Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Sunday 16 August 2015

Sunday Selections #237

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.
 
The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life.  The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River.  Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.
 
Like River I usually run with a theme.  It has become increasingly clear that despite what the calendar says, Spring is well on the way.  


We are still having foggy mornings, and one day this week it snowed - though it didn't stick.




Just the same, when the fog lifts there is a LOT of colour coming through.  So I wandered around the garden this week, revelling in what is out, and anticipating all that is nearly out, and the invisible plants that I hope will come out.

There are lots and lots of King Alfred Daffodils out.


 
  
There are also lots of different daffodils - doubles heavily in bud.

 

There are jonquils out, and coming out all over the garden too.




I love this camellia.  It is always the last to come out - and I think its flowers look a little like water lilies.



Our wattle is coming out.  Finally, when other wattles in the street have been and gone.




Three different grevilleas are blooming.





Lots of colour - and lots more to come.  And rather a lot of weeds too.  I don't know where they find the room to come up - but they do.

137 comments:

  1. I love the misty foggy shot. So as we hurtle towards winter you move towards summer.

    Love the photos.

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    1. LL Cool Joe: Wash your mouth out. We are having an early spring and I so hope that it doesn't mean an early summer. Hurtling into it would NOT be welcome.

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  2. Weeds always find a way. Love all the flowers and colour; we, of course, are getting our hottest and most humid weather just now... the sight of fog and snow is very refreshing.
    We had to have posted our Sunday Selections within a minute or two of one another!

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    1. Jacquelineand...: I noticed the synchronicity with our Sunday Selections too. Hot and humid? Bleah.
      Joanne Noragon aspires to a garden so closely planted that weeds cannot emerge. I would love that, but think the weeds are stronger and more persistent than many of the things I would rather see.

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  3. Those last ones are wild.
    And at first I read your waffle was coming out...

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    1. Alex J. Cavanaugh: Chuckling here. No waffle in the garden. Waffle in my head but none in the garden.

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  4. As you think of spring I am thinking of fall. Even though I do not enjoy the shorter days I am so grateful for the changing of the seasons.

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    1. Birdie: I am often grateful that I live in a place with clearly defined seasons. I could do without summer though. The others are more than welcome.

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  5. I love watching your flowers bloom each year EC. Daffodils and jonquils would never grow here, but I can enjoy them on your blog. I think I prefer jonquils over daffodils myself.

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    1. carolincairns: I like them both. And the incredible variety of both. So far, only the King Alfred daffodils are out, but there will be a huge range of colour, shape, and scent to come.
      And your climate allows for beauty I could never grow...

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  6. Dear EC
    Thank you for sharing your lovely Spring flowers. Spring is one of my favourite times of the year.
    Best wishes
    Ellie

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    1. Ellie Foster: It is an exciting time of year isn't it? More poking through, coming up, blooming every day. One of my favourite seasons too.

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  7. The daffodils and jonquils are some of my favourite flowers. They are so bright and cheery on a winters day. Love your photos.

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    1. CountryMum: They are a blaze of sunshine on the grey days aren't they? Mind you, my favourite flower changes with the wind.

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  8. jeepers El Chi - things move fast here. I usually run away from the 320 comments and was thrilled to arrive so soon after your posting but look - you get a comment per second. amazing .... but deserved. Gorgeous flowers and photos. we have to focus on beauty for spiritual 'upliftment'.

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    1. iODyne: How lovely that you weren't scared off this morning. I am a beauty addict. I need it, and often find it in the garden.

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  9. I agree, I can hardly keep up. I was able to read ALL the comments ahead of me today. I love those pretty yellow wattles, but I suspect they would make me sneeze. :-)

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    1. DJan: Wattles do cause problems for some people. Big problems. Fortunately, while I am sensitive to a lot of smells, they are mostly the artificial ones. Incense, perfume, insecticides and the like. Grasses and some pollens can be an issue though - and I am very grateful for the course of desensitising injections I had many years ago. Spring is no longer a misery.

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  10. Beautiful flowers...so glad you get to enjoy them all. We are still having drenching rains with a lot of lightening. Fortunately, no hurricanes so far but cabin fever has set in...

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    1. e: Drenching rains? Lightening? Some world-wide weather moderation would be nice. Very nice.

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  11. What a garden of lovelies you have. I have not totally defeated the weeds, but every year I drive them back. I like to think there is a precipice at the end of the garden and they will fall to their doom.

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    1. Joanne Noragon: So far the weeds are coming closer to defeating me that I am to them. I love the idea of them falling to their doom though.

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  12. Your garden is just lovely. It would be amazing to me to step out on my future back porch and have something like that to look out on. Plus, it appears as though you're surrounded by tall trees and that makes me weep. I live a stone's throw from a highway :(

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    1. Madilyn Quinn: There is a major road close to us - but every yard (or almost every yard) has a tree or two. We have quite a few. And I love them.
      The garden is an expensive, time-consuming luxury. And I wouldn't be without one. Despite the fact it frequently gets away from me.

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  13. Yellow is my favourite colour - so bright, cheerful, spring-like. These shots are just gorgeous, EC. My grevilleas are out, too, as are the camellias - and my first freesia opened up yesterday.

    We had almost-snow last weekend - very weird. It was just soft hail, which lay around for a while and got everyone very excited. Strange times.

    Happy Sunday :)

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    1. Alexia: No freesias here yet. The leaf is above ground, but there are no buds yet. Tulips are up too. But no flower spikes. The snow that was falling here last week was definitely snow. There had been rain before it, and some with it, so it didn't settle. Lovely to watch though.

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  14. Beautiful blooms. It was raining lightly when I arose earlier this morning, but it didn't last for long, unfortunately. A rainy day would be most welcome...I love rainy days...particularly rainy Sundays. I'm still snuggled up reading the paper, sipping on coffee, so I can pretend!

    Have a wonderful week, EC...cuddles to your two furry rascals from me and my two furry rascals. :)

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    1. Lee: No rain here. Which is a shame. I would love some. Enjoy your doona day, and your furry cuddles.
      And thank you, Remy and Shama.

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  15. I thought of you when I heard about the snow, and half thought there might be some 'frolicking' photos today. There is a rule of thumb about camellia blooms, either the paler the flower the later they bloom or the other way around.

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    1. Andrew: If the snow had settled, even a little, there would have been some frolicking. I hadn't heard that rule of thumb for camellias. The white one has been out for some weeks though. Is it paler than the pink and white? Dunno.

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  16. Your garden must be absolutely beautiful. And throw in the birds....paradise.

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    1. Sandra Cox: Parts of the garden are lovely. Other parts? Epic fail. The birds are always a joy though.

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  17. YOur pictures are beautiful and I have decided to move in with you. Feel free to take out a restraining order. When it snows here, IT SNOWS and we get many feet of the junk. We don't have flowers at the same time. Yes, life will be better by you.

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    1. Sonya Ann: We rarely get snow, so I get all excited by it. We do hot and dry much better. Neither of which I like. The grass is always greener in someone else's yard isn't it? Particularly if they have to mow it.

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  18. I'll have to "visit" you for King Alfreds as they DO NOT like my place.But I've had some jonquils and I think some Paperwhites will make it.

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    1. dinahmow: I we have lots of paperwhites. Hardy beasts - and always the first to flower. I hope yours make it. And watch this space. There will be many, many more daffodils to come.

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  19. Beautiful, bright and cheery spring! King Alfreds are a big favourite of mine and so nice to see them doing so very well in your garden, EC.
    And, lovely grevilleas are always a treat to see.
    Winter is going out with a snowy show in some areas here too.

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    1. Vicki: King Alfreds are himself's favourite daffodil, but I can never decide. I have a weakness for lots of the split coronas and the doubles. None of which are out yet.
      The grevilleas are a joy - and the small birds love them too.

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  20. Love all those yellows! I am thinking orange as in pumpkins because we are all tired of heat here...and you have snow flurrie! :)

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    1. Bookie: I would MUCH rather have snow flurries than your heat. Much, much rather. Though I do love pumpkin. Never met one I didn't like.

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  21. Pretty! Yellow flowers and summer just go so well together!

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    1. Stephanie Faris: And here they are a bright prelude to spring.

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  22. Replies
    1. Sue in Italia/In the Land of Cancer: There are lots of different grevilleas - and I am very fond of them. I spotted a yellow one last year that I lust after. I haven't got it yet - but I will.

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  23. Lovely to see the daffodils :) spring is surely on the way..

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    1. whiteangel: Spring is rushing in now. I hope summer holds off for a while though. Please.

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  24. Daffodils are my favourites. Lovely.

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    1. KB: I am fond of them too. My favourite plants are a moveable feast, but I do like daffs.

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  25. I LOVE that first misty photo!
    The yellow jonquils are gorgeous; there are white ones in a garden near me. my own daffodils are showing green shoots about eight inches high, no buds yet, but this is a bonus, I thought they had all died after people took the flowers. Love the grevilleas and the camellia.
    There is a wattle in full bloom right by my bus stop; I must get a photo before the flowers finish.

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    1. River: I have been enjoying our misty starts to the day. A soft kind of beauty. I hoped your daffodils would survive. With luck they have multiplied too.

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  26. So many different plants! I wish we could could grow some of them here.

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    1. Teresa Hennes: You grow things I can only dream of too. Mind you, I suspect you could grow all of these.

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  27. I'm not familiar with grevillias, but they certainly are beautiful. I don't think we have them here. Foggy mornings are a lovely way to start the day along with your colorful gardens. Good stuff.

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    1. Whisper Mist: There are literally hundreds of grevilleas, and they are happy in a wide range of climates. Cold, hot, wet, dry. Spectacular blooms (though small) and rather a lot of birds love them too. And foggy mornings are always a treat. Magic and mystery.

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  28. EC,what beautiful photos. 'And a lot of weeds too.' Ha ha. Where we have the flowers, we will have those pesky weeds. We have a lot of grevillas in Australia, don't we? And such a wide variety of colours. And great snaps of the golden wattle, our national flower.

    Lovely visit to the digital Botanical Gardens!

    Denise :-)

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    1. Denise Covey: My father always told me 'if it grows well, it is a weed'. He had a point, drat him. The garden is solace for me though. Blood, sweat, tears and solace.

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  29. The word "wattle" is making me quite happy in this moment! Love that yellow color too. I think the last picture with the pink is my favorite :)

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    1. HBF: Wattle is our national emblem. At the moment they are blazing across the city. A patch of sunshine on even the foggiest day.
      And that last grevillea grew in my parent's garden growing up, and I think I have had it in every garden of my own too. It is a spiky beast - but so beautiful in flower.

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  30. Snow! Spring! Delight! Well, we always find the latter here


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    1. Cloudia: What a lovely thing to say. Not always true - but a lovely thing to say.

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  31. Snow is your part! WOW! The colours from your flowers in your garden are gorgeous. I am just about to but more spring bulks to plant up in pots soon.

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    1. Margaret Adamson: Definitely snow. Pretty stuff. Big flakes falling too. I do love the spring blaze of colour. So unexpected after winter austerity.

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  32. what a beautiful garden you have, those wattles are so vibrant and the camellia is so beautifully pale in comparison.

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    1. Linda Starr: The garden is an obsession, I am hoping for rather a lot of colour and beauty as spring advances.

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  33. you have one of those gardens where there is a gem in every nook!

    i love spring

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    1. kylie: I am a fan of spring myself. She is coming in fast and hard now.

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  34. Given my passion for yellow flowers, I was pleased to see the wattle in all it's glory and also the daffodils! After winter, it's so uplifting to see colour return to the garden. It looks very lovely.

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    1. Craig: Spring is always welcome, and a mostly yellow, white and green time in our garden. With pink accents.

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  35. Beautiful colors to brighten the foggy days. I wish the weather would start turning here. The heat is obnoxious!

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    1. River Fairchild: I hope you get some relief from the obnoxious heat soon. Mind you, I also hope it doesn't reach us. Ever.

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  36. I know the feeling when the first daffodil of the season blooms. My heart smiles.

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    1. Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe: The first daffodil is always a joy. And I do love it when their friends follow suit.

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  37. What a wealth of beautiful colours you have. Am so envious, which I know is wrong, but our garden is rather dull right now although the daisies are very colourful. Those yellows really warm my heart, my very favourite. What type of wattle is it? Seems familiar. Do you find the grevilleas bring lots of small birds? Do bulbs have to be grown in full sun as our garden is very shady. Just thinking about next spring. Well a person can think can't they? (*:*) Thanks again for sharing.

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    1. Mimsie: Ours is a Cootamundra wattle. We have lost a few over the years, but they have generously self-sown replacements.
      Our daisies aren't flowering yet. I have ordered some more though - including a yellow one with a purple centre which I think you will like.

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    2. I thought by the blossoms it was a Cootamundra. We had one in our front garden but it was blown over when Cyclone Alby came through Perth back in the 1970s. To me, they are one of the most beautiful of all the wattles. I remember when we had our Phil would sing that song something about the Cootamundra wattle being my friend??? Or am I daydeaming there perhaps? Will certainly look forward to seeing the yellow daisy. Must be a new variety.

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  38. You're lucky to have your flowers come up so soon. Up here in Maine spring flowers seldom poke their heads up before March, and then only the crocuses and snowflowers, I think. I love your grevillea! We don't have anything like that here but we do have daffodils and I love to see their cheery faces.

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    1. mshatch: By the time March comes around my garden will be largely crispified. Daisies will be still trying to bloom - but not a lot else.

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  39. Your daffodils and other flowers are very pretty and I love early morning fog, just so long as I don't have to drive in it. One of my lovely memories is walking down a country lane on a foggy morning. It was so quiet, so peaceful.

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    1. DeniseinVA: Lots of our winter mornings are foggy, and I really enjoy it. It is a soft start to the day.

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  40. Such beautiful flowers, love the colors. I especially like the fog photo. It could lead to such interesting stories.

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    1. Mason Canyon: I am glad that you also like the fog photo. I ummed and ahhed about whether to include it.
      And yes, there is always some mystery attached to fog.

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  41. You certainly have beautiful flowers there. The colors are vibrant and the variety is amazing. I think the added moisture in the air somehow intensifies the color. I have noticed that here, as well, but I don't know why.

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    1. Jono: Particularly on grey days, the colour really pops out. And a plant bejewelled with rain (or dew) is always a treat.

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  42. Replies
    1. Author R. Mac Wheeler: And more to come. Much more.

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  43. No matter where one looks, it's a lovely view all about. But even more enjoyable is the hope of what blossom is yet to arrive. Those are the true gift of the day!

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    1. Karen S.: Today is enough for me. All of the todays.

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  44. Spring there, already. Means fall coming here, then winter. Oh my, makes me think I better do something, with what's left of decent weather. But the woods and the campgrounds are hot and dry and one cannot even enjoy a campfire nights, so the wind has been knocked from my desire to camp out even one night. But fall is coming for us here, and spring for you there. Change on the way for us both.

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    1. Strayer: Spring is early, but definitely has her foot in the door. I hope you get some relief from your baking days (and nights). Autumn camps have a lot of charm. Pleasant days, and nights to enjoy a fire. Or snuggling into bed...

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  45. Lovely.
    Are you guys beginning Spring?
    xxx

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    1. My Inner Chick: Yup. Spring is close now. Very close.

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  46. So pretty! I love all of the yellows.

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    1. Robert Bennett: I think most of us do. Such a bright and cheery colour.

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  47. Beautiful images, I love the idea of an Australian spring, or nearly.

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    1. Bob Bushell: Very, very nearly Spring. Which is fine - so long as she doesn't invite summer in too soon.

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  48. When I lived in the UK, I used to love seeing the daffodils, it was the sign that summer was just around the corner :)

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    1. totallycaroline: I hope summer is a loooong way off. I am so not ready for the sweaty season. Daffodils yes. Summer no.

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  49. Oh I know! I too have spied the fresh daffodils and jonquils! Spring soonly... :-)

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    1. Geoffrey: Very soonly now. Hopefully with summer not hot on her heels.

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  50. I love misty mornings - we seem to have that weather pattern in common. Your daffodils images look so fresh - well, like spring, I guess. Here, it is incredibly hot, I almost can't stand it. No rain in sight...

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    1. Carola Bartz: I hope you get some relief soon. Relief from the heat, and definitely some lifegiving rain.

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  51. Foggy morning like that remind me instantly of going to school, as we used to get a great deal of fog here early on in the day. I'd say we don't anymore, but I'm rarely up that early heh. It looks cool and fresh, I hope it is. And daffys do indeed say 'spring' to me. What beautiful pictures. Thank you dear x

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    1. All Consuming: Fog is part of our winter. Common, mysterious, beautiful.
      And, for the moment, cool and fresh. There is a small frost this morning and the daffodils continue to blaze. The frost has them lying on the ground, but they will perk up later in the day - about the time I am flagging.

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  52. Lovely blooms! The vividness of the color is just awesome.

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  53. The flowers are absolutely beautiful. Your photography skills are outstanding.

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    1. T. Powell Coltrin: Thank you. My point and shoot deserves most of the credit. And yay for digital photography and the ability to junk shots which are blurred, out of focus, boring...

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  54. So nice to be able to go out and be bombarded by all that color. I know it takes a lot of work too, so thanks so much for sharing the fruits of your labor with us. The flowers are beautiful.

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    1. Myrna R.: The garden is an obsession and it is mostly a labour of love. And blood, sweat and tears.

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  55. The grevilleas are beautiful - I don't think I've seen those before. I love a foggy morning like that - especially if it's over the river at my favorite vacation spot. And I love daffodils.

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    1. Lynn: Lots of little birds really like the grevilleas - which gives me another reason to love them, and to plant them. And I also love fog and daffodils. And would love a river.

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  56. Snow is still several months away for us. Thank goodness.

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    1. Sandra Cox: We rarely get any in my city, and it settles even less often. Lovely to watch it falling though.

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  57. Spring...hard to imagine here in brown California! So lovely, the colors are amazing.

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    1. Susan Kane: I have family in California. The temperatures and the drought are awful. I so hope you get some relief. Soon.

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  58. Daffodils are the smart ones. They always turn in favour of the sunlight - almost like a conscious group decision is being made, LOL.

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    1. Spacerguy: Smart, goodlooking, and co-operative. Why can't people be more like them.

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  59. Beautiful flowers! So nice to see the color after the fog. :) I love daffodils and those grevilleas are stunning! Thanks for adding some color to my day.
    ~Jess

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    1. DMS ~ Jess: I am always happy to share colour.

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  60. Can't see any sign of daffodils yet though the jonquils have been out for weeks and weeks. Think I'm going to plant hundreds of King Alfred's next year, yours look gorgeous...

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    1. Carol: Only the King Alfreds are in bloom, but they are a lovely, brave splash of colour. Some of the others are only just poking through the soil, and some (like the Dick Wildens) are heavily in bud.
      And yes, on the jonquil front. The paperwhites have been going for ages.

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  61. Such pretty flowers! Those daffodils are like sunny lanterns!

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    1. ladyfi: I am hoping that they will blaze for weeks and weeks.

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  62. Beautiful blooms! Wattle is one of my faves! I never "weed" my gardens, or find weeds unsettling. They are all beautiful from my point of view.

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    1. Karen: Some of the weeds in the garden have world domination plans. They do so by strangling/suffocating their neighbours. Those I do try and remove. They are much more tenacious than I am though...

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  63. Thanks for the colorful horticultural effects, which are in short supply here in California. Most refreshing. Only a few brave amaryllis bulbs are showing off right now. I shall welcome each atom of autumn as it struggles in this year.

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    1. Geo.: I have family in California and am well aware how hot and dispiritingly dry it has been. I hope that autumn brings lots of relief. And rainfall.

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  64. It is unusually chilly here today - a reminder that summer won't last forever! I love Spring and Summer so much - perhaps the best way to live life would be to switch hemispheres every 6 months!

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    1. Susan F.: Summer is the only season I would happily lose. Observing it on the internet is quite close enough for me. When we are mired in the sweaty season I will be loving your wintry images.

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  65. You've introduced me to many exotic flowers I've never before seen. I'm really liking the jonquils. Thank you.
    Be well, EC.

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    1. Rawknrobyn: Thank you - and a good chocolate filled week to you.

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  66. These shots are all so lovely. I love fog, and your flowers are glowing beautifully. I hope you have a late, long spring ...

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    1. jenny_o: A long, late spring sounds absolutely blissful. Thank you.

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  67. Weeds are like...Donald Trump ;)

    How do you have flowers when it is chilly? I would love some fog. Today is the 26th day it has been over 90 degrees here this year. Whine.

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    1. Riot Kitty: Your weather sounds beyond vile. Spring (and her cousin Summer) are approaching all too rapidly here. And you are right. Weeds are like Donald Trump - and as welcome.

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  68. Gorgeous colors- I love jonquils..such a simple bulb to grow, but they just don't stick around long enough. It sounds like you are having good weather. Here we have just broken a long hot and dry spell with just under an inch of rain and two days of 70-8- degree weather..very nice!

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    1. Terri @ Coloring Outside the Lines: I have been enjoying the last gasps of winter, but quite a lot of people would argue with you on the 'good weather' front.
      The jonquils and the daffs have been flowering for weeks now. Which is lovely.

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