Each year around this time, my wife pots plants in plastic drink cups and takes them to work. She places a sign on them that says “Flowers for Valentine’s Day”. The plants usually disappear within an hour. She asks for no money. She just does this from her heart. That’s the kind of person she is. I am one very lucky man. The plants this year are starts from the Apostle’s Lily shown here. These wonderful blooms come in profuse cycles throughout the year and fill the house with both wonderful scents and the stunning visual beauty you see. This blog is my Valentine’s bouquet for you.

Wild roses are, too often, neglected beauties. We seem to only think of the cultivars (more on this soon) when we hear the word ‘roses’. Yet on any walk in the woods during the late May to June season, one can encounter and enjoy these prairie roses or white multi-flora roses.

Of course, there is much to love about cultivated roses too.

It is truly a time of celebration when these wonderful, profuse, and fragrant blooms appear. The leaves of this transplant from, China most likely, sprout and grow in the spring, then die back during June. The blooms spring forth dramatically from the ground in late July or early August. The suddenness of their arrival is reflected in some of the common names: surprise lily, magic lily, and resurrection lily. Personally, I prefer ‘Nekkid Ladies’.

When the irises arrive in spring, I’m convinced of the rebirth of the world. Forsythia, crocus, and daffodil are the harbingers, but each of them can too often be seen peeking through a late snowfall. Irises however, really are the sign that warm days and nights are upon us.

In late spring or early summer, the purple cone flowers fill roadside fields with color. I’m not sure why they’re called ‘purple’, as to my eye they are distinctly pink.

All of my pictures are available for purchase. Just click on the picture you like here in the blog! See more of my work in the Gallery: “The Missouri River Valley”