Wildflowers

Lovers of the outdoors generally love flowers. Many plant lovers spend hours and a

considerable portion of the landscape budget on annual flowers, which by definition must be replaced yearly.

St. James Farm has the beauty of its buildings, of course, and its trees and the allees formed by several of the trees. But the flowers, while not planted in massive drifts or in any way set into a showy display, certainly add that touch of spice to the wonder of the visit. Wildflowers have a classic beauty of its own, and whether in small plants or on large bushes, they provide beauty year after year. Here are a few in bloom this spring at St. James.

Reliable Standbys

No matter what else we plan and plant, build or tolerate, the stars of the garden should be the flowers of summer. And while we all look for something new, something different, something popular, the best gardens will feature some old, reliable standbys. Here are a Daylily and a Purple Coneflower, two of the most reliable.

Next post will take us birdwalking at St. James Farm in Winfield, Illinois. Coming soon!

Flowers in the Sunshine

As promised, a look at the bright colors that grow under the bright sun of Arizona. While I did see some reds, the colors favor the yellows, the violets, and the whites. And there are plenty to see among the xeriscaped areas all around Phoenix.

Flowers, Desert, Dark

Whenever I travel, my eye notices all flowers but especially flowers I might well not see at home. Since my entire life I have been a Chicago-city-or-suburbs person, travel to Phoenix meant desert flowers. I had not anticipated the beauty of the flowers on the desert, even though I knew that the power of the sun would yield generous blooms.

These two caught my eye in the dark on my first day. Next post will show a couple of the flowers of the day.

Flowers and Lightning

Another look at the season I long for, spring. Two opposing Springscapes, bringing lightning and flowers. Of course, the old saw of April showers and May flowers reminds us of how the seeming opposites are intricately related; those of us who love spring look forward to both.

More springscapes in the next post.

Green Angel Gardens

Green Angel Gardens, outside Juneau, is a wonderful peaceful oasis of natural beauty. Our final stop on a tour of Juneau, this easy-to-enjoy location features bright flowers, as seen here, a gentle walking trail, and lots of things to see. A family business operated by transplanted Alaskans, they show maps and items that display native customs and traditions.

As noted in an earlier post, the long hours of daylight combine with a lack of the withering heat of much of the lower 48 states to provide greenery and flowers that are as beautiful as any garden lover could wish to see. Be certain when you plan an Alaska trip to set aside time for one or more of the lush gardens of the 49th state.

From Green Angel, our bus took us back to town, but we did not immediately board ship. Instead we trammed up the mountain. We visit Lady Baltimore on the next post.

Flowers of Skagway

Never having traveled so far from my Chicago roots, it was interesting to me to see the effects of twenty hours per day of sunlight on gardens and flowers. I had visited Halifax, Nova Scotia, on two previous cruises and had remarked that the flowers there in August look as lush as the flowers in Chicago in June. But Alaska has much more sun power than Halifax, it seemed to me.


Touring a garden in Skagway, I was struck with the intensity and clarity of the colors of all the flowers. The greenery, as well, was powerful and beautiful. This particular flower was one of hundreds on display, with a touch of rain on the petals, on an otherwise gloomy morning. Featured among these gardens were kale and other vegetables that were impressive giants in the well-tended landscape.


We get nowhere near as much sun time in Chicago, of course, and I doubt I would like to take the extra sun that Alaska gets in summer. After all, if there is twenty hours of sun on a day in summer, there would likely be four hours of sun on a day in winter. Hard to imagine. Believe it or not, though, I would love to not only take another cruise tour to Alaska, I would love to fly up for a long weekend sometime. In the middle of winter. It would be an adventure!

A poem:

FORGET-ME-NOT

Visitors learn much in beautiful Alaska, noting at times that the
Forget-me-not is the state flower, but no explanation included.
Shouldn't the state flower of this state be some giant showy beauty
Technicolor and about the size of a dining platter
Rather than the classy subtle attraction of the forget-me-not.

Forget-me-not? Who could forget this wonder? Ever?