Say it with flowers. Happy Valentine’s Day.
And here is the pick of the bunch of my flowers from around the world.
Of course my fave is right here at home.
California blooming
Jacaranda, Southern California:?No, not the name of a Hollywood actress but these vibrant purple blooms in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills.
The best time to see them is in June when the jacaranda showers its blooms on passers-by which was me.
See www.visitcalifornia.com and https://www.weho.org.
Edelweiss in Austria
Austria’s flower
Edelweiss, Austria, Switzerland: They should write a song about this
We know it from The Sound of
Music and as the national flower
of Austria Soll Mates but you can
also find it all around Switzerland
Visit https://www.austria.info/en and https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-gb/. And get out that old soundtrack.
This flower lasts for ever
Sempre viva, Kythera, Greece: Yes, I love yellow but there are other golden flowers other than daffodils.
Take the sempreviva flower from the Attica island, off Athens, which is so called because of its hardiness.
A bit like the old men and women of the island…. https://visitkythera.com. And My Greek odyssey.
The miracle flower
The spekboom, South Africa: The good people at Raggy Charters https://www.raggycharters.co.za would take us out on Algoe Bay in the Eastern Cape in South Africa…
To spot bottlenose dolphins and penguins.
But they would always plant a spekboom to counter the fuel consumption from the boat.
Read about this magic plant in This plant can save the world and What’s new pussycat?. And visit https://www.southafrica.net/uk/en/.
A Mimosa for me
Mimosas, Cannes, France: Drink it in… they’re flowers and cocktails!
And Mandelieu-La-Napoule, near Cannes is awash with them during the week-long Mimosa Festival https://www.mandelieu.com/evenements/mimosa-festival-4 which takes place from February 19.
And of course I got in the spirit of things too… The Boat D’Azur.
The flower of peace
The poppy, Flanders, Belgium: It was the only flower that could grow in the mud of No-Man’s-Land in Flanders.
During the carnage of the First World War.
Lest we forget it is a beautiful flower and symbol all year around and the Fallen should be remembered all year round.
See In Flanders fields and www.visitflanders.com.
And always…
Tulips from Amsterdam: They are the flower that were the gift among royal courts.
The must-have status symbol of the 17th Century in the Netherlands.
And the flower that fed the starving Dutch in the last winter of the Second World War.
Read more about them in Pictures of Amsterdam and What’s new pussycat?.
Visit www.iamsterdam.com and also take in the Tulip Museum https://amsterdamtulipmuseum.com.
While the Netherlands’ other great flower, the crocus, is just as regal… Crocus gold… Valentine’s in Amsterdam and Ireland.
Happy Valentine’s everyone and tell us your favourite flower and destination.
