Spring for the Tropics! My vacation in my first HOME

Where am I from? Spring in Romania

In these 6 years since I came to US, I managed to go home several times, sometimes just for vacation, and a couple of times for not so joyful reasons (my mom got very sick and passed away). But I'm going to take you to a happy trip back home! And I hope you're going to join me. So please take a confy chair to sit, grab your favorite cold drink, and hop in!
I come from a little European country, where winter, spring, summer and fall come faithfully every year. Romania is small, but beautiful, with mountains and hills and plateaus and plains and even seaside. But, as a (formerly) adopted Miamian, in the 6 years since my leaving home, I’ve never went to the seaside (Black Sea) again.
It was only this year that I managed to go during springtime, mid-April. The first spring in 6 years!!! And this is what I found:

Tulips, faithfully returning tulips, that have been in our garden (Bucharest, in the plains) since I was a little girl.

Tree peonies (we have two marvelous colors). On the ground you can see magnolia petals - it’s blooming time almost passed.

Busy bees in the peonies. This is the first we’ve got, some 25 years ago, and he is the pride and joy of my father. Though the credit for having such a beauty in our garden goes to Grandma, my father took care of him, over-wintering and pruning and propagating. And every spring, when the flowers put up a show, people on the street stop in front of our gate, uuhhh-ing and aaahhh-ing, and asking all kinds of questions.
The original one is still going and blooming, and is located in my first garden (a patch of 1ft by 4 ft, that also had many tulips in. Now it’s the pink peony tree and lily-of-the-valley.)

Best-funniest comment we ever heard (a lady talking with her husband in front of our gate): “honey, I told you: you shouldn’t cut our peonies, see how big they can get?”
Unfortunately, she was talking about the regular (and more common back home) ones, that die back during winter and sprout again each spring…

This peony has a story. It’s presence in our garden is a cooperative effort. It happened about 15-17 years ago, when I saw a purple-red peony somewhere in the neighborhood. I alerted the whole family. My mom went to ask for a cutting – she was offering in exchange a pink peony tree cutting. And she came home with one. My father rooted it, and managed to multiply both our peonies, so now we have two of each. He rooted more (he basically does this every year), but gave them away to other plant-lovers.

Another tulip patch

Lilac show! I bet you can smell it!

and the white one...

The lilies-of-the-valley were closing the business for this year, but a few waited for me to land home

From my hometown to my husband's it's only 40 miles' distance. Still in the plains, so the nature is pretty much similar. Chestnut/Buckeye Boulevard is famous for the blooming chestnuts (non-edible). This is a very romantic place to have a stroll, pairs holding hands, high-school students missing classes for a couple of stolen kisses...

now, aren't their flowers beautiful?

I'll take you for a cup of coffee at this little terrace, just because they have nice plant arrangement

... plant arrangements

From Ploiesti (my husband's hometown) we went to my uncle's house. It is the birthplace of my father, and we have to cross the mountains to get there. In about 60 miles we'll get there...
But first we're climbing slowly towards the hills

At the horizon, the mountains that we're gonna cross start popping their (still snowed) heads

As the altitude increases, the nature becomes belated somehow. And the snake-like road gives me some time to catch the beauty.

And while on top of the Caraiman Mountain there still snow...

...here, in this passage between mountains, wild cherries or plums (I can't tell from this distance and speed...) started flowering (forgot to tell you, in Bucharest the cherries already had their little fruits formed)

We passed the mountains and got into the plateau region. We are getting close to Brasov, my favorite city. Flowering cherries in a better picture.

Two different shades of white:
the snow on Postavaru mountain, partly covered in rainy/snowy(?) clouds, that we'll leave behind and to our left...
and the cherries...

To some, dandelions are just sticky weeds, to me they are a nice colorful contrast to the heavy rain clouds that cought us at the entry into my Grandma's village

One of the best signs that spring is here to stay is... our long-legged friend, the stork!

Now, these, I can tell you for sure, are sour cherries!!!

A peasant's simple flower garden. Just wonderful!

And closer... the grape hyacinths

... and the white fragrant narcissus flowers. And tiny peonies...

We travel further north, still in the Transylvanian plateau region, to MY DH's aunt. Here, the last hyacinths and the first daffodils...

...and their first tulips of the season will open soon!

Back home to Ploiesti, I go in the balcony to see how my FIL combines the beauty with the (culinary) aroma

Now this is what I call a fat healthy Pelargonium! Sunbathing in the balcony.

And something closer to Tropics...

And back to Bucharest, to get ready to come back to US.
My father's African Violet decided to flower before our leave.

I forgot the English name (and the scientific one, as a matter of fact)... but back home, this succulent can flower either for Christmas, or for Easter. Well, it was my Easter vacation, so...

And my father's blood-red hibiscus is getting ready to flower in the covered patio/"greenhouse" where all the sensitive plants overwinter...

My old faithful dog is getting nervous, knowing that we're leaving... and my darling nephew doesn't understand exactly why our luggage is going to the car...

and we get home to Miami, only to pack and move to El Paso, our next home. But that's another story...

I hope you enjoyed the trip, and the cool spring breeze!

Thank you,
Alexandra

Alexandra, thank you SO much for the lovely trip home to your country, what a wonderful place you grew up in! I will have to go through all the pictures a second time - they're gorgeous!

Alexandra. My thanks also. I agree with Bravehartsmom, and again welcome to Texas. Jerry

Dear Jenny and Jerry, thank you for your kind and encouraging words!
Alexandra