Our weekly photo challenge from Sara Rosso at WordPress.com’s Daily Post is Growth.
Growth is a funny thing. We may notice it all at once, like an aunt who hasn’t seen a small child in months, but we all know that’s not how it really happens. Growth happens cell by cell, moment by moment, and is guided by forces both within and around the growing organism.
I’ve been watching a flower on the hydrangea bush in my side yard for the past few weeks. It started pale and tightly closed, but with light, water, heat, and a little plant food it has blossomed day by day, increasing in size and depth of color. It has almost reached its full bloom, after which it will gradually weaken in color, wilt, and fade to papery leaves that wind will carry away for this season.
Nourishment and so many other factors fuel the progress of any organism, and even help to determine how long the season of its bloom will be. It’s the same process with any growing thing, and so we should take care with how we nourish the important things in our lives – ourselves, our relationships, our work… Let’s face it – what we cultivate, grows.
What are you cultivating in your life? To see what other bloggers are growing, click here.
The Retiring Sort 
Awesome! I’m doing a daily rose blog. It’s interesting to see how fast it goes from just a tiny bud to a dying bloom.
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🙂
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I would be interested in responding to prompts from your blog-tell me more about it! Thanks for reading my blog and my Legacy story. If you aren’t following it, I hope you will consider doing so. I will follow your blog and see what else you have in store! beebeesworld
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Beautiful flowers but also a really great idea using a sideshow.
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Thanks! 🙂
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Just beautiful. The slide show really shows the beauty in the change. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks, Lori! And thanks for taking the time to visit and comment! 🙂
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Lovely photos. I a fan of hydrangeas and have a pink one and a blue one in my garden – they are only just beginning to show now, so I hope they come out as well as yours has.
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Thanks! A lady at our local nursery told me you can influence the flower colors with soil acidity. I believed her, so I put acid plant food on mine to keep them blue. I have seen bushes with variegated colors – which makes me wonder what’s going on with the roots, or whether she was just wrong! 🙂 I hope yours bloom beautifully.
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Beautiful growth.
Especially, the transition of the color looks very attractive to me.
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Many thanks!
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Yeaah so beautiful. I love flowers. Fantastic diashow my friend. 😛
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Thanks – so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
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Wonderful fast movie of your flowers. I have a pink variant at home, I’ll now watch it with more attention. Thanks for the share 🙂
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Thank you Madman! Our local nursery told me that the soil affects the color, so we put an acidy plant food on this to make sure it stays blue!
😉
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Thanks, I did not know about the soil acidity. Gardening has so many secrets…
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That slideshow is almost like watching a video of the flower blooming!! Wonderful and creative TRS!
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Thanks, Madhu! 🙂
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LOVE this! How creative. It’s fascinating watching something grow from the very beginning to full bloom. So glad I read and watched this before the chaos of my week ensues. Thank you, friend.
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You’re welcome – and thank you for stopping by to visit! 🙂
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I need to comment more often when I visit 🙂
I will be better about that.
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A wonderful series of photos
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Thank you so much, BlueBee!
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The perfect post for this theme, wonderful, TRS!
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Thank you – so glad you liked it, Marion!
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Cultivate with nourishment and care…..
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Absolutely! Thanks for the visit!
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Beautiful colour — I love these; whenever I see them I am reminded of my sweet grandmother, who grew them in many places in her garden.
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Yes, hydrangeas have been popular for a long time!
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great images…I don’t like hydrangeas…working at ridding my garden of them
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Thanks! I’m guessing your bushes are old & well established, so you’re basically taking out small trees – good luck!
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this is so fun!! what a great idea to have a slide show (I need to learn how to do that). I created a post recently of something similar. I have a different hydrangea and compiled pics of a time lapse sort but portrayed in a post. I love the slide show, great job!! and such a beautiful plant.
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Thanks so much! Here’s a link to the WordPress Support post explaining slideshows – they also have one for galleries. Have fun!! 😉
http://en.support.wordpress.com/slideshows/
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oh excellent, thanks!
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say…am struggling to figure out how to put my pics in order. do you happen to know?
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You can sort them by name or number in ascending or descending order. You can rename them, I think – I’ve never tried renumbering. For future posts, you save time by loading them into the media box in order. There may be more info in the support forum, too. Hope that helps!
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okay, I think I’ll try to rename them. thanks much!!
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I visited your post – yours bloomed more symmetrically than mine, and you started earlier, but it is interesting that we had such similar ideas with the same kind of plant!
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I know 😉 funny huh?
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So magically beautiful!! I love hydrangeas.
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Thank you, Amy! 😉
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Thanks for “Liking” my post. I have visited a few of your posts, and really enjoyed your soulful approach, Sally
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Thanks so much – that’s very kind! Thanks so much for your visit. 🙂
I love your photos – that last food post had me drooling!
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The slideshow works so well for this post…nice shots and nice message…
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Thanks so much! The slideshow is a nice feature sometimes, isn’t it?
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I love these flowers!!!
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Thank you – and thanks for stopping by!
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🙂
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I love your slideshow and the pictures are terrific. 😉
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Thanks! 😉
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Excellent idea for the challenge, great photos in a slideshow, I need to remember that!
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Thank you so much, Jeff. I really like this feature – you can pack a lot into an uncluttered format!
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Wonderful application! “What we cultivate – grows.” How true that is. And I might add that that which we put into our lives is what will be there at the end, at least in memory or spirit.
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Lovely sentiment, Ruth! Thanks. 🙂
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The beautiful color of the flower brings a sense of peace and quiet. 🙂
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Yes, hydrangeas are like comfort food for the eyes – the pastels are peaceful!
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This is so perfect for the theme. Your Hydrangea is such a beautiful colour. Well done. 🙂
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Thanks so much! I confess I feed it an acidy plant food to keep it blue at the suggestion of a nursery! 😉
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We once bought a two gorgeous deep blue ones to put outside our front gate, and overnight, someone stole them. 😦
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😦
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What a perfect and beautiful post for this challenge! I love hydrangeas, and seeing the images makes me want to pull out the watercolors and start painting! Z
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Thanks for that lovely comment! Hydrangeas do make a wonderful subject, don’t they?
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i love your slideshow.. beautiful flower with a very nice color.. ^^
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Thanks so much!
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What a great response to the challenge: well-written, and I love your slideshow 🙂
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Very kind. Thanks, Colleen! 🙂
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This sort of flowers remind me of my mom. This is one of her favourite flowers! 🙂
There’s even a myth about this flower that been associated with prosperity. 😀
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Nice! I love hydrangeas – and this one is from my grandson’s christening – so let’s hope that prosperity thing works out for him!
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Amen! 🙂
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I’m impressed that you’ve been tracking this bud for a while, watching it grow. It’s so interesting how much beauty there is in the developing flower, when you see it like this, instead of just eagerly waiting for it to be out! Perfect.
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Thanks! This hydrangea was a tabletop flower at my grandson’s christening luncheon – he’s now 6, and I always watch the bush with interest!
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Of course you do; how wonderful to have a reminder of such a joyous occasion – particularly as he grows older.
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I enjoyed watching the time lapse bloom of the flower. Really nice.
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Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.
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Great Sequence – well done!
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Thank you, Scott! I WILL get the hang of my new little camera!
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Beautiful post 🙂
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Thanks so much, Brooke! 🙂
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Beautiful hydrangeas! It makes me miss my home in North Carolina.
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Thanks, Catherine! Glad you stopped by!
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: ) Me too!
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Transformers got nothing on this beauty! Great growth transition 🙂
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Thanks, Gemma! 😉
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