French Summer Color

French Summer, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Red-hot marigolds in a garden at a countryside home in the Dauphiné region.

The marigolds in France are amazing - they grow to be bushes 3 feet tall, the largest I've ever seen. Maybe it's the soil, maybe it's the weather, but the gardens in France grow lush and healthy. There are vegetable gardens, or potagers, in the yards of many of the old homes.

Have any of you grown marigolds that just get huge? Most of the marigolds around here are piddly little dwarves...

Coquelicots - A Memory of Summer

Coquelicot at Sunset, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

These coquelicots, also known as Flanders poppies, were growing along a country roadside in the Dauphiné region of France, near Lyon. Summer sounds so good right now...

Fall in Las Trampas

Fall in Las Trampas, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

The poison oak is getting some amazing color right now. Although fall doesn't officially start until Monday, the plants can tell that the seasons are changing.

Multicolor Rose

A fluorescent rose in my garden.

Cairo Apricot

My new 'Cairo Apricot' hibiscus bloomed!