Flower Power

Meteorologists call March 1 the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and it seems my inner rhythm is wonderfully synchronized with that. I can’t wait now for the juicy green and the flower power. How about you?

Where I live, the first flowers such as snowdrops and crocus have already brought life back, so have birds like chaffinches, robins, blackbirds, and starlings, who gift us with their mesmerizing choir in the morning. See in my post from last year, how nature turns from brown to wow now.

Today, I thought to bring you some power in the form of an array of flowers nature has in petto for us every spring and summer in Switzerland.

The unbelievable Alpine Snowbell, Alpenglöckchen, Soldanella alpina, which I photographed in the Swiss Alps in July. Somehow it finds its way through snow, which can still easily be found in midsummer, especially in shadowy and higher areas. A tremendous flower.

Talking alpine species… For sure, you all know this one, don’t you?

White flowers become generally very common with every month now. Below you see a lily high above Lake Maggiore (left), a common spotted-orchid (right above, Fuchs-Knabenkraut, Dactylorhiza fuchsii) and a member of the umbellifer family (right below, Doldenblütler) visited by hoverflies.

A spectacle that can be witnessed in May are meadows full of Narcissus radiiflorus, called Weisse Berg-Narzisse in German, which basically means white mountain narcissus.

The second most colors in flowers are probably yellow and orange.
But that is just my guess.

And then there are the pinkish ones. You can admire Silene acaulis below, the Mount Snowdon or Kalk-Polsternelke in German, in a close-up and in its wider habitat on rock.

 

Following are two pics of a protected flower. The beauty is a Martagon Lily, Lilium martagon, Türkenbund. Have you ever seen one?

And more pink ;0). I hope you like that color the way I do.

What kind of flowery colors do you see on your way to work? And around the place you live?

We go over to purple.

Deep purple. Not a common color in the natural world. Let me introduce you to Blue Monk’s hood, Aconitum napellus, Blauer Eisenhut. As beautiful as this looks, Blue Monk’s hood is poisonous. More so, it is the most poisonous plant in Europe and every part of it is toxic. Admire it from a little distance and do not touch it.

The next flower, Meadow Sage, Salvia pratensis, Wiesensalbei, almost comes in the same color but is quite the contrary of Monk’s hood as it can be eaten!

How often do you see blue in nature?

It is probably the rarest color you will find.

These two above have some blue, but also purple, right?

There is one family of flowers you can find in the Alps. All of its members are protected by law. It is the family of Gentianaceae, the gentians. Enziangewächse in German. I call this natural blue.

Watch out for flowers over the coming weeks and months and fill your heart account with the memories of those moments.

Powerflowerful greetings and enjoy every moment,

Daniela

 

Not had enough? Click on other posts below to indulge yourself in some more natural flower wonders.

Spring is coming. Hooray!
From brown to wow
Look, I am red
Yellow
Yellow the second