Blooms

In the last post I included a photo of Mimosa trees in bloom and Kathie wrote to say how much she had liked seeing something in bloom, or words to that effect. And she added, "is anything else blooming there?" I sent a couple of flower images and she said it gave her hope.

So, I thought, a lot is blooming here right now and to see some of it might give hope to those waiting for a glimpse of spring in the Great White North.


After the rain stopped this afternoon I went out in our neighbourhood with my camera to see what blooms I might find and document and be used as harbingers of spring in Canada - excluding BC of course, where spring no doubt has already arrived.
Most of you will know these flowering plants better than I but I will have a go at identifying them and if I am incorrect, hopefully someone will correct me.

The flower in the top left is a hibiscus and these are easy to find as they are in many front yards. The upper right is, Ruth and I think, euphorbia or crown of thorns. I am not sure about the white flowers above but they could be the flower of a fruit tree. Anyone know what they are?
The plant in the yard above and left is a poinsettia and, like the hibiscus, these are also ubiquitous.

The blooms, in the photo to the right, look to us like a type of lily but I have to say that I have never seen a lily like this. I couldn't get close to them but from the sidewalk where I stood behind a substantial fence they looked quite beautiful but not clearly identifiable. Click on the photo (any photo) to have a better look and let me know if they look like lilies to you, or not.

Here again I am looking from the sidewalk and the flowers are on the other side of a fence so I can't get close enough to have a good look, so can't really say. From my vantage point I originally thought they look a bit like carnations. My only experience with carnations is in jacket button holes and based on even that limited perspective my conclusion now is that these are not carnations. I'd say geraniums.

This beautiful purple iris stood alone in the foliage just over the fence, but there were several other buds not too far from opening. And on either side of the iris there were lots of red snapdragons.

Below, everyone will recognize, is a cluster of bougainvillea, another flowering plant that is quite prevalent here - there is a similar, though less abundant one next door to this one and there is another very large one less than a block from here.
Below the iris is a yard with bunches of flowers virtually everywhere - next to the house and in beds beside the walk ways driveway and fences.


From my location on the other side of the fence I cannot even guess what these flowering plants might be. If you are a flower person and you enlarge the image, maybe you can identify them.






The recent rain has left lots of water droplets on this rose - I'm pretty sure it's a rose - it looks like a rose and there are appear to be thorns on the stem, so I am guessing rose. Any dissent?

Another one of those bunches of flowers, I think in the same yard as the image above. And, again, they are lovely but I have no idea what they are.

And poinsettias again, these just up the street from the apartment. This group is on a fairly large "shrub" that is filled with these blossoms - maybe shrub is not the correct descriptor - my guess is that it is about 8 feet high and about the same spread. Maybe tree is a better term. There is another one larger than this a couple of blocks away and that one I would say is even more like a tree. I had no idea poinsettia plants were that large.


These bright orange flowers are in a yard I pass regularly on my short-cut route to the supermarket. I snapped a quick and unfocussed photo of these one day last week when they were in the sun. Even with the poor focus, anyone know what they are? I have no idea. I went by today and they are looking very tired and much less colourful.


This blossom is a bit of a puzzle. I am sorry that it is not better focussed. All of these photos were taken with my small camera and getting a sharp focus was difficult - and it was breezy which added to the difficulty. I have no idea but Ruth thinks it's a double hibiscus. Any thoughts? Again, click on the photo to enlarge it.

So, there is a hope of spring from the Algarve, Portugal to the Great White North and upstate New York!