My Beautiful Birds Of Paradise.

Edited to add: I just received a comment on my birthday flowers post a ways back from the owners of Seabreeze Florist: "The flower in question in your basket is called STOCK.It is very fragrant and comes in a variety of colors. For those of us that love the therapy of a garden it can grow locally on the obx. Thank you for letting us know just how much you are enjoying your flowers.Check out our web site at seabreezeflorist.biz Tori & Brandi SeaBreeze Florist"

Thank you, Tori and Brandi. This is embarrassing for me since I have a yard full of stock. It grows like a weed for me. It self seeds in the fall, along with my larkspur. Both manage quite nicely during the winter, even under snow, and they're the first flowers to bloom in the spring. Both come in all different colors and they are lovely. Tori and Brandi, Your arrangements are beautiful. I've gotten so many compliments on them and people have emailed to ask who did them. Thanks again.

Here's my stock just starting to bloom. (It's not blooming now. Old photo.)

Different colored stock.

More stock.

My larkspur. Now - back to my regularly scheduled post.

I wanted to share with everyone my beautiful birthday flowers Daughter Hawthorne and Nancey sent me Please enjoy.

Daughter Dearest,

the lovely Birds of Paradise are opening up.

Nancey, this is one of the lilies from your arrangement.

A purple tulip.

Bird of Paradise.

Now, Marilyn, can you tell me what this is? It's hyacinth-looking but not a hyacinth. It smells wonderful. I'm about 6 feet away and I can smell it. Nancey, it's in your arrangement.

Inside a tulip.

This is the flower I want to know what it is.

It smells divine. Please enjoy my pictures of the lovely flowers in my birthday arrangements.

Good day today. I worked out in the yard for a while. Youngest Hawthorne had given me the next three bags of 140 bulbs for Christmas, so I planted them all.

Fifteen double ice king daffodils and 35 scilla siberica.

Fifteen greigii toronto tulips and sixty chionodoxa luciliae.

And fifteen purple prince tulips. I'm just waiting for spring now.