Floral Bouquet
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: April #Flowers Bring…?

April Flowers bring May showers? Hmmm, do I have this backward? March did go out like a lamb at least here in Eastern Washington. We loved the warm temps on Easter Sunday. And the rain began in the middle of last week.

Purple Wild Iris Olsynium
Grass Widow or Olsynium (Wild Iris)

Your flowers don’t have to bloom in April to be featured in this week’s challenge. Please use anything floral from your archives this week, if you wish.

I must dig through my archives to find florals since we don’t get a lot of blooms this early in Eastern Washington.

But late March yielded some small but mighty wildflowers along the nearby Centennial Trail. The pine forested floor boasts purple Grass Widows (aka Olysnium, Wild Iris).

“Spring dresses in wildflowers and greens, a visionary for hopes and dreams.” ~ Angie Weiland-Crosby

Purple Grass Widows adorn forest floor
Grass Widows

A tiny yellow ranunculus sprung up along the trail.

Yellow Wild Ranunculus (Mountain Buttercup)
Wild Ranunculus (Mountain Buttercup)

I found this gorgeous little crocus in a Spokane neighborhood.

purple crocus
Purple Crocus

In a land and time far, far away, in Sacramento, spring always arrived early and brought with it gorgeous tree blooms.

Plum Cherry Blossoms
Cherry Tree Blossoms
Sweet Early Spring Blooms
Magnolia Tree blooms
Spring brings clouds of blossoms
Almond Trees Bloom Mid- February
field of yellow
Field of Yellow

“Mother Earth is awakening to springtime’s sunlit call; as flowers paint with the wind, breathing hope once more.” ~ Angie Weiland-Crosby

Floral bouquets are another beautiful source of flowers. I got this stunning bouquet for Mother’s Day last year.

Floral Bouquet

I might have seen this floral bouquet around Valentine’s Day in a store.

pink floral bouquet
Pink floral bouquet

Beautiful bouquets adorned the casket of our family friend, my brother-in-law’s longtime partner of 20 years, who passed away last week. May she rest in peace.

casket and flowers
Saying a final goodbye to a family friend

“Every flower blooms in its own time.” ― Ken Petti

Sharing for Cee’s Flower of the Day, and Dawn’s Spring Festival.

pink flower border

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post.

  • Remember to title your blog post a little differently than mine.
  • Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
  • Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
  • Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
  • I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.

As you read this post, we are traveling to Portland, OR, and into Southern Washington State to help my dear cousin with my uncle who recently moved into assisted living. For this reason, I won’t share a round-up as posts are linked. Please visit your fellow bloggers’ links in the comments section.

Lest you be confused with a few purple flowers in this post, this week is the floral theme, and next week is the Sunday Stills Monthly color challenge featuring the “colors” of crystal, diamond, quartz, and purple. I can’t wait to see your beautiful flowers this week!

graphic

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138 comments

  3. Your post is on fire this week, Terri. I’m sorry I’m just getting to it, the pictures are stunning, especially the crocus and those luscious wildflowers. All your pictures have an artistic touch. Very lovely and springy.

    We are getting spring a little bit. My peony has its first bud. My rose leaves all dried up and died because I forgot to water it since they started painting our house and everything was moved around.

    Have a safe trip home. I’m thinking about you, and I bet you’re already sitting in your family room relaxing watching tv right now, settling in for the night. Whatever you are doing, have a wonderful time being back. xxx

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  6. Our spring flowering bulbs are just coming to an end, Terri. They were all early this year due to the wet, mid winter. However, they have been spectacular, and it won’t belong before the summer flowers make an appearance.

    I don’t know about you, but I prefer seeing flowers outside rather than inside the house. And when those flowers grow wild near a busy road, it tells me how tough they are.

    What Can You See In The Spring Meadow? #WordlessWednesday #Photography

    I’m sorry to hear about your loss. My thoughts are with you and your family.

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    • Many thanks, Hugh. While we’ve been here in Portland, OR, it’s warmer and wetter than back home, so lots of flowering bulbs here too that are in full bloom. We visited a tulip farm that announced it’s closing a week early due to earlier blooming. We get back home today to spring. Enjoy your week!

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      • Our tulips usually last until mid May, but they’re just about gone now, Terri. It sounds like the tulip farm in Portland has had the same problem with warmer weather arriving earlier. Our winters are certainly getting shorter.

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  12. […] I’ve taken a lot of beautiful flower pictures lately as I search for the perfect image to use on Thursday for my Spring Festival Challenge,  so it was tough to choose one for the Sunday Stills prompt April Showers bring May Flowers. […]

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  16. Exquisite photos as usual, Terri. My condolences to you and your family for the loss of your brother-in-law’s partner. It sounds like you’re going through a challenging month, and I hope that these April showers will bring May flowers to lift your spirit.

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  20. Terri,

    Love the flowers! We’re enjoying a beautiful April with enough sun and rain to allow spring flowers to flourish and I’ve never seen our dogwoods so beautiful The Azaleas are just coming out and I’m sending you a picture of one in our neighborhood. Travel safely! I’m looking forward to seeing the “clear” challenge! Joe

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    • Thank you, Joe! April sure looks beautiful in Portland, where we are for a few days. Azaleas are everywhere here and blooming! I’m on my phone as I reply so I may have to wait to see your image! Next week’s “clear” challenge includes quartz, diamond and the color purple.

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  35. Beautiful spring flowers, Terri. I’m especially fond of those wild Grass Widows – wild flowers are always a delight to me. And so sorry to hear about your family’s loss. My heart goes out to your brother in law. ❤

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    • Many thanks, Diana! I don’t think I’ve seen so many of those grass Widows in the few years we’ve been here. El Nino must have encouraged their growth. Sure going to miss you this week. I’m meeting Miriam Tuesday, then hoping to visit the Wooden Shoe tulip farm Wednesday. It’s a whirlwind week and I hope all your plans go smoothly, my friend!

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  37. Hi Terri, I was going to do a post but have run out of time! Your post is lovely with the signs of spring and that purple crocus is just gorgeous!! Enjoy your spring flowers, we’ve just had a lot of rain and everything is greening up we’ve got the full on autumn show underway here at the moment with cooler temps but still pleasant without the need for any heating, just another layer of clothing. There’s a rule you shouldn’t put your fire on until 25 April which is ANZAC Day here

    This is an arty photo of a bunch of flowers I was given yesterday (Sunday) so perfect for this week’s prompt. I’ll share it on Intsa with the #Sundaystills. Thanks to Hugh for the tips on adding photos in comments 🙂

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  42. You have beautiful april flowers, Terri! Sorry for the loss of your brother-in-law’s long time friend. It’s hard. We were in a same situation when Hubby lost his best friend. Safe travel. Will see you soon.

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  44. I am so sorry for the loss of your friend. It sounds like she was a sweet Friend. I am sending prayers of peace to your family.
    I enjoyed all your flowers, dear friend. That crocus was a beauty!
    I’ll post some tomorrow. I love flowers! Happy April!

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  50. Terri, I like the Grass Widows and that’s a fun name too. The Mountain Buttercup is beautiful and the petals seem almost waxy-looking as you are so close to it – had it rained and the flower was wet at the time? I don’t see Buttercups anymore, but do remember gathering them from a field at the end of our block and bringing them home for my mom when I was a youngster. I have never planted bulbs, but my father did when we first moved here, a lot of Tulip bulbs which he planted in the Fall and found them around the yard, unearthed and nibbled on in the Spring when he did yard clean-up. One stubborn Tulip was missed by the critters and emerged every Spring like clockwork under a Birch tree. When the Birch tree bit the dust from Birch Borer Disease and was cut down and the stump removed, that hardy tulip went with it. I have a few pretty purple Crocuses in my post as well. Pickin’s were kind of slim and so my post is shorter than usual this week. I didn’t find any new April flowers yesterday and the Tulips have no buds on them yet. Your tree blossoms are equally stunning. I saw a Weeping Cherry today. I hope our cold weather last week didn’t kill the buds of some Magnolia bushes and trees. I’m sorry for the loss of your family member – those are beautiful flowers on the casket.

    Here is my post hot off the press:

    “It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood” …

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      • You do get around Terri to all beautiful venues. I am sure Portland is all aflutter with the billion dollar Powerball ticket being sold there. Seeing all the green will put you in a Springier mood and when you return home, hopefully Spring has settled in nicely for you. I’ll look forward to your pics!

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  55. April is a boisterous child

    First gentle then running wild

    Rainbow flowers in her hair

    She’ll rage a storm so beware

    A tale of four seasons she

    Perfidious and cheeky as she can be 💜

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  64. Wow! Gorgeous flowers and colors, Terri. I saw a couple of daffodils in my neighborhood, but that’s it. We were still cold this morning. Warmer days and cold nights remain for another week. My windows are all replace. I’m worn out from all the cleaning! Have a fabulous week. 🌸

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  67. I’m so sorry for the loss of your friend, Terri.

    A lovely colourful selection of flowers, I especially love the Crocus and Ranunculus. The wild flowers are beautiful too. There’s not a huge amount happening in my garden at the moment, the rain is still relentless and the winds are horrific and, according to the weather forecast likely to be around for the rest of April. This is one time I hope they’re wrong lol

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  73. I am so sorry for your loss. The flowers on her casket and the picture speak to me of a vibrant soul – sort of like that of a flower. Your florals are pretty – it’s the wild irises that I adore. I am impatiently waiting for the crocuses to come fully out here. If the weather stays as nice as the forecast perhaps they will this week. Bernie

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