WHAT KIND OF BLOOM ARE YOU?

I ache all over. The weatherman is predicting a thirty degree drop in temperature by midweek around here along with rain, so I've been working on winterizing my garden. Plants that were lovely flowers such a short time ago are now spent and scraggly. They have to be cut down. Tree branches need trimmed, bulbs are waiting to be planted, and all of my flower beds are in need of a good protective winter coat of mulch. I'm not complaining. I like to garden, but I ache.

Summer is gone and winter is almost upon us, but there are a few hardy flowers in my garden just coming into their own. I've always had a soft spot for Chrysanthemums, not just because of their lovely appearance, but they are my birth flower, and they provide a last splash of color before fall turns to drab browns. I like, too, the way they burst into color just when all of the other flowers have given up.

In many ways I've always seen a similarity between flowers and people. Some people burst forth with all the freshness and enthusiasm of spring. They seem to always be ready for new things. Some people are more sedate and take some growing before they blossom. Some, like roses, bloom early, then stick around through the heat of summer, steady and dependable. Some, like the chrysanthemum, take their time and really don't come into their own until toward the end of their season. Some folks, like the coreopsis, thrive with little attention. Others are more like begonias and can't take too much heat. There are even some people like my fall crocuses. They send forth a few tentative leaves in the spring, then completely disappear all summer, only to burst forth with huge showy blossoms as a surprise right out of the dirt in the fall.
In a moment of whimsy, I've speculated about what kind of flower I might be. I don't think the big showy Dahlia is my style and I'm certainly not a delicate orchid. I considered the persistent dandelion, but I'm probably just a plain old morning glory complete with my moments of pretty blue flowers, even an occasional pink one, a vine that hangs on for dear life through storms, and a tendency to keep coming back. How about you? If you were a flower, what would you be?

By the way, the current contest ends in two days.