thanks for the birthday flowers, mary and pat

Wonder why these particular flowers 

are around the mailbox?

The deer don't like them.

I suggested the reason might be 

the peppery taste of 

the chrysanthemum petals.

 

Right inside the back gate

were these delicate-looking

lace hydrangeas.

I think Grandma 

would have enjoyed

their pastel 

French blue centers.

And here are the ones

that I look forward to

every year:

the oak leaf hydrangeas.

I'm not even sure

if it's the flowers 

or those giant leaves

that attract me more.

Together,

they are quite

the lush couple!

Believe it or not,

this flower was more than

seven inches wide

and two inches deep.

It's called - and rightly so -

a dinner plate dahlia.

This particular one is

5 days old.

These are also dahlias,

just not on such

a grand scale.

The largest had a diameter

of nearly 4 inches.

The reason for this photo?

They struck me as 

misplaced stars,  

still trying to maintain 

the relationship they'd had 

in the night constellation

of their origin.

Here's St. Francis of Assisi,

communing with

the lilies of the field.

Follow the line of sight...

and there he is,

not minding the fact

that these lilies are so diverse

in color, and petal shape,

and height.

All are to be loved.

I took this for Bill, the artist,

now living large

in California.

 

This photo was taken

for Mama.

She had daylilies 

circling every tree

in the front yard

of the home of my youth.

My birthday is always

a day with her.

 

Then there's this shot!

This lily speaks of the

inside joke between

me and my first niece,

from the time she 

"fringed the porch light" 

on for me.

I miss having her

only seven houses away.

 

What next?

I could show the photo

of the gloriosa lily that 

I snapped this trip -

as always -

but I'd rather show off

this leopard-spotted variety.

It was facing the ground,

so I had to get creative

in my stance

to catch this shot.

What an exotic flower

to close this session

in the Prokop garden!

 

Not that I was done

with flowers

just yet.

I made a beeline -

get the pun? -

for Kayak Kafe midtown

after I left Coffee Bluff.

The pita and hummus

wanted to sing me

a happy birthday!

Ah, so good,

down to the last note -

I mean, bite.

(smile!)