The flowers that bloom in the spring, tra-la

I remember my mom singing this song when I was little.  It’s actually from The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan.  But the way I remember it being sung at my house went like this:

The flowers that bloom in the spring, tra-la,

Have nothing to do with the king.

That 2d line isn’t right, but I remember finding it very intriguing as a child.  Why on earth would flowers have anything to do with the king?  If you know why, please let me know!  Spring flowers do have a lot to do with joy and hope and renewal, though.  After a long, cold, grey winter those first bits of glorious color make me very happy.  And many of them bring a sweet scent, as well.  They are definitely Food for the Soul.
In my spiritual meanderings, I have sometimes worked with flower essences, which are basically water infused with flowers and usually preserved with a little brandy or vinegar.  I’ve never made them, but they are made by floating fresh flowers in a bowl of pure water which captures their essence.
Anyhow, today is the Fifth, Fabulous, Fun day of the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  I thought of a lot of great words that start with F, but my favorite this time of year is flowers.
 

It’s been a strange April in Chicago so far.  It was snowing again today–it’s snowed 3 out of the last 4 days, although the snow hasn’t stuck.  One good thing about the cold spring weather is that the spring flowers last longer.  When I went out for a walk a couple of days ago, I saw a lot of spring flowers–daffodils, hyacinths, snowdrops, forsythia.  No tulips yet or magnolia trees or lilacs.

 
Also, speaking of flowers, here are a few that I saw at the orchid garden in Monteverde, Costa Rica (I’m only sharing a few–no, no, you don’t have to thank me for sparing you the hundreds of pictures.  I don’t know most of you well enough to force invite you to see them all)

Here’s one more painting–it’s of a mother and child, but there’s a passion flower painted at the top–another of my favorite flowers, although they don’t grow around here.

Do you remember this one?

Thanks for taking the time to stop and smell the flowers with me.