Spring Wildflowers Bringing Hope

My mom has Mantle Cell Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system. We learned about the diagnosis this past weekend. All the days are running together and it has been (and still is) extremely hard news to swallow for me and my family. While the world kept turning and the wildflowers kept blooming and the sun kept shining, I found myself looking out in a haze of gray, as if seeing everything through a dark veil across my eyes.

My mom is a very strong, optimistic lady with incredible faith. She's doing okay, as a matter of fact she's doing amazing under the circumstances. She's not as much afraid for herself as she is for what this is doing to her family. Because of her, I'm starting to see the light again. I think we are all slowly coming out of our initial shock. Her doctors are starting her on an aggressive therapy to suppress her immune system so she can receive an allogeneic stem cell transplant. Our hope is that everything will go smoothly without complication so we can get her back to "normal" within the next 6 to 8 months.

Therefore, in the name of Hope and Love, I share with you these photos of the recent wildflowers I've found growing in my backyard:

The blue flower is Prairie Spiderwort and I was very surprised to see it growing along my back fence! The pretty orange-red with yellow borders is Indian Blanket, one of my favorite Texas wildflowers. Lastly is a little red flower with feathery leaves that I have yet to identify. If you know what is it, please let me know because I love to identify wildflowers, especially the ones growing spontaneously in my backyard!

Here's a list by date of the Spring 2010 wildflowers I've documented in my backyard:

Spring 2010 Backyard Wildflowers

• March 2nd: Yellow Primrose with a photo on my Twitpic Page.
• March 9th: Pretty Fairy Lilies and Dandelions.
• March 14th: Bluebonnets! The State Flower of Texas.

BlueBonnets :: The State Flower of Texas

First Bluebonnet of Spring 2010!

The Bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis) is the state flower of Texas. They are just now starting to bloom in my backyard. I hope we have a ton of them this year. Last Spring we had very little rainfall so I didn't get very many.

I love these pretty blue flowers which grow in a spiked cluster, each one shaped like a little bonnet. When the individual blooms are pollinated, the white centers of the flowers turn a pinkish red.

Bluebonnets also come in colors of pink, white, and Texas A&M maroon! I've only had the blue ones growing naturally in my backyard and wouldn't consider scattering the seeds of the other colors because my favorite one is the blue.

"It's not only the state flower but also a kind of floral trademark almost as well known to outsiders as cowboy boots and the Stetson hat. The bluebonnet is to Texas what the shamrock is to Ireland, the cherry blossom to Japan, the lily to France, the rose to England and the tulip to Holland." -Jack Maguire, historian

Documenting the wildflowers that are coming up in my backyard this Spring is so much fun! I can't wait to see what's next.

Here's what's been springing up so far:

Spring 2010 Backyard Wildflowers

• March 2nd: Yellow Primrose with a photo on my Twitpic Page.
• March 9th: I blogged about these Fairy Lilies and Dandelions the other day.
• March 14th: And today, Bluebonnets!

Little Fairy-land Lilies :: The Wildflowers Are Waking Up!

Spring Lilies

If you've been following my Twitter page you may have noticed I'm documenting all the Spring wildflowers that come up in my backyard. The second ones to come up are these adorable Lilies which turn the yard into a little fairyland! They are tiny and look like wild onion or garlic, however, I think they are "false garlic" (Nothoscordum bivalve) based off of information from my Twitter friend, USWildflowers. These cute flowers remind me of my little niece, Lily.

In other news, yesterday I spent a huge chunk of the day making a new banner for my Etsy shop. The old one looked just like the banner I have here at the top of my blog. The new one is more streamlined (I think) but I'm not sure if I'm finished tweaking it. Please let me know what you think: Pop over and have a look at my new Etsy banner

Is it too bright? Just right? Does it match my shop? Should I go back to more muted colors? I'd like to hear your thoughts!

Oh, by the way, in case you were curious - the first wildflowers to come up in my backyard were yellow primroses. You can see a picture on my Twitpic page if you'd like! In addition, I also found a perfect dandelion puff!