Flowers – July 19, 2010

I have a miserable headache tonight and am writing this with an icepack tied to my head.  Instead of writing about headaches, though, I decided to show you pictures of flowers.

I grew up in Florida.  The name “Florida” is actually derived from the Spanish word for flower, “flores”.  However, the only flowers I really remember from my childhood are Hibiscus flowers and Royal Poinciana trees.  My mom has tons of plants, but the only ones that were flowers that I recall were the African violets (which are apparently hard to grow, but my mom did great with – we had lots).  I remember Florida being very green.  When I moved to Louisiana to go to college, I fell in love with springtime because of all the flowers, especially azaleas.  (As an aside, one of my great aunts was named Azalea, but it was pronounced with the stress on the first syllable.) 

Here in the Upper Midwest, we have an explosion of color every spring, but we have to wait until May for it.  I have Yarrow, Salvia, Lavender, and wild Violets in my front planter that I don’t have to do much about.  I had two lovely Coneflower plants, but they have apparently died, despite being perennials. 

My favorite flowers are Petunias and Morning Glories.  When we lived in Kentucky, I grew Purple Wave Petunias from seed the first year that Park Seed offered them.  The Petunias and Morning Glories were the only kinds of flowers that grew for me – and boy did they grow!!  I have pictures somewhere of Rosie Girl as a newborn in front of a bed of those bright Petunias with Morning Glories growing up trellises.  It was lovely!

Since we’ve been up here, I have usually purchased my Petunias, and I haven’t always had great success with getting really nice ones.  This year, though, I grew Wave Petunias this year from seed (Park Seed, of course) and they are looking gorgeous!!  Unfortunately, the only picture I have right now is the picture of my very first bloom.

Trust me, though, I now have pink, purple, and blue petunias spreading all over my front flower bed.  It is beautiful and I love to stand on the sidewalk and look at it.

Here are some random pictures of flowers that I took at Fort Wilderness last year.

Now, I have no idea what kinds of flowers these are, but I was on a flower photographing kick last year at camp and it makes me happy to look at these, so I thought I’d share them with you.  Enjoy!

And why do you worry about clothes?  See how the lilies of the field grow.  They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink” or “What shall we wear?”  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of it’s own.  Matthew 6:38-33

What do you like to look at or listen to when you don’t feel well?