Signs Of Spring

I know that it snowed yesterday but the signs of Spring have already started to appear. The other night a friend exclaimed about it being Spring when she saw some Crocus that was starting to bloom.

And that made me realized that I don't know the flowers here that indicate that Spring is coming. I have a great love for Texas wildflowers and when the Texas Toad Flax would start to bloom in early February, I knew another wonderful season of flowers and Spring were about to begin. I was blessed to have lived among a sea of wildflowers when I lived in Texas and I would often spend hours at the Lady Johnson Wildflower Center looking at and taking pictures the many varieties of flowers there.

Last year I bought a book on Washington wildflowers but I was disappointed to find that many of them don't bloom until late May through August. And of course, they don't bloom here in the middle of Seattle.

I also love other types of flowers like tulips and daffodils. It was my great folly to try to grow them in Texas every year. They might make it a week or two before the heat and lack of water killed them. But I kept trying every year thinking I could keep them alive by paying more attention to the amount of water I gave them. But the Texas sun can be brutal for a fragile flower not accustom to draught.

When I moved to Seattle in late 2007 I planted tulip and daffodil bulbs in my back yard and got to enjoy them the following Spring. And for much longer then a week!

Anyway, there a people who think that Texas wildflowers are weeds. And maybe that is so if you consider non-native flowers and grasses not as weeds. But I think "weeds" are beautiful too. So I'm noticing the "weeds" that are flowering here.

Right now the clover is flowering. Clover is a plant I remember from my youth in New Jersey and Chicago. I loved looking for four leaf ones and was always so excited when I found one. I knew it would bring me good luck. And here in the great Pacific Northwest there is clover. I tried to take a picture with my cell phone. But it didn't turn out. I need to start carrying my regular camera with me on my walks with Pachebel.

But I did get a picture of this flower. I'm not sure what plant it is from.



And here is another picture I took of flowers that were planted by the bus stop at the park down the street:


They may be daffodils but I'm not sure. I think these small flowers that look like daffodils have another name. Looks like I have a great adventure ahead of me learning about the native and non-native flowers that thrive here!

And I think I'm going to buy a bunch of tulips and daffodils for a vase here at home.