Here in Northeastern Washington, we’re another six weeks away from seeing crocus flowers in bloom. Here’s what bloomed last year in my garden!
“The crocus reminds us that no matter how harsh the winter, spring always returns.”
– Katrina Meyer
Alongside my passion for photography, I enjoy using filters and coloring apps, particularly Color Planet. This paint-by-number “game” allows me to color and save digital images. Here is one I colored and saved. It is meant to have an “oil-painting” quality.
Now that AI is available as a tool for editing, creating, etc., I used the WordPress image block to create an AI-generated version of the Color Planet image. It created very realistic-looking flowers and grass.
Here’s hoping the purple and white ones emerge late next month.
Please note that you don’t have to share an edited flower or a crocus for this week’s Flower Hour.
New flower images are welcomed, and archived images are encouraged.
For the Flower Hour, share your images of flowers, gardens, fields of flowers, seasonal leaves and plants, fungus, algae, cacti, blossoms, berries, and wildflowers. Bouquets and silk/faux flowers are welcome.
Remember, there are no specific themes for the Flower Hour, but please use your own photography. And you have all week to link to this post.
New to The Flower Hour photo challenge? Please check out my page for more information! I encourage “double-dipping” with other blog challenges if you do not want to create a separate post.
“White and purple crocuses are always the first to burst through Winter’s crusty, frozen soil as its lonely reign is overthrown by a brave new season.” – Graham Russell
© 2026 Copyright — Terri Webster Schrandt and secondwindleisure.com — All Rights Reserved
All content on this blog is copyrighted. Please do not repost or reblog without my permission.
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The purple is a wonderful Crocus. The arty images are great Terri. I have never seen a white Crocus before
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Thank you, Brian! I’ve only seen the white and purple. The filters are fun, but a super sharp Pic up close is always the winner!
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My Crocus are pink. I’ll make a note for a flower hour post.
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Very pretty purple crocus and the white one, too. I never think to try out filters except one or two that I did in the past. These really turned out good looking. 🙂
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Thank you, Barbara! The ones in my garden have emerged with little green shoots. I use the filters sparingly and many photos don’t lend themselves to too much editing!
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[…] The Flower Hour #17: An Edited Journey of a #Crocus […]
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Terri, your crocus is beautiful. I know you are anxiously awaiting for them to bloom. I always enjoy seeing flowers that we don’t get here. I like your edited flowers, too. The Color Planet app looks like fun.
Here’s mine https://wanderingdawgs.com/2026/02/10/sunday-stills-amethyst/
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Thank you, Beth! The green shoots have emerged. I keep them covered with a layer of hay for now. If you want to mindlessly color while watching TV… its a fun app to pass some time with, and you can save and keep the completed image.
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Terri, many thanks. The only purple I could think of was flowers. I’m glad you like them. I downloaded the free version but couldn’t get past the ad for another game so I deleted it. Any tips?
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[…] Also shared with Terri’s Flower Hour #17. […]
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[…] Terri’s #The Flower Hour — photo editing journeys – 10 February 2026 […]
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Most excellent!
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Small but very lovely, Terri, and definitely a sight to lift the spirits xx
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Thank you, Jo! I dont have a pic, but i see evidence the crocus in my garden had surfaced. Yay!
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Your images and words are great and inspiring as we impatiently await a thaw (never mind spring blossoms!). I love the AI image and (very red-faced) didn’t even know that technology was available on WordPress so thank you! pp
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Thank you, Pam! Many folks are still unsure about AI tech. WordPress has integrated it very seamlessly. You can experiment with a draft post. If you do be sure to delete any images from your media files that you don’t want.
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Thank you. I’m very nervous of trying AI (don’t laugh!). But your beautiful crocus image is inspiring me to give it a go. More to follow (maybe). xx
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Don’t be nervous, it’s an image alteration tool and can easily be deleted.
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I love crocuses! They always bring the idea of spring to mind. Wonderful photos, Terri. Great work with photo editing. WordPress’s image AI did a great job with your Color Planet image.
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Thank you, Suzette! I had some fun with this. I was also surprised with the realistic AI version!
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Most excellent.
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I love the extra images you included: the painted and AI edits. Beautiful shots. Here is my entry:
https://throughbrazilianeyes.com/the-tiny-crowns-of-spring/
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Beautiful flowers
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Thank you, Sadje, the crocus is the first sign of spring, but we won’t see it here until late March.
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You’re welcome. We don’t have it here but there are green buds on the trees
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