My Favorite Things ...Part II

One of my favorite Christmas songs is "My Favorite Things"

Who can forget Julie Andrews in The Sound Of Music?

Classic

Although my favorite rendition has always been country singer Lorrie Morgan's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXiTIsB_ADQ

As we are winding down to the last few days before Christmas , I am reflecting on some of my favorite things.

So I decided I would do posts this week on things that bring a smile to my face .

I hope they make you smile too.

And I want to thanks Pinterest in advance for assisting me with photos.

If you are a regular reader of my blog , you know my skills as a photographer are lacking.

Thank God for the ability to find any and everything on Pinterest!

If you are a frequent reader of my blog , you know I love my gardens.

I showed you my Moon Garden HERE,

and my not-so-great attempt at veggie gardening HERE,

and a little glimpse of my flower bed with my Wine Bottle Tree HERE.

I also have a SMALL ( insert sarcasm) obsession with Hostas.

I have only been blogging since late August and the Hosta garden was not at it's best then , so I haven't shared it yet.

I have also told you that once upon a time I was a florist.

So you can imagine I also have a deep affection for fresh flowers.

They never fail to bring a smile to my face.

Whether it's receiving an artfully arranged bouquet from the florist or a $5 dollar bundle of tulips from the grocery store ( although , rest assured there is a HUGE difference in quality) flowers brighten my day.

I was completely amazed when I was working on this post and pinning beautiful pictures of flowers on Pinterest , how many of them were identified incorrectly.

It kinda drove me NUTS to tell you the truth.

I thought about leaving a comment to correct them , but wasn't quite sure of the etiquette on that one.

Winter in Iowa can get quite long , especially for a gardener.

Then all those seed catalogs start coming and dreams of sugarplums uh no, make that,

exotic flowers and giant veggies start dancing in my head !

YIKES !

But now I have Pinterest!

YAH!

And spring is at my fingertips...

Repinned from flowers by Jen Joslin

This shot reminds me of Sis and my trip to the Tulip Festival in Pella.

She took such awesome pictures ( she is a MUCH better photographer than I )

She even had one made into a canvas for me for my birthday!

flowersday.org

Red have always been my favorite.

Pink tulips are Emily's favorite flower.

 I just hope someday she doesn't want to have them for her wedding.

( although I know she will )

They are not my favorite flowers to arrange.

Raychel ( my oldest) loves Lilies,

Stargazers to be exact

From brabournefarm.blogspot.com

I love all lilies.

 Asiatic

bulbsdirect.com

Calla Lilies

From ellamariedaughters.com

But my Favorite are Alstromeria Lilies .

 Some unfortunate people are allergic to them and breakout if they work with them , thankfully , I have never had that problem.

They come in SO many colors!

From google.com

Every woman in my family loves orchids.

I have used them in both my Nieces and Nephews weddings.. Again, there are so many varieties and colors to choose from.

Dendrobium

ftd.com

 I find them the easiest to work with, others may not agree.

Cymbidium

bouquetbridal.blogspot.com

Much Larger flowers .

Used often in corsages.

Love these in lime green !

Phalaenopsis

Sometimes called Moth Orchid.

Commonly sold as house plants.

Beautiful and long lasting.

When purchasing a plant, buy one with a few open blossoms and a lot of buds.

They open from the bottom up, the more buds , the longer you will have blooms to enjoy.

That's my favorite "florist flowers", now on to my favorite "garden flowers".

There is something about Sunflowers that just says "HAPPY".

Zinnia

From floridayards.org

So fast and easy to grow from seed.

Here is a new variety I plan on trying next year

burpee.com

Queen Red Lime Zinnia

Isn't that gorgeous?!

Another "happy " flower is a Gerbra daisy.

I like it better as a cut flower although it is commonly sold at greenhouses in the spring.

When I buy an annual , I want one that will be in constant bloom all summer.

I haven't had luck with Gerbra Daisies blooming all season.

Maybe it's just me.

But they sure are pretty!

From timelesscool.com

This arrangement also has Hosta leaves in it.

I love the combination!

cache.stylemepretty.com

They are also a flower that can make a statement with just one or two in a vase.

As I said earlier, I couldn't believe how many flowers were mis-indentified.

But this one takes the cake

From google.com

Daisy ?

 Really?

I hope my favorite things brought a smile to your face today :)