Lantana

I braved afternoon temperatures hovering in the mid-90s and a 107-degree heat index yesterday to capture some pictures of my Lantana plants which are in full bloom. I was hoping there would be some butterflies fluttering about, too, but I guess they were smarter than I was and were in a nice shady place trying to stay cool.

I did manage to get a few close up pictures of the Lantana blooms and made an amazing discovery in the process. Have you ever noticed how similar Lantana and Hydrangea plants are?

The blossoms of both plants grow in clusters, although the Lantana flowers are much smaller, of course ...

Their leaves are quite similar, too ...

[Lantana Leaves]

[Hydrangea Leaves]

As I looked at the different flowers through my macro lens, I was amazed by how many different stages the blossoms go through before being in full bloom.

I think this one looks like one of those rides at a fair with the little bucket seats that twirl round and round ...

And some of the buds reminded me of miniature bridal nosegays.

Can't you just imagine a sweet little fairy bride carrying one of those tied with tiny pink ribbons! Well, perhaps not ... but I can! (And while we are imagining, I can even picture tiny fairies riding in the little buckets of the "merry-go-round" flower shown above).

One of the things I like about Lantana is that it blooms here in Mississippi in late spring, summer, fall, and into winter. This last picture obviously wasn't taken yesterday. It was taken on December 5th last year when we received an unseasonably early snowfall.

That makes me wish for some of that snow and December temperatures, but I don't think that's going to happen any time soon. Unfortunately, we still have a long, hot summer ahead of us.