A Fair Exchange
My favorite plants do not grow here The soil is not to their liking So I learn to love new exotic ones that tolerate the dryness of our winter and welcome the hot rainy season Gone are the pretty blue hydrangeas and pink hybrid roses tinged with gold Replaced by bright yellow Allamandas and Wedgewood blue Plumbagoes Strikingly elegant the orange-blue Bird of Paradise stands tall holding its head high Instead of sheltering myself under an Oak tree I now sit in the shade of a Royal Poinciana Marveling at its shadow-providing beauty heavily adorned with burnt orange blossoms The palm trees host varieties of orchids clinging to the trunks with their outstretched tendrils Hot sun and heavy rains gift me with a stunning technicolor of exotic blooms A trade I gladly accept Copyright © 2021 Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing All Rights Reserved Claudia Schoenfeld, one of the original founders of D'Verse Poets, is hosting tonight and he has prompted us with 'Gardens or Gardening'. A favorite pastime of mine. Image Bird of Paradise Pixabay Image Royal Poinciana by note thanun on Unsplash Image Allamanda by DEZALB from Pixabay Image Plumbago by Ian Lindsay from Pixabay Image Butterfly Orchid Wiki
Hot sun and heavy rains gift me
with a stunning technicolor of exotic blooms
A trade I gladly accept
My, Christine, Hank would love it to be there admiring the many varieties of beautiful colours, exotic in their blessings. You brought it to a beautiful close liking them all even though they took over those that you would have liked to have too! Wonderful descriptions Ma’am!
Hank
You are so kind Hank. Thank you! I’m happy you enjoyed it ☺️💕🌺
There is truly a plant for every season, a flower for every climate. You seem to have adapted!!!
Yes that is true isn’t it? I certainly did adapt ☺️💕
Love the image of those “burnt orange blossoms,” 😀 this is such a heartfelt and beautiful write, Christine! 💝💝
Thank you Sanaa. I love writing about nature’s beauty ☺️💕⛅️
What a heady intoxicating read Christine, just wonderful. Great pics also…🙂
Thanks Rob. Happy you liked it ☺️
I love this plant – Bird of Paradise. Climate changes in the UK means that we can grow more exotic plants…but the price tag in terms of global warming maybe too high. We’re not warm enough for this specimen…yet.
I hadn’t thought of that Bernadette. I remember when I lived there we would buy house plants and do our best to keep them going. Now I live here and the same plant grows like weeds! 😊
Yes I love the Bird of Paradise too 🥰
Accepting what you can get instead of trying to get what you can not is wise… The best gardens I have visited always bring in the best from the surrounding nature.
Yes, they are beautiful no matter where you are in the world ☺️
Great way to adapt to your surroundings Christine! What beautiful blooms, wherever you find yourself 🙂
Thanks Ingrid. Yes we have to love where we choose to live. ☺️
Reading your beautiful poem is a reminder of what I left behind in Florida sixteen years ago … today I battle Oregon smoke/stinging eyes/a closed up house … ready for rain … so ready.
Helen, I am living in Florida, so I understand. It rained a lot yesterday and I thought of everyone out west and what you are contending with. I’m so sorry. All things being normal Oregon must be a pretty place to live, no? ☺️💕🌺
I love the photos and specially this fair exchange:
Hot sun and heavy rains gift me
with a stunning technicolor of exotic blooms
Our winters here are long and harsh, so I keep some plants potted and warm with a humidifier during the season. How lovely to see all those exotic plants blooming.
Thank you Grace. Yes, Florida is full of beautiful Native plants and birds. I love it ☺️💕🌺
Lovely. We must and should bend to nature, not the other way. So glad you’re able to appreciate her bounty.
Absolutely! She has so much to give ☺️💕 Thank you!
❤️😊
A fair exchange indeed! Nature in all its glory comes alive in your words, Christine! 💕
Thanks Punam. I do love flowers ☺️💕🌺
So you do! My pleasure, my friend. 😊
❤️🌺
so nice – and so wise to accept what’s possible and what is not… that is a good metaphor for life as well i think… i try to grow blue hydrangeas as well but had no luck so far
Thanks Claudia. I loved the prompt! Yes, with Hydrangeas it’s all about the soil 😕
A lovley poem! Vivid colours and imagery.
Thank you! Im s pleased you liked t ☺️🌺
Thank you so much. I appreciate it ☺️🌺
Sigh. Comment disappeared. It is lovely to appreciate the diverse beauty of a new location.
I found your comment in the SPAM box Sherry 😕 Yes! I couldn’t be happier. The flowers here are beautiful like the birds and the weather ☺️🌺
It is lovely, appreciating the blooms in a new locale. Nature takes my breath away with the diversity of her beautiful expression.
That’s how I feel Sherry. Nature is the gift that keeps on giving ☺️💕🌺
Such a lovely poem Christine. Loved the poetic description of your flowers.
Thank you Sadje. I always love writing about Nature ☺️💕🌺
You’re welcome!
What a rich offering of names and colors. I loved reading and imagining this.
Thank you for stopping by and reading this. I really appreciate it ☺️💕🌺
I usually spend my summers overseas in Asia doing missions work and it’s always fascinating to see the difference in the floral and fauna and finding new beauty in the jungles…so different but no less beautiful
That is something I always appreciate when I travel. Yes different in its uniqueness but always pleasing to the eye no matter where you see it. I love it when I see plants in far flung places that also grow here at my home.
sounds just like the exchange I made many years back now.
Yes, it’s a very noticeable difference isn’t it? Thanks for stopping by ☺️