Today’s Flower Narcissus Paperwhite

This is my entry for Todays Flowers and to see more beautiful flowers please go and visit:

http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

I found an interesting story about Narcissus. According to classical mythology a young lad Narcissus was so enamored with himself that he stared at his reflection until he eventually turned into his namesake flower. And this is how Narcissus flowers came into being! The word narcissus is derived from the Greek word Narke, meaning numbness or stupor. Some attribute the naming of the flower to its narcotic fragrance.

The Narcissus Paperwhites are easy to grow indoors. The bulbs begin to grow as soon as they are planted and will flower 3-4 weeks after planting. The stems are mid-green and grow upright. The white flowers appear at the top of each stem and are very fragrant.

Thanks for stopping by and to see more beautiful flowers make sure you visit my link for Today’s Flowers.

Special thanks to the host of Todays Flower : Luiz, Denise, Sandy and Laerte

More from Longwood Gardens

This is my entry for Todays Flowers and to see more beautiful flowers please go and visit:

http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Longwood Gardens is a wonderful place to go during the holiday season. Their Christmas display of flowers and lights is beautiful. On my post for Todays Flowers I am sharing Longwoods display of Poinsettias. There were the more common Red Poinsettias I am use to seeing but they also had these gorgeous pinks and the pretty white Poinsettias.

Some info on the Poinsettia from Wikipedia: The poinsettias are also known as Noche Buena and is a flowering plant indigenous to Mexico and Central America. The name Poinsettia is after “Joel Roberts Poinsett” who was the first United States prime minister to Mexico.

The colored bract- which are often red but can be various colors like white and pink are actually the leaves. They need 12 hours of darkness to change colors but then the plants need a lot of light during the day for the brightest color.

I enjoyed reading about the legend of how the Poinsettia became associated with Christmas. The legend is of a young girl who was to poor to leave a gift for the celebration of Jesus’ birthday. The little girl was inspired by an angel to gather some weeds growing along the roadside to place on the church’s alter. Crimson blossoms sprouted from the weeds and became the beautiful poinsettias we associate with Christmas today. I think this is a lovely story.

Thanks for stopping by and to see more beautiful flowers make sure you visit my link for Today’s Flowers.

Special thanks to the host of Todays Flower : Luiz, Denise, Sandy and Laerte

African Amaryllis..Cocktail

This is my entry for Todays Flowers and to see more beautiful flowers please go and visit:

http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Hubby and I visited Longwood Gardens to see their Christmas display of flowers and lights. This African Amaryllis called Cocktail was one of my favorites seen during our visit. The red and green colors remind me of Christmas.

Amaryllis ( name meaning to sparkle) is also known as the belladonna lily. A native plant of South Africa. Many bulbs sold as Amaryllis for the Christmas season are actually called Hippeastrum. Hippeastrum is a flowering bulb sold in the winters months which bloom well indoors.

This African Amaryllis has been bred to grow rapidly and have a shorter stouter stem which gives them a good proportional balance between the pot and the bloom.

Thanks for stopping by and to see more beautiful flowers make sure you visit my link for Today’s Flowers.

Special thanks to the host of Todays Flower : Luiz, Denise, Sandy and Laerte

Thanksgiving Cactus

This is my entry for Todays Flowers and to see more beautiful flowers please go and visit:

http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

I want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!
The Thanksgiving Cactus is one of my favorite indoor house plants. We have had this one for years but it only seems to put out blooms close to the window. I guess it needs more light. They are pretty flowers and I like the color.

This is the first year I am trying to grow Narcissus from bulbs. It is my birth flower and so far it looks like it is growing good. I hope it flowers. Does anyone know if the bulbs can be used again next year? Can they be kept in the basement, in a dark place?

Thanks for stopping by and to see more beautiful flowers make sure you visit my link for Today’s Flowers.

Special thanks to the host of Todays Flower : Luiz, Denise, Sandy and Laerte

Lady slippers

This is my entry for Todays Flowers and to see more beautiful flowers please go and visit:

http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

These are just a few of the different Lady Slipper orchids I saw while visiting Longwood Gardens. The Lady Slippers are one of my favorite plants and flowers ever since I have seen the wild Pink Lady Slippers growing in the woods near my house.

It was wonderful to see all the different colors and varieties. They do resemble the ballerina slippers. They are rare plants in the wild and in some states endangered. They can not picked or they will not regenerate.

Thanks for stopping by and to see more beautiful flowers make sure you visit my link for Today’s Flowers.

Special thanks to the host of Todays Flower : Luiz, Denise, Sandy and Laerte

Morning Glories

This is my entry for Todays Flowers and to see more beautiful flowers please go and visit:

http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

A few years ago we planted this morning glory plant along our fence. The chain link fence was necessary for our dog but I was not happy with the look and wanted a vine to grow over the fence to hide it. We also planted some Clematis at the other end and have some wild pokeberries growing in the middle. It will be interesting to see what wins in the end.

The morning glories curl up during the day but are fully open early in the morning or during a cloudy day.

Pokeberry, as I am writing this post there is a flock of Robins eating my pokeberries. It was fun watching the Robins for awhile this morning.

This Clematis was blooming on Oct 2 along the fence. I was surprised to see a bloom pop out at this time of the year.

Thank you for stopping by and to see more beautiful flowers make sure you visit my link for Today’s Flowers.

Special thanks to the host of Todays Flower : Luiz, Denise, Sandy and Laerte

Longwood Garden Orchids

This is my entry for Todays Flowers and to see more beautiful flowers please go and visit:

http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

These are just some of the orchids we saw at the Longwood gardens. There was a separate room for all the orchids they were growing. They all looked so beautiful and delicate. I was amazed that there is such a variety of orchids. Some of my favorites were the yellow, purple or lavender colors.

Thanks for stopping by and to see more beautiful flowers make sure you visit my link for Today’s Flowers.

Special thanks to the host of Todays Flower : Luiz, Denise, Sandy and Laerte

Mount Baker wildflowers

This is my entry for Todays Flowers and to see more beautiful flowers please go and visit:

http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

These are some of the flowers we saw while hiking at Mount Baker in the North Cascades, Washington.

We hiked a short loop trail around the Picture Lake, the wildflowers and berries were just beautiful.

Thanks for stopping by and to see more beautiful flowers make sure you visit my link for Today’s Flowers.

Special thanks to the host of Todays Flower : Luiz, Denise, Sandy and Laerte

Backyard flowers

This is my entry for Todays Flowers and to see more beautiful flowers please go and visit:
http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

I have been so happy the plants I picked out for my deck last spring. They are all still hanging in there and looking great.

The Fiesta Double Impatiens have been blooming all summer long. We did have to make sure they were watered often.

This is what they looked like back in May, they are much larger now.

This Lantana is one of my favorites.

The potted Hibiscus has also been doing great all summer.

This Penta is another favorite and has bloomed all summer.

Thanks for stopping by and to see more beautiful flowers make sure you visit my link for Today’s Flowers.

Special thanks to the host of Todays Flower : Luiz, Denise, Sandy and Laerte

North Cascade Wildflowers

This is my entry for Todays Flowers and to see more beautiful flowers please go and visit:

http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

This post on the wildflowers I saw while hubby and I drove the North Cascade Loop in Washington State. I am not sure about the id’s so if someone knows them please let me know. I was surprised to see so many different wildflowers still in bloom in September.

Thanks for stopping by and to see more beautiful flowers make sure you visit my link for Today’s Flowers.

Special thanks to the host of Todays Flower : Luiz, Denise, Sandy and Laerte