What Kind of Flower Are You?

What if you were a flower? Which one would you be? After waiting so desperately for Spring flowers, we now have an explosion of sorts! The Crabapples and Lilacs are garnering star-status attention—eyes are drawn to their charisma and beauty. From a distance they are admired, and up close they are appreciated.

Lily of the Valley are hidden among the wide, pointed leaves—at first glance, green is all one sees. A closer look reveals pure, simple features with an exquisite fragrance.

What’s not to like about Virginia Bluebells? Beautiful shape and color and one of the first flowers to bloom in the woodland before getting covered up by the vigorous summer plants.

The tiny, delicate Brunnera is easily missed among the larger green leaves. The flowers can be mistaken for the better known Forget-me-nots.

Sweet Woodruff, a shade-loving groundcover, has a diminutive, elegant flower reminiscent of the tropical Stephanotis.

On their own, the Purple Flag Iris and the Anemone are brilliant and eye-catching, each with distinct, enchanting features. When paired together, they are a power couple!

What flowers?! Jack-in-the-Pulpit flowers don’t look like flowers at all! They blend in with the triad leaves and the purplish stems.

I always forget the name of these Spring flowers that pop up from low-growing vines. Chris reminds me they are Creeping Phlox that can be confused with the other Creeping Phlox. (The perils of a common name.)

Wild Geraniums are showy in color with large stamens and striped flower buds, but the mound of cut-leafed foliage is the most distinct feature of the plant.

Dozens and dozens and dozens of Honeysuckle shrubs are blooming in our woods right now. Some are pink, others are yellow and white, and some are a darker rose color. They are sweet-smelling and abundant.

Serviceberry and Chokecherry are best know for the fruit they produce, but without the flower, there is no fruit!

Ajuga, besides its great name, is a richly-colored ground cover that can get carried away. (In other words, it can spread into places you don’t want it.) The stalks of lobed blue flowers are impressive at this time of year.

Variegated Solomon’s Seal is a work of art with arching stems, white-lined leaves, and pendulous pairs of white and green flowers.

If you are not looking for this flower, you will miss it. The large heart-shaped leaves hide the ground-hugging purple-red flower. They are exquisite flowers when you look closely.

Spring/Winter was hard on the bulb flowers this year. The Crocuses that line the driveway grew their leaves, but did not produce one flower. The Daffodils were late to push up their lance-like leaves, and only two flowers showed their sunshine faces.

Flowers of the Nannyberry Viburnum are large clusters of many smaller flowers. Their strength and presence come from the compilation of lots of small, individual beauties.

I know some Crabapple people in my life—they are seen and heard from a distance and are admired and appreciated by many. Some people I know aren’t showy at all—their gifts are more subtle or hidden, and it takes time and effort to uncover them and get to know them. Others blend in, get covered up by more vigorous people, are confused with others, or are missed entirely. They are the ones that need intention, time, noticing, and listening from the rest of us. Their gifts and beauty are just as important to our communities and lives as are the abundant ones. Certain people are known only by the fruits of their labor, what they produce, the work they do, and the brilliance and perseverance of who they are as a person is lost in that translation. I know couples who are superb and talented individuals who are synergistic in their togetherness. And some people are having hard times and are just doing what needs to be done to survive—their sunshine faces are clouded over. We are all flowers, each in our own exquisite way. When you look closely, we are all works of art.