Welcome to my Flower of the Day Challenge (FOTD) by Cee Neuner.
Today’s flower is called Scaevola but commonly called Fan Flower for obvious reason.
The stems hang down with clusters of blooms on the end that will sway in the wind.
As flowers make us smile, share that smile with others. A smile is a wonderful easy way to show kindness. Always Be Kind!
Cee gives us the wonderful opportunity to share the flowers we see or grow…even if its a weed.
Today I want to share some of the various lilies that are growing in my front yard. The ones out back have yet to bloom, they are a late season daylily, pinkish in color.
These are my early lilies that grow on a stalk like an Easter Lily. They are small blooms but fragrant. For some reason I forgot to take a picture of the yellow one.
Below is the first bloom of my yellow daylilies. Currently there are 26 buds waiting to open.
Flowers always make me smile. They have a beauty and fragrance to remind us the wonders of creation. So as we enjoy these wonders share the joy they give by being kind to others.
Thank you Cee for the fun in sharing our flowers with everyone.
Today I post the picture of my first sunflower of the season. This particular one was planted by the birds from several of the sunflowers that bloomed in that area last summer. The bloom is not as large as some I have had but the color is a yummy lemon yellow.
It stands about nine feet tall and has multiple blooms forming for future openings this summer. The twelve footers I planted this year are not ready yet. I was late getting them planted, so we will have warm smiles all summer long.
If you get the opportunity, share the warmth of kindness with others this summer. Kindness can alleviate a lot of sadness in our lives so spread it around.
Cee Neuner gives us a great way to share the beauty of nature around us with her different challenges. During the summer, I love sharing my flowers. Today I share my many colors of Petunias.
The white ones have a majesty all their own.
The creamy yellows ones have a softness to them that reminds me of yummy frozen custard.
Then we get into the fun ones. Candy cane petunias can make anyone smile.
But my favorites this year are ones I have never seen before. Each bloom is spotted differently so as they grow all summer they will change. And being purple, that puts them on the favorite list anyway.
In closing as we enjoy the beauty of flowers, remember the beauty of kindness.
Even a flower can feel the beauty of kindness.
I have not posted in awhile as I have been burning candles on both end and in the middle. Since the church community garden did not have a host this year, I took it own. How hard can it be, its not that big. GOOD GRIEF!!! Alas, it is growing and producing vegetables for any who come to pick. Then there is my yard…my flowers which is a must as I do love my flowers.
Cee’s Flower of the Day today is dahlias and I have several types of those so I will share my dahlias with you as well. I am partial to the smaller ones with varied colors.
Then there are the mediums sized ones that remind me of small mums with their rich dark reds, reds with yellow tinges and bright yellows with touches of orange.
Since I feed the birds as well, I usually end up with various mystery plants in my yard and this years mystery plant I am sure is some type of vegetable, possibly in the squash family. Its not very tall, has leaves shaped like a fig leaf and tiny yellow flowers. It could also b e a weed, lol. We will see.
I will let it grow until it proves to me it has to go. Flowers bring me joy and remind me of kindness and if we can be anything, we should at first be kind.
Cee always gives us such wonderful ways to share the beauty we see. And while this is Flower of The Day, we don’t have flowers yet but the greenery is growing, finally. I give you beginning pics of our community garden sponsored by our church. Its small but enjoyed by those close in our neighborhood.
We have eight raised beds the boy scouts built for us two years ago. The chain link fence is to keep the rodents out…good luck. But we have a variety of bed vegetables growing. Beside the raised beds we have the larger vegetables growing, like corn and potatoes. You cant live in Iowa and not grow corn…just sayin’.
As we enjoy the growing season, let us remember the kindness of us sharing love like we do with our garden.
Its the perfect time to show off Peonies in the Midwest. My bush grows huge flowers but its location is not the best. It catches all the wind as it zooms up from the river. So, if it gets in full bloom and a storm happens, the delicate limbs can not hold up the huge bloom and they fall to the grown. My buds are showing and thunderstorms are comin this afternoon. So, I have one open bloom to share with you today.
I placed the bloom in my blue spruce to give it some pretty background before bringing it into the house. The ants love these but they have not found them yet.
The other beauty I want to share today is probably a weed but it is quite lovely. In my opinion a weed is just a flower not recognized for it beauty. However they are some weeds I pluck immediately to keep them at bay. See if you can help me identify this creation. I have let it grow because of it lovely flower.
You can see that it is really nice with many clusters waiting to open. If you recognize this, let me know. If I need to get rid of it, let me know.
I have not been posting much as I have been knee deep(literally) in the churches community garden. It took us planting it twice this year due to a crazy spring to get it going but it seems to be doing well so far…
But I do want to remind you of my root cause – kindness. Kindness has a power and beauty that can change the world if we use it correctly and often. And in keeping with the flower / garden theme, I give you similarities of how we can become gardens ourselves, so garden of kindness.
Technically for me its still the 27th but…We are tying in with Cee’s challenge for the 28th to showcase the beauty of flowers regardless of the day.
Since mine are not up yet, I give you archives of last summer as the hopes of this summers sunflowers are just now breaking ground.
My neighbors loved my sunflowers so much last year, we are planting them again this year. They are just beginning to break ground in their little cups. Hopefully it will warm up soon before they get too big. LOL.
And with all things spring in mind, lets warm up our kindness as well.
What a crazy week we have had…50 degrees, no 60s, no 30s and now more snow. Welcome to the Midwest in March. I long for my sunflowers again this year, so I give you remembered photos and a poem of hope.
It’s Coming
Alas its coming, I can smell it on the air
The bursting of spring, a damsel so fair
I can feel the ground, it has turn to mush
But we must wait, the new storm’s a rush
It will cover the ground in a layer of white
It doesn’t matter, our hopes are still bright
For spring is coming, the buds are showing
Flowers will be blooming, the sky glowing
For spring is coming
Come join in with Cee and her Flower of the Day. Flowers make us smile and we all need more of that. Even though we still may be masked, smiles of kindness can still come through your eyes. Smile and be kind often.
As I look out my window at the snow falling, it makes that much more ready for spring. Cee allows archive photos for her challenge, Flower of the Day, so I shall pass along some of those.
Welcome to the Flower of the Day Challenge (FOTD), hosted by Cee Neuner. During the winter months, please feel free to use your archives and find some old favorite photos.
Please feel free to post every day or when you you feel like it. Don’t forget that my FOTD challenge accepts gardens, leaves and berries as well as flowers.
Flowering trees have always been a favorite. When they bloom, you know spring is truly here.
May your weekend be as beautiful as these memories and remember to always be kind.
For the Love of 