When my little brother was small, three or four maybe, he was annoyingly smart. He’d ask if I wanted to play a particular game, and if I said no, he’d say, “I’ll let you win.” That’s how smart he was — he knew how to beat me (even though I was more than a decade older than he was) as well as figure out how to let me win. He also had an infectious laugh. He used to tell one of those knock knocks that kept repeating the refrain, and when he got to the punchline, he’d just laugh and laugh. I’d have to laugh with him, even though by the time he finished, I was sick of “bananas.”
You know the joke:
Knock, knock. Who’s there? Banana. Banana who? Knock, knock. Who’s there? Banana. Banana who? Knock, knock. Who’s there? Orange. Orange who? Orange you glad I didn’t say banana again?
As I was sorting through the photos I took for today’s blog, I noticed that they were mostly yellow and orange, and it reminded me of that joke.
The flowers are no joke of course — they are a delight to the eye. My eye, anyway.
Although the spring flowers are gone, and the few summer flowers I planted — wildflower and dwarf zinnias — haven’t yet come in, there are a few flowers showing their colors.
Daylilies.
This shy pumpkin blossom.
A dainty cantaloupe blossom.
The first moss rose. My raised garden is filled with the greenery of flowers that planted themselves, but so far, there’s only this one yellow rose.
And then there’s this tree lily flower. I always thought lilies were an exotic flower, only able to be grown in special circumstances, so I was delighted when I found out I would be able to grow a forest of lily trees. (Lily trees are a hybrid of oriental and trumpet lilies, enormous flowers sitting stalks that grow to six feet or even more, and I have dozens of them yet to blossom!)
I realize this pink lily doesn’t fit with the color scheme of the rest of the blog, but orange you glad I posted it anyway?
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Pat Bertram is the author of Grief: The Inside Story – A Guide to Surviving the Loss of a Loved One.
Bertram's Blog 
July 5, 2026 at 5:01 pm
You have such a wonderful collection of flowers in your garden! So showy! I reacted to your comment about the Moss Rose, thinking, “That’s not a rose” because I’ve always called it Portulaca. Turns out, both names are right.
I remember our children laughing hysterically at that orange knock-knock joke. That, and the one about why elephants paint their toenails red. I wonder if all youngsters go through that stage of corny jokes. LOL. Except for one garden where I planted marigolds around the border to deter insects, I’ve never been drawn to planting orange flowers. I don’t know why; maybe just because they seem startlingly bright. But of course that contributes to why they’re so cheerful in the garden. There were orange daylilies in our rural garden, but because the area was surrounded by tall evergreens, the lilies always got tall and leggy, leaned out toward the sun and ended up on the ground.
Your multi-hued beauties are inspiring me to take photos of my emerging blooms. We had a hot spell last week and then rain, and suddenly everything is bursting forth. It’s sunny this afternoon. I think my camera and I will meander out and see what we can find. Happy Fourth of July weekend, Pat.
July 5, 2026 at 5:11 pm
It’s funny, except for the marigolds, I didn’t purposely plant any orange flowers this year, and even the original marigolds were from a neighbor who had collected them from her own garden. The daylilies all came from an assortment — supposedly, the sellers didn’t even know what the various varieties were. They had just purchased leftovers from a grower and then sold them as is.
I hope you enjoy your photos — one of my favorite things about gardening is having something to photograph.
And happy weekend to you, though in your case, maybe it would be Canadian Day weekend. (Though of course, both our calendars show a July 4, just as it does a 5 and 6.)
July 5, 2026 at 5:49 pm
Yes, it’s Canada Day weekend here. It’s been a boisterously patriotic time with this year’s focus mostly on FIFA’s World Cup soccer and your 250th birthday.
July 6, 2026 at 2:57 pm
Yes, I am glad you posted your flowers. Thanks for a bright spot in my day.
July 6, 2026 at 3:38 pm
You’re welcome. I hope you’re doing okay.