A TRIO OF FLOWERS FOR YOU...

 I felt like sharing a few flowers today.  It was a chilly 48 deg. F (9 deg. C).  Not as cold as some have it in parts of the world but enough for me to start thinking of spring and how lovely it will be to see the first flowers.  That led me to looking for a few favorite photos, three of which you are seeing today.  I hope they bring a smile.    These pretty yellow flowers were found on one of our road trips several years ago.  We were driving through the Little Missouri National Grasslands in the western part of North Dakota.  They are called Curlycup gumweed, also known as Gum-weed, Pitch weed, Broad leaved gum plant, Tarweed, Sticky heads, Gum plant and Rosinweed, to name a few.  Their botanical name is Grindelia squarrosa.  It is a small biennial plant native to North America.  

This beautiful flower is The Red Columbine, also known as Canadian columbine, Eastern red columbine, Cluckies, Meeting houses, American Columbine, Rock-bells, with a botanical name of  Aquilegia canadensis.  Belonging to the Buttercup family, it blooms between April and July.  I found this at Meadowlark Gardens, one of our go-to places. It is an herbaceous perennial and native to woodland and rocky slopes in North America.

The last flower is the Oxeye daisy, also known as the Ox-eye daisy, Dog daisy, Moon Daisy, White daisy and Marguerite. Its botanical name is Leucanthemum vulgare.  It is native to Eurasia but has become widely known in North America.