm on the Isle of Wight today, as I have been every couple of weeks since my father died, and the big difference compared to a fortnight ago is the daffodils. All over the place: gardens, roadsides, around the bases of trees.

There are still snowdrops out, and I saw a bit of gorse in the hedgerows too. It's very heartening.

(Back in Ely, our neighbours' plum tree is in blossom, but ours isn't yet. It must be a different variety.)

[falena]

Oooh, open thread has come back with a bang. I mean, this is such a great prompt. I'm going to try and go out when everyone is asleep tomorrow morning and snap some pics. Thanks for the idea!

[shadaras]

After the snowstorm last week, the ground here is still covered in snow! Occasionally I'll see little determined buds of new growth on trees, but no flowers yet. :)

[pauraque]

Here in the northeast US it's still full-on snow-covered winter with not a flower or leaf in sight!

[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.

=^..^=~

[sophia_sol]

Flowers are still a long way off in my area; the ground is frozen solid and completely covered with snow and ice! The flowers in your pictures are lovely though, and I look forward to the time when we have such things too.

So far the signs of spring I'm clinging to are things like how the sun feels warm even though the air is still frigid, and the canada goose migration is in full swing, and I've heard that the red-wing blackbirds are on their way back even if I haven't seen any yet.

[lirazel]

The daffodils are blooming, and I am anticipating the tulips coming up soon! And then the blossoming trees! I'm so happy spring is coming!

I have to say: I really miss the snowdrops I got to see in Wales. I really fell in love with them, and we just don't have them here. We also don't have bluebells, which is tragic. Those are the two flowers I definitely miss the most.

[silveredeye]

The snow has mostly melted here, but the temperature is still dropping below zero at night, so no flowers yet. But the ground looks surprisingly green on the most sun-facing spots. I should go and check whether it's grass or like, adventurous moss on the ground.

[likeadeuce]

Not too many blooms here in Virginia yet, but daffodils are peeking out and my brother posted pics of his 3 year old walking along and pointing out every one, saying 'Flower go up! And here! And here! Flower go up here too, Daddy!' Very precious as he's starting to comprehend the changing of the seasons

[yarnofariadne]

Up north it's still too cold and rainy for anything other than snowdrops, but I work in a beautiful place that I'll hopefully be able to share colourful flower pictures of in a few weeks! ♥

[regshoe]

I usually go for a walk in the early morning, and the birdsong the last few weeks has been very heartening. Your walk sounds lovely, and those pictures are very nice—I like the rosemary especially!

We've also got blossom and the first few daffodils, and crocuses and snowdrops, and I found a little patch of violets the other day. I'm hoping to visit a local wood this weekend, and perhaps there'll be some good woodland flowers there.

[futurism]

I was born and raised in the Southern Hemisphere so there's always something blooming year round over there, oddly enough what's most common during spring is flower trees, of all things! Namely the Jacaranda, Jasmine, Star Fruit flowers and Flamboyans. Special mention to the Passionfruit flower which even though it's not a tree it has a very vibrant presence to it: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/passionflower.jpg

Spring is beautiful no matter where you are though, and I'm looking to see the cherry blossoms coming spring!

[lyr]

Here, we have redbud, Mexican buckeye, and azaleas blooming. It just warmed up this week, though, so I expect there will be many more in the next few days.

[chestnut_pod]

What a wonderful question! I love our brief floral spring here.

Wildflowers are brief and intense: monkeyflowers in hot colors, our own special sweet peas for that desert cottage garden, buttercups with that special sleek sheen, the shooting stars I love so much. And the tiny, ephemeral ones: teensy dot-flowered plantains and fringed linanthus and comb seeds about as big as my pinky. Some are going to stick around for a longer time: the ever-elegant western blue-eyed grasses, the various brodias, and the fragrant sages and deerweeds. The lemonade berries and britlebrushes and buckwheats seem to just go on forever. I can even forgive the invasives for a minute when they put out their blooms.

Silicon Valley, California

[ng_moonmoth]

Essentially no rain for nearly two months, so the hillsides that are generally bright green this time of year are already turning noticeably brown. But we have had daffodils blooming, the ornamental quince that blossoms every year about Chinese New Year time (it's red, which links it nicely to the holiday) went off a couple weeks late, the camellias are occasionally blossoming, and many of the trees in the area are blossoming. Most notably, the apricots in the heritage orchard.

[svgurl]

Nice pics!

I live in a residential neighborhood in California so there are people planting roses, which is what we see the most of. There are a few jacaranda trees nearby too. My parents used to have one in the backyard growing up but the roots spread too close to the house and they had to cut it down. Otherwise, the lack of rain means people are trying to conserve water and less flowers in general.