orange flowers

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A Week of Flowering Cheer: Orange

I’m joining Cathy and others for a Week of Flowers, 2021. Cathy is inviting all of us to share a bit of color/colour during these dark and difficult times. Today I’m featuring orange flowers from the garden.

A cluster of California poppies growing near the curb

These brilliant orange poppies are California’s State flower. The soft petals fold into a variety of shapes at the end of lacy green foliage.

Cathy is also growing California poppies in her garden, half way across the world. That makes me smile.

A rich orange nasturtium

Nasturtiums come in a variety of colors, but the true standouts are the orange ones. They pop up in various areas of the garden twice a year, with foliage as beautiful as the flower. Aren’t they something?

I think a mollusk chewed this near-perfect hole in a California Poppy last spring. The fresh drops of rain and the teepee like shape always make me smile. I hope you’re smiling, too.

Thank you for following along.

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Spring Colors: Some Like it Hot

Orange nasturtium

This orange nasturtium has a banana-yellow center and a lovely pair of eyelashes

Nature always wears the color of the spirit.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Unless you’re an allergy sufferer, you probably love spring. It’s a magical time in the garden when spring colors emerge from winter’s slumber while the birds sing their happy tune.

Red and Pink

 

Earthbox planted with red, white and red cyclamen and pink hyacinth
Salvia greggii
Red freesia
Red hot succulents
Dark pink cyclamen growing under a perennial
Hummingbird drinking nectar from an abutilon

After years of planting assorted bulbs and spring-mix seed packets, it’s fun to see the color assortment burst forth. Wrapped around the perennials, and sometimes hiding below, touches of spring color emerge. To be fair, many of the weeds are colorful too. You just have to decide what stays and what goes.

Orange

 

A cluster of California poppies growing near the curb
Hot orange nasturtium
California poppy about drop its petals
This orange nasturtium has a beautiful yellow center and a lovely pair of eyelashes
Golden tips in the sunshine
California poppy wrapped up tight
I love poppies

According to birder Melissa Mayntz of The Spruce:

Different birds are attracted to different colors. Individual bird species may see the “best” colors as indicating a food source. Other birds may be more attracted to the colors of their own plumage as those could indicate a potential mate or another bird that is surviving well.

Most bright colors, however, can be used to attract birds, with certain bird species being more attracted to particular shades.

Red and Pink: Hummingbirds
Orange: Orioles, hummingbirds
Yellow: Goldfinches, warblers, hummingbirds

Yellow

 

Trailing yellow rose
Narcissus or Daffodil
Emerging Ranunculus
Emerging Freesia
Yellow flowers from seed mix
Freesia after a rain

Interesting that red, orange and yellow are the first three colors of a primary rainbow. I think nature is on to something, don’t you?

Not to be undone green, blue and violent show up every spring as well. They’re the cooler colors, providing a lovely contrast to the heat of the spectrum. Stay tuned for their turn in the garden.