Flowers In The Wild

I've been well aware of the "Super Bloom" of wildflowers in California right now, and I'd love to have seen it! Since I'm here, I'll share a bit of wildness from Umbria...

Anyone who has visited central Italy in May or June is familiar with the wild red poppies that bloom all over the fields, roadsides, etc. These amazingly tenacious wildflowers are iconic. You will see them on postcards, in calendars and loads of cheesy tourist paintings. They are as much a symbol here as the Italian cypress trees...And for good reason. 

These red wonders bring a smile to my face every time we see them. We have them along the tractor roads where we walk in the morning...

 

Red poppies as the sun rises...

They grow everywhere, even in the most unusual places.

Popping out of an old stone wall, they look gorgeous.

I spotted this loner the other morning, and just had to capture it.

The poppies are wonderful, for sure, but there are loads of wildflowers to enjoy. 

These tiny cyclamen are all over the forest right now.
They are so fragrant!

Earlier in the trip, the wild euphorbia were the thing.
These are annuals, and I love them!

I don't know what these are, but I spot them almost everyday now.

We see big patches of thyme along our walks.
Especially pretty now!

Wild honeysuckle in the forest.
Also very fragrant.

I don't know this one, but it's blooming now, too...

I like seeing something blue!

I look forward to these every year. 
I'd like one in my garden. It's a shrubby plant.

The lunaria, or "money plant" blooms all over the shady road side. They are always purple, and as is their way, they make the coolest seed pods that look like delicate coins...

These were blooming last month

A closer shot...

This month, they have gone to seed and I love seeing the sun shine through  the seedpods.

Though far from being a wildflower,
I still enjoy seeing the wheat growing and making seed heads.

Wild clover all up and down our dirt road.

To me, they are still special.
I really love the soft yellow color.

Gorgeous small flowering thistle plants.
We saw these out on the island.

Also on the island, gigantic wild fennel.

A fantastic mix of color and texture.

These plants below are really cool. I've only seen them growing out of the old stone walls all around the area. Sometimes in the sun, sometimes in the shade. They start as just pretty leaves, then the spike of bloom comes on.

In a sunny spot...

Mixed with other lovelies in the shade.

Aren't they fantastic?

A green wall of moss, ferns and wildflowers...

We came across this scary looking thistle on a walk last week...

Yikes!
Really big, too.

And last but not least, a couple of shots from our long dirt road...

I hope you enjoyed these...