Lenten Roses

In years past I have had these blooms as early as late December.  But the Winter of 2010-2011 is a bit different.  The Lenten Roses in the gardens here in West Bibb County Georgia started to show buds about two weeks ago.  The following three images were taken this morning, Valentine's Day.

 I have never purchased Lenten Roses by color.  In order to do that you have to wait until the plants are mature and have bloomed at least one cycle.  While I enjoy the mauve blooms, I am content to take my chance on the bloom color. 

These plants self seed rapidly.  I appreciate all the colors and was able to capture some pictures this morning.  As anyone who has these plants can testify, they are difficult to photograph because the blooms usually hang down.  I sometimes hold them in the correct position, but I usually resort to bending the stem back so I can get the picture.  Or, as you can see from the first picture in this post, I used a stick to hold the bloom upright.

 My favorite color.  Admittedly this bloom is a poor photograph; but I had to include it here because of the intense color.