March 3, 2013 - Florida Flowers

Back home in Minnesota, you won’t find any flowers blooming outside in the winter. But February, in Florida, is the time to find large Azalea bushes covered with these beautiful blooms. This photo was taken at the Gulf Specimen Lab in Panacea, Florida. (I'm told by a friend in Florida that the Azaleas are blooming about a month early this year.)

AzaleaGulfCoastSpecimanLabPanacea20130208

This small (1 – 1½ inches across) flower is from a plant called Blue-eyed Grass. It’s not a true grass plant but it has long thin leaves that make it look like grass. During the summer, in northern Minnesota, I have photographed a variety of Blue-eyed Grass that looks very much like this one. This photo was taken at the Bailey Tract on Sanibel Island near Fort Myers, Florida.

BlueeyedGrassBaileyTractSanibelIsland20130129

Here’s a white variety of the Periwinkle plant. I took this photo at Bowman’s Beach on Sanibel Island.

PeriwinkleBowmansBeachSanibelIsland20130129

This pink Periwinkle photo was taken at the Pond Apple Trail on Sanibel Island. The main road on Sanibel is called Periwinkle Drive.

PeriwinklePondAppleTrailSanibelIsland20130130

Wild Poinsettia is related to the cultivated variety which is used for decoration at Christmas time. This photo was taken at the Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island.

PoinsettiaWildDingDarlingNWRSanibelIsland20130127

Railroad Vine is often used in beach restoration because it grows well in the sandy soil. It produces large, purple flowers like this one. It sends out runners along the beach that can reach 100 feet in length.

RailroadVineDingDarlingNWRSanibelIsland20130127