Purple Carpet, Pacific Grove, California

I sent out postcard US-3975289 to Australia early today, which shows a "purple carpet" of blossoms brightens this Pacific Grove coast in California with photo credit by James Blank.

Then the news came with the superstar Prince's passing at the age of 57. Soon the City of Las Vegas has turned purple to honor Prince. Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman directs the Las Vegas City Hall exterior to be lit in purple tonight. So do the Venetian and Palazzo hotels and casinos, and the High Roller at The LINQ Promenade on the Las Vegas Strip. Fremont Street Experience also honors the pop singer with a tribute at their Viva Vision canopy tonight.

I found a  video on YouTube showing Prince performing “Purple Rain” during downpour for the Super Bowl XLI Half-time Show, where producers described how Prince met the adverse weather head on and owned the show. (Update: unfortunately, that video later went private.)

Apache Plume

Outgoing postcard US-3941386 to France shows Fallugia paradoxa, commonly known as Apache plume. Native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, it is found in arid habitats such as desert woodlands and scrub. I have seen it in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area near Las Vegas, along with other wildflowers such as Cliff Rose, Windmill, and Beavertail Cactus blossoming during the same period in spring.

Beavertail Cactus seen on April 1, 2016

Get Ready for the Spring

DE-5016521, a greeting card from Germany, came just before the spring officially starts on March 20, 2016.

Crew members were seen busy in setting up another Japanese Spring Celebration Show at the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens in Las Vegas yesterday. The show will feature 82,830 flowers in total, with a lot of Azalea Brilliant, Begonias, Ivy, Hibuscus, Cherry Blossom, Magnolias, and Bamboo canes, from March 18 to May 14, 2016.

Yuccas Blooming on the Desert

Postcard US-3285001 to Finland was a vintage linen card Yucca Whipplei blooming with a background of mighty San Jacinto Mountain in California.

Native to southern California, United States and Baja California, Mexico, Yucca whipplei ( Hesperoyucca whipplei) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Hesperoyucca, but closely related to, and previously usually included in, the genus Yucca. It is extremely drought tolerant and thrives in clay soils. The fiber from its leaves was used extensively by Native Americans for making sandal, cloth, and rope.

Spring Time at Bellagio

A departure from the Theme Dutch featuring a giant windmill and live butterflies in the past few years, Spring time at the Bellagio’s Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in 2015 celebrates Japanese culture with more than 82,000 flowers including tulips, daffodils and snapdragons among bonsai trees. Modeled after the Golden Temple in Kyoto, a 26-foot or 8-meter tall Japanese temple in a gold veneer with rice paper Shoji screens is the center piece of the display. Shown on the outgoing postcard US-3373301 to Japan is an 18-foot or 5.5-meter tall cherry blossom tree featuring 300 acrylic leaves and blossoms, with many oil-paper umbrellas hanging from the sky. The Spring Celebration, a collaboration with master gardener Kanji Nomura from Nagoya, Japan, runs from March 20 to May 11, 2015.

Today in history: the German zeppelin Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed instantly while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937; a jury of architects and sculptors unanimously selects Maya Ying Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from 1,421 other entries on May 6, 1981.

Flower Market, Guangzhou, China

I just got this postcard from a private swap showing a pair of kids in traditional Chinese costume at a flower market in Guangzhou, China. The Guangzhou Flower Market, held annually during the Spring Festival, is a city-wide street fair where the public can purchase all kinds of flowering and decorative plants as part of the Chinese New Year celebration. As vendors literally line up the streets, the Flower Market is also known to locals as the "Flower Streets" where you can go shopping flowers by "walking the Flower Streets." The tradition can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). Peony, orchid, and related arts, crafts and supplies are popular items in the market.

Cherry Blossoms About to Reach Peak Bloom in D.C.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is a spring celebration in Washington, D.C., commemorating the gift of 3020 cherry trees from Tokyo, Japan to the city of Washington D.C.  First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two trees on the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park on March 27, 1912. This weekend, the cherry blossoms are projected to hit peak bloom while the Annual National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade and the 55th Annual Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival will attract a large crowd.

Earlier today, USPS and Japan Post jointly issued the Gifts of Friendship Forever stamps on April 10, 2015, featuring cherry blossom trees and flowering dogwood trees, celebrating the enduring bond between U.S. and Japan on the centennial of the thank-you gift of flowering dogwood trees from the United States to Japan in 1915.

Outgoing postcard US-3263842 to Japan shows the Washington Monument with cherry blossoms in the foreground. It has one of the Gifts of Friendship stamps in the front featuring the Lincoln Memorial with vibrant cherry trees.

Schachblume

Postcard DE-3953158 from Germany shows Fritillaria meleagris (Schachblume in German), a species of flowering plant native to Europa in the family Liliaceae. It is originally known as snake's head, probably because of its snakelike appearance of the nodding flower heads on their long stems. It is also known as chess flower, checkered lily, or checkered daffodil because the flower has a checkered pattern in purple, or sometimes in pure white. Usually grown in grasslands and river meadows at altitudes below 800 meters or 2,625 feet, it blossoms from March to May. 

Hedgehog Cactus, on the California Desert

Postcard US-3142509 to the Netherlands took 50 days to reach its destination. It was a vintage card showing the Hedgehog Cactus (Cereus Engelmannii), one of the most showy of all the cactus blossom with red and purple flowers. The species can be found in Baja California and Sonora, Mexico; and in Arizona, California and Nevada, USA at elevations ranging from near sea level to 2,400 meters or 7,874 feet. April is the usual time for it to blossom.

Fruit Sculpture

Postcard US-2242693 to Seattle shows a fruit sculpture presentation made out of a melon during the Chinese New Year Celebration at the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas. The art of fruit carving can be traced to Japan, Thailand and China in ancient times.

If you would like to learn how to carve vegetables and fruits, I found a Youtube video from Mutita offering very simple and easy step by step lessons for making a cantaloupe flower.

Firewheel

Outgoing postcard US-2722708 to Russia shows firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella), a short-lived hardy flowering plant native to the Central United States. It is not picky about soil but loves sandy and well-drained fields, with a high tolerance for the drought. Its has vibrantly colored flowers and does best with a dry, hot climate under the full sun. The photo was taken on the ground of the Nevada State Museum in Las Vegas.

Firewheel is the State Wildflower of Oklahoma. and the County Flower of Penghu, Taiwan.