Patient Bloom

Two years have passed since this orchid from a friend has braved the blooming process. So precious, so seemingly rare and so very inspiring to me. One day to the next, the closed bud nudges open and somehow turns itself inside out. Or is it outside in? Either way, the...

Looking Up

When it comes to finding a way to find the sun, there is no better teacher than the sunflower.  This one, a cast-away from a bustling bird feeder, made its way to a bit of fertile ground, put down roots and spontaneously grew tall and opened with this stellar pattern...

Seeing Symbiosis

I had heard that peonies need the ants for the blooms to open.  Not true. Turns out that the ants just like the sweetness of the nectar. Yes, some would say that their visits do help in the opening of the dense double buds, but it is not required.  As I watched this...

Beauty Abounds

What a treat to receive tropical flowers in the midst of winter.  Not only are they hard to find here, these endured frigid travels in their cardboard box!  Is that why I appreciate their beauty so much more, for the contrast they make to the wintry outside...

Growing Open

Do you think she’s shy?  Or does she appear that way until the petals fill with sunshine and unfurl?  I appreciate how the early stages of unfolding can seem so awkward and even scrawny, but truly the black-eyed Susan flower is beautiful all along the way.  This...

Pop!

From one day to the next, poppies pop.  They go from tight fuzzy buds bursting at the seams to this papery magnificence that only lasts a short time.  Poppies teach me to pay attention, to anticipate the pop and to savor every wondrously colorful moment of their...