"Tame" flowers blooming 04-28-11

With the sudden onset of much warmer weather the flowers are bursting out all over.  It has been colder than usual, longer than usual.  I received my natural gas bill today and find I used almost twice as many therms as I used in April 2009.  In March my consumption was more than twice as much as either of the previous two years.  Since I don't run the gas dryer much and almost never bake anything, the furnace is the culprit.   I'm so glad it is almost summer - even though I will complain of the heat when it really gets hot. 

Having to take Corky for a walk gets me outside to see the flowers.  Here is a sampling:

A lovely single Geranium.  My mother's favorite, although in Oregon she had to winter her plants in pots in the basement.  One spring she came to Long Beach to stay with me for a week and went wild with snipping slips from the gardens in the neighborhood.   She and Aunt Dorothy were sisters and they both maintained that the slips one "borrowed" were the ones that grew best.  Many Southern California gardeners think of geraniums in any form as weeds.

  

I think this red Geranium might be a triple - the blossoms form fat red pompoms next to this crepe myrtle tree.

This pink Pelargonium cascades over a slump stone wall - like a pink waterfall.

This isn't the largest Calla Lily around, but the shape is perfect - the classiest flower around.

I'm not sure about this - might be Watsonia (anyone?), but the color is yummy.

 

And a "tame" Gailliardia with huge flowers - but still not more lovely than the wild ones on the South Carolina beaches which are half this size. 

Yes, I do know that these flowers names are not normally capitalized, but I am feeling belligerent tonight.  The final newsletter that I will do for Surfside Quilters Guild has been posted
with all the "t"s crossed and the "i"s dotted.  I have excellent proofreaders who see things that I do not and some that I choose to leave "as is".   It has been a sometimes difficult two years, but I have improved my computer skills by several thousand percent and helped create a very thriving and interesting quilt guild in the south area of Orange County.  I will continue to be a member and attend meetings as I am able.
http://www.surfsidequiltersguild.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=ww-WZLCbBu4%3d&tabid=127&mid=566