I don’t know what it’s like right now where you live, but here in Minnesota we’re in the throes of a deep freeze. Just how cold, you ask? Let’s put it this way: the Moderna® folks would be smart to consider leasing my front stoop as a backup vaccine storage facility. And that’s before the wind chill factor that will make this weekend’s overnight lows feel like -50° F, the perfect conditions for a snow day if it weren’t occurring on a weekend.
So maybe frigid is a better word.
It’s also very white outside, as it should be during a Midwestern winter. And though I’m not yet sick of my hibernal milieu (that will come later—check back with me in a month or so), my mind has started to turn ever so slightly toward spring. Last year, one method I used to cope with the winter doldrums was to write a post about gardening. This year, though, as travel withdrawal has me wistfully perusing my travel photo archives, I’ve realized that while I don’t travel to see flowers, per se, lots of them have made their way onto my camera during our journeys. So as my need for colors other than winter’s holy trinity—wintry white, steely gray, and cerulean blue—grows stronger, I thought I’d share the rainbow of living color I’ve stumbled upon on my travels. Consider it therapy for the winter blahs.















Ahhh . . . I feel better already. Don’t you?
Yes, yes! This is a great post to see in the dead of winter. I especially like seeing poinsettias that have grown into bushes. Coming from the midwest USA that seems so odd, but so cool. Thanks for the colorful memories.
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We were so surprised to see poinsettia bushes in Laos. I’d never given any thought to where they came from and had no idea they were such a big plant.
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I, too, have been dreaming about gardening as we are having a cold spell here too. I’ve even been pre-planning how I will organize my planters. Thanks for sharing these memories of warmer days.
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Do you garden on your balcony or do you have a plot somewhere?
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Just on my balcony. Community garden plots are tough to find. I think there’s one close to my place that has a 5 year waiting list!
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They’re pretty popular in England. Frankly, I’m not motivated enough to drive to garden. If it’s not in my yard, it’s not happening! 🙂
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It’s even supposed to drop below 0 in Denver this weekend… obviously not nearly as bad as -50, but unusually cold for this area 🥶 This must be a huge cold front!
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A great colourful reprieve in this brutally cold week. I can’t believe it, but you’re even colder than here!!
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We get that a lot. 🙂
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What a beautiful collection of wonderful flower photos. Is that poinsettia plant growing wild in a photo from Luang Prabang, Laos? They are such beautiful plants, and we only get to see them around Christmas when they overflood our supermarket shelves. Thanks for sharing and have a good day. Aiva
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Yes, we’d never seen anything like it before. I hadn’t realized they grown into such huge bushes. I guess it’s Christmas every day in Laos! 🙂
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I definitely feel better! Haven’t seen anything green for months!
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Glad to hear it! The Seattle pictures were all taken in April. I had flown there for a petsitting gig and it was still wintry in Minnesota, so I was overjoyed to see so much color during my long weekend there.
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You must have kissed the ground!
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I never realized until now that flowers are severely-underrated in terms of traveling, how one could technically see the world through all sorts of breeds taken worldwide. I guess that’s one appeal of them, whether they’re kept in botanical gardens or just outside your windowsill. Their therapeutic beauty makes for a relaxing endeavor, too!
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Flowers are especially therapeutic and easy to appreciate on travels when home is a wintery wonderland.
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It has been pretty cold here too but not Minnesota cold haha. Nice photos anyway, hopefully spring views will be here soon 🙂
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Thank you. December and January were uncharacteristically mild, so we’re bracing for a snowy spring. 😦
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I wouldn’t mind getting in on some of that Moderna action myself. This past week has certainly made up for our unusually mild winter. In another day or two, we’re finally going to climb above zero. It’s been quite the run!
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Here, too. The mild Dec/Jan was perfect for our construction project, but we know we’ll be paying for it in April. 😦
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