Spring is back here in Houston: the sun is shining and the day promises to be warm. We’re off for one last road trip before I head back to New Hampshire on Saturday, so take this chance to smell the flowers, and I’ll see you when I’m back.
Mar 17, 2005
Mar 17, 2005 at 12:59 pm
Oh - stunning - what a wonderful colour. I bet this makes a change from all that snow.
It’s pretty warm here, too.
Mar 17, 2005 at 10:47 pm
Oh, yes, the incredible schizophrenic azalea. For three weeks in the spring you are blown away by it. When it is heavy with blossoms it captivates and delights and you can see people in cars driving by going oooooooh aaaaaaah! It is bright and enchanting and it makes you want to go out and plant a bunch around YOUR house.
Then the blossoms die. And you’re left with a scraggly dull green shrub. Blech.
I’m so glad they’re in thousands of people’s yards in town so I can enjoy their three weeks of show and not be stuck with an ugly shrub in my yard the rest of the year! I never said I was a NICE gardener…
Mar 18, 2005 at 12:43 am
This photo warmed my heart! But, oh, it is so true, what Carol said about the azaleas,though I think there are some varieties now that bloom longer.
There is a color that is about three shades deeper than this color, were you able to see any of those?
Over here in Louisiana, about 2.5 hours away from Houston, our azaleas are just beginning to pop out. I love it when they start blooming.
Mar 18, 2005 at 9:38 am
Oh! Oh! This and the previous photo too. I’ve been thinking of you, Lorianne - enjoy today and have a safe trip back. It’s actually getting more springlike here too!
Mar 19, 2005 at 7:29 am
I’m glad that everyone enjoyed this picture: I’m such a sucker for flowers! I love azaleas & rhododendrons, which are common up north. Even though they bloom briefly, they’re worth it while they’re blooming.
Yes, Annie, I saw the darker/redder azaleas, but none were so full blooming or as brightly lit as this pink one. So the pinks are what I photographed!
Beth, I hope NH’s recent “semi-springlike” weather has been warm enough to melt my car, which got dumped with snow at the Manchester Airport right after I left!
Mar 19, 2005 at 6:57 pm
This is a great picture. I wish a few of those (flowers) were out in New England. At least we saw the sun today and temps above freezing. Welcome spring!
But at the moment, I think I’d rather be in Houston.
Mar 20, 2005 at 7:29 am
New England definitely could use some sort of early blooming flower: maybe that’s why people go nuts when the forsythias start blooming?
I still haven’t gotten used to New Hampshire’s lack of a real spring. Growing up in Ohio, I’m used to the woods being blanketed with spring wildflowers during the months of April and May, with some early bloomers starting in March. Here, all we get in that time period is snow, frost heaves, and (if we’re lucky) mud!