Wildflower Wednesday: Lively Lantana in the Florida “winter”

The wind blew as wild as these lovely lantana flowers grow on the day I attempted to snap these photos. When something catches a photography lover’s eye, relatively little will stop that person from trying to steal a capture.

I should have thought better of it though as the lantanas had significant trouble remaining still in the wind. It wasn’t easy to get my iPhone to hold still in my hands either. You may notice the focus ended up being a little off in some of the photos and I forgot all about using the focus lock.

This past Sunday was one of those windy cold days that Floridians call “winter.” We don’t like “winter” here and we don’t like any subtle hints of “winter” either. For a few years after moving to Florida, I’m convinced that I suffered from some sort of winter-induced PTSD… any reminder whatsoever of winter would bring about acute adverse reactions.

I’m doing a lot better these days. I can watch it on TV or see it in photos on Facebook without going berserk. That’s progress! Winter can be breathtakingly beautiful… that is until the out-of-control blizzards start… car pile-ups on the interstate… 10 feet of snow all in one day…

Anyway, back to the lantana… I’ve taken photos of this flower before: Florida flowers: Lovely lantana—interesting to see the color variations. Lantanas have many weed-like features. There are gobs and gobs to be found growing wild near where I work. I think the flowers are just beautiful though. I’m thinking that they have a short blooming season but will see how long the buds last.

Hope everyone is doing well. I’m slowly getting my mojo back! It went on vacation for a spell.

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25 thoughts on “Wildflower Wednesday: Lively Lantana in the Florida “winter””

    1. Green scent… hmmm… I suppose most of Florida has a smell of greenery… except in the concrete jungle areas of course. I don’t recall this one having any sort of scent that differed. Thank you for the kudos!

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      1. Oh, okay, thanks for telling me. I was asking because they resemble some strongly fragrant wild flowers that grow everywhere outside the townns in Uganda. The green scent I meant us more like a raw mango scent but with some sweet scent as well. A little medicinal, a little rosy.

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        1. Oh nice. I will have to pay more attention to the smell. I don’t recall one so not sure. Those wildflowers in Uganda sound lovely. 😌

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    1. Oh I did not know that they attract butterflies. Nice to know. I know people that have butterfly gardens in their backyard. It’s so lovely to see them buzzing around… definitely a great omen!

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  4. Just gorgeous, JoAnn!

    You shouldn’t have said anything about the troubles you had in the field, though, as your photography is far superior to what I can finesse, even from the best of shoots. Great – now you’re going to make me self-conscious!

    Oh, you really are acclimated, aren’t you? Given that you hail originally from Idaho, in the northern Rockies, that’s quite an accomplishment. Wouldn’t you often go weeks without seeing the positive side of zero? Celsius or Fahrenheit, it doesn’t matter.

    Now look at you. Yes, look at you now. Pretty awesome, huh?

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    1. Oh yes. Winter in Idaho doesn’t play around. When I moved to the northeast it always made me roll my eyes when every single snow storm would be played out like “the storm of the century!” Completely catastropic… and so unexpected… like several such snow storms don’t reoccur every winter.

      It wasn’t worth it to complain about the weather in Idaho either. Most people there are the “buck it up and stop your whining” type. Plus, it always seemed there was someone around who hailed from Minnesota or Saskatchewan… “Oh yeah, you’re complaining about two weeks of temperatures tetter-tottering around zero… you haven’t experienced anything until you’ve lived through two months of -20 temperatures.

      Anyway, thanks for the kudos when it comes to the photos… I do try!

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      1. Certainly, JoAnn. Try, yes…and succeed!

        You know, there’s some part of our humanity that yearns to boast the greatest endurance ever. You guys think you have it tough where you are? This is the frikkin’ Storm of the Century here!

        Ah, you poor thing! Just thinking about it makes me shudder. How can one person be so awesome, despite it all? My lips quiver and my eyes glisten with tears. You’re…you’re…amazing!

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    1. I can relate. I spent more than 30 years living up north dealing with winter every year. The first winter I spent in Florida was like heaven. There’s a lot of things to not like about Florida but luckily the weather makes up for a lot of that.

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      1. Yes, they are … two days ago I felt like spring for the first time. The dwarf irises are flowering and all the other bulbous plants are pushing their green through the earth (hyacinths, tulips, daffodils and the tiny blue ones, scilla. I even started to clean up the flower beds. They look so much nicer afterwards.

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