Primrose Time

This time of year, the interstates and highways of the South are lined with all kinds of wildflowers, and my favorite wildflowers here in Mississippi are the little pink "buttercups," with their dainty pink petals gracefully nodding in the wind on the roadsides and in the medians. I've always called them "buttercups," but just discovered via Google Images, that their "scientific" name is Oenothera speciosa.  They are also known as Pink Evening Primrose, Showy Evening Primrose, Mexican Evening Primrose, Showy Primrose, Pink Ladies, and Pink Buttercups. Whatever they're called, I love these happy little flowers and wish I could grow some in my yard.  I tried "transplanting" a clump one time and they immediately wilted and died.  I guess that's why they're called wildflowers. They are truly exquisite up close ... I love the shadows cast on the petals in the next two pictures ... I hope you are enjoying the wildflowers along your roadways, wherever you live.  They don't bloom for very long ... but, oh, how they brighten these fleeting days of Spring. Come May, sweet May, with all thy bloom, Thy fragrant breezes, azure skies, Come quickly to the waiting earth, And bid its bidden treasures rise. Give us again the song of birds, The scent of blossoms on the air, The rustle of the growing grass, The dainty primrose, sweet and fair. From "Primrose Time" By Mary Dow Brine (1816-1913)

Buttercups Blowin' in the Wind

They're called a variety of names, from Pink Evening Primrose, to Pink Ladies, to Pink Buttercups ... but whatever they're called, they are one of my favorite wildflowers that appear this time of year.

They grow on the sides of the interstates and highways, their delicate pastel pink blooms blowing gracefully in the wind from passing cars, and I've seen them literally growing out of cracks in concrete and asphalt.

I tried to "transplant" some several years ago, from a deserted lot in downtown Jackson, but they never looked as pretty in my flower bed as they did growing on that old vacant lot. Perhaps there's a lesson to learn from that.

I found some growing on the side of Old Highway 80 the other day, between Edwards and Bovina, Mississippi, and stopped to capture them with my camera, instead of a shovel.

They are truly beautiful little flowers and I enjoyed seeing them up close through my lens.

You can click on the pictures to enlarge them, if you'd like.

If you would like to see more photos of the wildflowers I saw on my drive through the country, you can click on the links below:

Honeysuckle and Wild Roses
Roadside Daisies