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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Spring has Sprung

What's It Wednesday #67

We are celebrating our first week of Spring of 2013 and our 100th post. We are officially on Spring Break and this year the family decided to do 1/2 Staycation and 1/2 Vacation. I love long and short hikes and this week we have been doing quite a bit of mini-hiking around the town. Today we decided to hike around the neighborhood to see what was in bloom, so far, this Spring. I will even let you know what some of the blooms I see are (if I actually know their names). 

I have noticed this beautiful inflorescence popping up everywhere lately. From the grocery story parking lot to the corner library. 

Oh how I love Anthuriums, however they do not love me. I have never had luck with them at all. Pattie has always been able to grow them very well in her yard. 



You can find orchids some of anywhere. As we walked the neighborhood we found some hanging from pots on front porches and also hanging off fences, pergolas, and walls. People around here are quite serious about their orchids. My favorite place to hang orchids is off trees. It's the perfect symbiotic relationship. 

The Double Golden Shrimp plants are everywhere. The yellow that you see is actually the bract, not the flower. The little white flecks that you see hanging from the bract is the actual flower. 


My absolute favorite Spring time ornamental is the bougainvillea. As long as I can remember, bougainvilleas meant Easter time. The neighbors use to come into my mother's yard and take their family Easter photos in front of our bougainvilleas. The colorful part of this bush is often mistaken as the flowering part when in essence it is also the bract, which is a brightly colored modified leaf. If you look very closely, you will see the tiny off-white flowers of the bougainvillea.


Some folks have something that I will never, ever, ever have in my yard and that is a lily pond or water garden. Mind you, I think they are absolutely beautiful. When I leaned over this pond to get a closer look at the gorgeous blooms, I was mindful not to stir up any four-legged, cold-blooded amphibians. These gardens are quite popular and easy to care for. No thank you!



Another Spring time favorite of mine are the heliconias. You can never have enough growing in the yard. The more species you have, the better. Heliconias are related to bananas and gingers (another favorite of mine). The inflorescence of this flowering plant lasts for a very long time. 

So now that Spring has Sprung, what's blooming in your neighborhood this Spring?


xoxoxo
Paula

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Ivy and Elephants

HERE ARE THIS WEEK'S FABULOUS FEATURES.

Pretty Pastels @ Simple Things

2013 Easter Tablescapes @ Tablescapes by Diane
Easter Basket and Blue Willow @ Upstairs Downstairs

Easter Blessings @ Beautiful Ideas
Easy Easter Decoration @ Home Chic Club

Fundraiser Tea Party @ Sweet Woodruffs

Come show off your whatchamacallits, what is its, what it once was, and "hey, look what I just did" posts. In other words, what you created, organized, designed or re-designed, found, purchased, transformed, inherited, re-purposed, renovated, are selling, or giving-away.

42 comments:

  1. Paula the only thing blooming here is Snow
    I don't think I have ever seen some of those flowers blooming

    Spring has Sprung in some places , glad your in one of those places

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  2. Hey ladies - Congrats on this being your 100th post! I am awed by all the things blooming where you live as I am especially fond of tropical flowers. We are easing into Spring gently here, the cherry blossoms are beginning to bloom, the heather is in it's full glory and the rhodies are ready to burst forth any time now. Isn't Spring grand? Blessings, Patti

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  3. Such pretty flowers! I can't wait for spring to finally get to Idaho!

    ~Trisha

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  4. Happy springtime to you Paula. I loved all the flowers. I can see why people want their photos taken in your yard. :):) Me too.:):) I have enjoyed every post of yours that I have seen. Congrats on your 100th post. xoxo,Susie

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  5. Love to see all the beautiful spring flowers they make me smile :D

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  6. Gorgeous flowers and features! Several of those flowers I've never seen before. Hope you have a lovely day!

    Mrs. Sarah Coller

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  7. I just went to a conservatory to see many of the blooms you enjoy in your neighborhood. How blessed you are. Glad you take the time to enjoy them :)
    Congrats on 100!!! Yay!!

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  8. We had snow but it melted very fast! And the blooms underneath are hardy and survived it mostly!

    Thanks so much for hosting this week....

    Jillian

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  9. I am so jealous!
    Those flowers are so beautiful!!
    Something has "sprung" around here.... a foot of snow! I can't wait for the sunshine and spring blooms.
    What a wonderful post. It gives me something to look forward to.
    Happy Easter!
    Best,
    Elizabeth

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  10. Congrats on your century mark post!!! And such a beautiful one too. Thank you so much for hosting and wishing you two ladies a very blessed Easter!
    XO Barbara

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  11. Congrats on 100th post! Such a lovely flower and beautiful colors! And thanks a lot for choosing my post as one of the most interesting!!!
    Blessings!

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  12. Your plants are beautiful, Paula. I love the tropical feel of your gardens and wish we had a bit of that here. Gorgeous- xo Diana

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  13. Congrats on your 100th post! It's raining here this morning (not 5am yet so I'm up early...) so your beautiful flowers made a great start of my day - very bright and beautiful! Thanks for hosting, Paula :) Easter greetings from Australia♥ ~Pernilla

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  14. Paula, Thanks so much for featuring me...you are so sweet...and for hosting a great party.
    Gosh the flowers in your area are really putting on a show. Gorgeous! Wishing you and Pattie a very Happy Easter.
    Hugs,
    Babs

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  15. Wow! Look at all these beautiful flowers! Great shots. Thanks for hosting and enjoy the rest of your week.

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  16. Beautiful post! Thanks for hosting!

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  17. I sure wish spring would 'spring' here! Gorgeous pics-thanks for hosting :)
    Susan

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  18. Hi Paula,
    I feel like I just walked through a Florist! Wow, what beauty! I just love flowers, thanks for brightening my day with so many.
    You and Patti have a blessed Easter and thanks for hosting.
    Gina

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  19. What a great way to spend some of your time off. Love all the shots you got. Thanks for hosting the party. I appreciate it.
    Liz

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  20. I am so with you. I adore bougainvillea! There is something so romantic about it. It's always so much fun to visit and see your lovely photos and What's It Wednesday fun.

    Hugs!
    Nancy

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  21. Oh how I wish I lived in an area that actually had blooming flowers at Easter time! Thank you for taking us along on the garden tour.

    Easter Joy to you and your family.
    Debra

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  22. I always love visiting you! Love this post on all of these wonderful plants. Years ago we lived in Hawaii for several years- still amazes me on how these exotic plants can grow in the wild!

    Sweet Hugs!!
    Jemmas

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  23. Such lovely exotic flowers...Congratulations on your 100th post. Happy Spring with love Janice

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  24. Gorgeous flowers, wow, it looks like spring at it's fullest, dear Paula. Nice features too. Thank you for having me. Happy Easter.
    FABBY

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  25. Gorgeous blooms and wonderful features! Thanks for hosting.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  26. My sister is in S Florida and she hangs her orchids in the trees every year...they are so pretty. She has a hedge of bougainvillea too which I love....can't do any of that here in Va.....but, she has trouble with hydrangeas and I have HUGE hedges of them...so it balances out!

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  27. Looks really nice your post! :-) love the first pic, thanks for sharing!

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  28. Beautiful photos! Nothing is blooming here yet. The last of our snow is melting this week (at least, I hope it's the last of it! lol) I have tulips and crocus popping up out of the ground, but no blooms yet!
    Hugs, Cindy

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  29. Thanks for sharing all the pretty flowers and features. Such a lovely party!

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  30. Gorgeous flowers! In Italy it' s still cold but i wish you a happy springtime.
    Kisses
    Alessandra

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  31. wow,yall's flowers are beautiful!wish I had a green thumb like that.

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  32. Thank you so much for featuring my pretty pastels post - it's such a wonderful surprise! I'm just popping into cyber space quickly during school hols but wanted to thank you and wish you happy Easter, J9 x

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  33. Hi Patti and Paula,
    all the nice flowers make another wonderful collection. What you have for spring is here only blooming on hot summers or in the greenhouse. Those flowers are all tropical. Thank you for sharing, it was like holidays for me. And thank you for hosting this great event. Have a blessed Easter.
    Best greetings, Johanna

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  34. Hi Ladies, thanks for the great party. Happy Easter everyone.

    Helen of Helen's Decor

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  35. Whoo! Hoo! You've reached 100! Congrats!! Spring is AWESOME in your part of town! Our snow is finally gone and it's getting warmer. Have a beautiful Easter...Blessings~~~Roxie

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  36. Congratulations on your 100th post, looking forward to the next 100.
    Thanks for taking us along on your walk around the neighborhood. I can't believe all the beautiful blooms, love those orchids!!

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  37. No spring here. It's nice to see your colorful flowers.

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  38. Paula, what a wonderful post! The flowers are all so beautiful and lush looking. The Azaleas, some flowering trees and daffodils are blooming around here, but most of the trees are still pretty bare and the grass is brown(except for the weeds). I am anxious for things to get into blossom and bloom around here. The Masters is next week in Augusta(our neighboring state and just across the state border from us and things are usually pretty lush by that time. Thanks for the lovely post and have a beautiful week!

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  39. Hi Paula,
    CONGRATS on your 100th party!
    THANK YOU for featuring my post from last week! I was amazed and delighted!
    THE BLOOMS are awesome! We still have snow on the ground here. Sigh.
    LOOKING FORWARD to another great party this evening...It's so much FUN!
    Hugs,
    Linda at Beautiful Ideas

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  40. Azaleas are in full bloom here in MS. Stop by Still Woods Farmhouse for a peek at the beauty all around us!

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  41. Thank you for hosting, Paula. Beautiful orchids and some of the flowers I was not familiar with. Congratulations to you and Patti on you 100th post..Happy Tuesday..Judy

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  42. Beautiful flowers!!! Thank you for sharing them with us. Can't wait to see what you'll be sharing with us this week!

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Thank you so much for your comments! We enjoy hearing from you.