Although we're here at the end of the flowering season (not quite late enough for fall color though, sadly) there is still an abundance of photogenic floral feasts for the eyes in and around Portland.
The super-cheery daisy-ish flowers you can see above were evident in many gardens. As were some related species...
Another flower type that shows up a lot in Portland yards are these hydrangea trees. In my part of the world, you only see much smaller versions in pots, but, it's amazing what happens when you have adequate rainfall and cool nights all year...
We also have altheas (or Rose of Sharon, as they seem to be called up here) in Texas. Although I think they're more common in Houston than in San Antonio; the ones in our yard came from my Mom's in big-H. But even over there you don't see such stupendous bushes of these flowers...
Close up, they look just like mine, although my guys don't have nearly so many friends!
Before venturing further afield, here's a selection of some more lovelies in the Deering neighborhood:
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| the morning glories, especially in the–duh!–morning, were incredible |
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| ENORMOUS sunflowers in the community garden |
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| nasturtiums–which always remind me of our yard in Montana |
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| and how about these lily-like beauties! |
There's a nice little woods nearby that is a favorite walking destination, partly because of these lovely flowers...
...well, not just the flowers, at least for the younger set. Their seed pods, which are beginning to develop, can be induced to pop open, rather alarmingly. Showing this to Gramma was great fun for the experienced Mainers I was walking with. But I liked the flowers, too.
On my previous post about the various coastal views I enjoyed, you can see some of these striking goldenrods. But here is a closer view:
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| a few individuals in a large field of the flowers |
Also near the coast you can find some incredibly aromatic beach roses...
Sorry I couldn't provide the fragrance!
At another beach, the blooms were gone, but they left behind the largest rose hips I've ever seen! They look like very healthy cherry tomatoes, don't they!?
I don't know if they would make good tea or not, but they were excellent for decorating sand castles!
3 comments:
Love the rose hip sand castles. Kids make fun everywhere. We have two rose of sharon bushes in our yard here in CO (they get big and full here, too) and also some of the huge sunflowers. We even have hydrangeas here (only supported in the desert by river irrigation).
Did your altheas come from Mom?
No. Ordered, planted, and lovingly cared for by the Iowa farm boy.
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