Gazanias to Gaze Upon

A first this year,  for me, was planting gazanias.  I have my traditional favourites . . . petunias, geraniums, marigolds, lobelia and alyssum . . . but I like to try something new every once in a while. 

Gazanias are native to South Africa and are resistant to drought and high temperatures. I have the clumping variety that grow in mounds of attractive, deep green symmetrical leaves.  Each bloom lasts for about 5 or 6 days, but the plant itself will bloom all summer and even into the fall.  The blossoms close up each evening at sundown and open wide again in response to the sun the next day.

Hope you enjoy my beauties!

"The artist is the confidant of nature . . . 
flowers carry on dialogues with him 
through the graceful bending of their stems 
and the harmoniously tinted nuances of their blossoms.  
Every flower has a cordial word which nature directs towards him."

~ Auguste Rodin

"The actual flower is the plant's highest fulfillment, 

and are not here exclusively for herbaria, county floras and plant geography; 

they are here first of all for our delight."

~ John Ruskin

"The 'Amen' of nature is always a flower."

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes