Sunday, September 18, 2016

The Beautiful Spring Blooms of Vail, Colorado

Your probably all wondering why I am showing you spring blossoms when it is fall.  Well, for one, I finally got to the end of my May travel series of our road trip out west with this post HERE, so I can first publish these garden pictures now. Secondly, nothing is in bloom in my own garden right now for a Sunday garden post.  And finally, because spring is my favorite season and I'm sick and tired of hearing about how fall is every one's favorite season.  No offense to all the fall lovers out there, but I'm really not a big fan of fall.  It seems every blogger on the planet loves fall but me and has done a "Fall Bucket List" or a "Reasons I Love Fall List".  So in retaliation, I've decided to do a 

"Why I Hate Fall List"  

1.  Fall is the beginning of death.  
It is the reminder that life is almost over. Everything starts to wither away and die.  There are no more plants, leaves on trees, or spring/summer birds.

2.  The days are shorter.  One wakes up in the dark, and it's dark before supper.  

3.  Football.  I hate it.  Enough said.

4.  Back to school.  I have too many horrific memories of my own school years and those of my children.  "Back to School" themes just bring back all those bad memories.

5.  Hornets, box elder bugs, Asian beetles.  So it's pretty outdoors, so what?  In the country I can't go outside in the fall because our yard/countryside is invaded with wasps and Asian beetles that bite.  

6.  Farmers harvesting.  If you live in the country when it's harvest time, good luck getting anywhere fast.  Tractors take up all the major county roads driving 10 MPH, and they always manage to do it when people are trying to get to or from work too!

7.  Hunting Season. I hate it. Enough said.

8.  Cold weather.  O.k. last fall was a perfect fall.  The weather was nice and warm, in the 70s and 80s most days, but that is unusual.  Normally, a fall for Wisconsinites would be a winter for most other states.  So I get why southern states look forward to the fall season to cool off from the 100+ temps to the 70's, but your beautiful fall 70+ degree weather usually means I'm in the 40s or 50s.  Fall weather sucks in Wisconsin.  

9.  Fall Fashion.  This kind of goes with reason #8.  Most fashion bloggers love fall fashion because they can layer.  But again, because our temps dip so low, we really have about three weeks of fall fashion and go directly into winter fashion.   And then, we are wearing those winter clothes for about nine months.  I get so tired of neutral tones, and I'm dying for some color come spring.

10.  Fall garden chores.  The garden work for fall is the hardest and most difficult of the year.  Every plant has to be cut down.  Leaves have to be raked. Garden ornaments have to be packed up and put away.  And I have to do all this while be stung by Asian beetles.

O.k. enough depressing reason as to why I hate fall.  How about some good ones:

"Why Fall Is My Third Favorite Season of The Year"

1.  Fall colors.  Absolutely gorgeous.  It's way too brief, but I love to take fall drives and go hiking in the fall.

2.  Pumpkin Spice Lattes.  Actually pumpkin anything.

3.  Squash.  I love to eat squash, and I enjoy the cheap prices this time of year.

4.  Fresh tomatoes from my garden.  I'm so happy when I have at least one month of the year where I do not have to pay for tomatoes.  There is also nothing as delicious as a fresh tomato straight from your own garden.  

5.  Slightly cooler weather.  Yes, Spring and Summer are my favorite seasons, but even I enjoy cooler temps after a long hot summer.  If only it wouldn't get cold so fast!

And that's it.  I could only come up with five reasons to like fall.  That is why it's my third favorite season.  So lets talk about my favorite season:  SPRING!   I love spring because the gloom and doom of winter is over and everything is greening up and coming back into live again.  And no place does spring better than Vail, Colorado!!!!!  We were in Vail during the last week of May when all their crab apple trees and spring bulbs were in bloom.  It was gorgeous!  Take a look:

Beautiful tulips with poppy heads sticking up in the background.



I'm not sure what this plant is.  It looks like a Lamb's Ear, but the foliage is slightly different.  So pretty though, isn't it?


It seemed every where you turned in Vail there were beautiful flower beds.  I would love to visit Vail during the summer to see what else is in bloom.


The birches and aspen trees were gorgeous as well.


I don't know much about alpine flowers, so I'm not sure what the orange flowers are.  They look like some type of poppy to me.  The yellow daisies I grow in my own garden.  Those are called Leopard's Bane.


I think this is a white version of the orange one above.  Can any of my readers identify it?


Look at this gorgeous foliage...I love the veining and the pretty blue blooms.


This is a pretty fringed parrot tulip.


Like I mentioned earlier, it was wonderful to be in Vail when the crab apple trees were in bloom.  They were all finished in Wisconsin before we departed for our trip, so it was nice to see crab apples in bloom twice in one year!




I love the orange tulips in the foreground of this picture.


Vail also has a beautiful alpine garden called the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, which is the worlds highest Alpine Garden.  We unfortunately were unable to spend much time there as we would have liked.  We went there at the end of our day in Vail and had to leave after only a brief stroll because we needed to make it to our next hotel before dark.  But here is a picture of their water feature.  I also have a few more pictures of this garden on a fashion post HERE.


So what about you?  What is your favorite season and why?  I'd love to hear from you!

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE.

17 comments:

  1. Are those flowers anemones?
    I too don't like fall, precisely because it means winter is coming. Currently we are living in Nova Scotia, where winter is not terribly cold, but snow turns to freezing rain much of the time. We will be moving to central/northern Ontario next spring, so I will be experiencing the seasons as you do. Fall comes early Sept, winter in November and stays until late March, a slow spring most times, then a short hot summer. I love your garden posts, thank you for taking the time. Your own garden and home are just beautiful, you have put much work into them and it shows.

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    1. You know, I thought they were anemones but I wasn't entirely sure. I'm glad someone else sees fall like I do I always feel in the minority with my thoughts towards this season. I just find it so depressing when everything starts to die, because I know a long cold winter is ahead. We have a slow spring too...quite often we get snow well into April. I guess I can understand loving fall if you live in a warm state, but if you don't, fall is a very short season and winter is back again before you know it. I'm happy you love my garden posts...thanks so much!

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    2. P.S. thanks for the link, but it didn't work so I deleted it. I googled it on my own though, and it definitely looks like the same flower.

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  2. Really nice flower photos, and love the blooming trees!
    I always look forward to fall because our summers here in IL are often so humid and full of mosquitoes. And I feel like I have to wear long pants inside because I am always freezing thanks to the air condition blowing on my feet. Then I have to change when I go outside. I honestly just can't tolerate the humidity. I would love summers if I lived in a mountain state. Always looking forward to spring too, of course, but sadly it seems like it doesn't last very long and is filled with lots of heavy thunderstorms and tornadoes once we're getting closer to summer. For me, it's really a tie between spring and fall :-)

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    1. Thanks Elli! Yes, the humidity and mosquitoes are the worst part of summers in the midwest, aren't they? This year the mosquitoes have been horrible too. I love mountain weather for the same reason you do. Did you notice there are no bugs in the mountains too? No mosquito repellent needed there. And I so agree with you about spring storms. They are scary. Although I'd rather deal with that than drive in a snowstorm.

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  3. Another Fall hater here! I find it so depressing to see the trees lose their leaves. Then its nothing but barren landscape until... wait for it....snow. YUCK. I hate snow!! And I hate having to get all bundled up just go outside. But any who,, I ve never heard of asian biting beetles! That sounds horrible!

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    1. Yes, another fall hater! I was starting to think I was the only one based on what I have been seeing in social media. Yes, it is depressing once the color is over isn't it? The asian beetles are actually a type of lady bug that the wonderful and brilliant (insert sarcasm here) DNR introduced to our area to kill another bug that was killing our trees. However, their populations escalated because they have no competitor to kill them and every year they swarm our homes and yards. Most people have to spray the exterior of their houses every year to keep them from coming in. It's pretty awful. And I find it ironic that the DNR introduced them as an alternative to chemicals and now we are all using chemicals to try and get rid of them. This is what happens when you mess with Mother Nature.

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  4. The first part of your post made me laugh! It's not often you read a post about hating something. LOL
    My favorite season is summer. Next, is spring because it is a fore bearer to summer. And then, if we have to have winter, I'd like a little bit of snow, please. So I'd say fall is my least favorite season. I do dislike waking and getting up in the dark, and getting off work in the dark. :(
    Love all the spring flowers!
    :) gwingal

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    1. Well I'm glad I made you laugh. Even though I do hate fall, it's purely satirical. I just kept seeing all the "I LOVE Fall!" posts and started to think "Am I the only one who has problems with this season?" Apparently not. I think there's a lot of us who aren't crazy about fall. I love summer too. I usually start getting depressed around the 4th of July because I know that summer is half over then.

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  5. You captured some beauties! Each season has its merit but I hated winter until I moved to New Zealand where it doesn't snow much where we live and there are plenty of pines so it never looks desolate.

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    1. Thanks Betty. I could probably handle winter if it wasn't quite so cold and didn't snow so much.

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  6. With some tweaking, your fall list could be my summer list. I guess it depends where you live...I have learned to embrace summer, even though it is my least favorite season. Kudos to you for finding something about fall that you like.

    Thank you for sharing your lovely outdoor post with us on The Maple Hill Hop!

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    1. Being a Floridian, I can certainly understand that. Florida is gorgeous in the fall! I will miss going there for Thanksgiving now that my kids moved back.

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  7. I totally understand your post - I've hated the "death" of plants in the fall most of my life. I know they will be back in spring but it's sad. That is one of the reasons I live in Floridda. Even in winter something is growing. Spring is my favorite season when plant come alive. Love your tulips - miss spring bulbs from up north.

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    1. Thanks for understanding Carol. I need to move somewhere warmer where there are living plants all year long!

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  8. Once again, delightful shots, Amy. It's great doing some virtual travel through your photos.
    Many thanks for joining the Floral Friday Fotos meme, I look forward to your next contribution.

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