Blooming spring

Rapeseed flowers are in full bloom, allowing people to enjoy a world completely bathed in yellow. These vibrant yellow beauties are a magnificent sight as you drive around the countryside. They only bloom for around 3-4 weeks in the springtime, less if there is heavy rain. Rapeseed is grown primarily for oil.

It is springtime, and the dandelions are everywhere! Some people get annoyed when this little yellow flower-like weed pops up all around their yards. It might be classified as a weed, but it is a part of the daisy family.

Broom is a large shrub of heaths, open woodlands and coastal habitats. Like gorse, it has bright yellow flowers, but it doesn’t have any spines and smells of vanilla.

Broom

Broom

Broom

Gorse

Primroses are a cheerful sign of spring. They are one of the first woodland blooms and provide an important nectar source for pollinators like brimstone and small tortoiseshell butterflies.
In Irish folklore, primroses in the doorway protected the home from fairies.

Camellias are dense shrubs with brilliant foliage. They offer bright, long-blooming flowers. The lovely waxen flowers of a camellia bush are a symbol of southern elegance. Alabama even chose camellias for the state flower. Camellias have a reputation for being somewhat difficult to grow, the trick to growing a camellia plant without too much effort is to plant it correctly.

Most people think that tulips originated in the Netherlands with how iconic they are over there. But, they actually came from Central Asia where they grew as a wildflower. And they were first cultivated in Turkey around 1000AD. The tulip name actually comes from the Turkish word for ‘turban’ for their similar appearances.

Wallflower plants have perky spring blooms, often in shades of yellow and orange. They are attractive, fragrant, easy to grow, and make great additions to any rock, border, or container garden. Their name comes from the fact that they have a habit of sprouting through silty cracks in brick or cement walls.

Muscari armeniacum is commonly known as the Armenian Grape Hyacinth, which perfectly describes their flowers: tight clusters of fat little bells with a grape juice fragrance.

Cornflowers have an upright posture that helps them fit in tight spaces. Intersperse throughout the garden, as cornflower nectar is unusually sweet, and thus a preferred food source for many beneficial insects.

Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is beautiful but deadly. This familiar flower has the power to cure and kill. Foxglove contains a chemical called digitalis that can be used to treat heart failure and high blood pressure by raising blood flow and increasing the body’s defence mechanisms. However, the plant is poisonous if consumed directly, and can cause a number of health problems.

Foxgloves are an important source of pollen for bees. The species has evolved to be especially attractive to long-tongued bees such as the common carder bee. The brightly coloured flowers and dark spotted lip attracts the bee, while the lower lip of the flower allows the insect to land before climbing up the tube. In doing so, the bee will drop pollen from other foxgloves, allowing the plant to reproduce.

What in your life is calling you,
When all the noise is silenced,
The meetings adjourned…
The lists laid aside,
And the Wild Iris blooms
By itself In the dark forest…
What still pulls on your soul?
Rumi.

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: colorful expressions.