Gertrude Stein may have felt that a "rose is a rose is a rose is a rose," but William Shakespeare wrote that "the summer's flower is to the summer sweet," especially after a "barren winter, with his wrathful nipping cold." You probably already know that flowers are Blumen, but do you know the names of some of the common varieties? Let's start with some parts of the flower:

Die Bienen und Hummeln

The bees and the bumblebees

ohne Gegenwind von Blüte zu Blüte fliegen konnten.

could fly from blossom to blossom without a headwind.

Caption 9, Piggeldy und Frederick - Vergessen

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Irgendwas zum Fressen gibt's eigentlich immer,

There's always something to eat,

Knospen, Blätter oder Früchte von Platanen.

buds, leaves, or fruit from the plane trees.

Captions 25-26, Freilebende Papageien - Überwintern in Wiesbaden

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And on to some specific flower varieties:

Ein achtundzwanzig Meter großer Baum

A twenty-eight meter tall tree

und sechzehn riesige beleuchtete Lilien.

and sixteen gigantic illuminated lilies.

Captions 1-2, Der Sternschnuppenmarkt - in Wiesbaden

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Weil heute Valentinstag ist,

Because today is Valentine's Day,

gibt es besonders viele rote Rosen.

there are especially many red roses.

Caption 9, Valentinstag - in Karlsruhe

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Die Hagebuttenrosen blühten so rosa wie schon lange nicht mehr.

The rose hips were blooming pinker than they had in a long time.

Caption 26, Piggeldy und Frederick - Das Fernweh

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Those whose seasonal interests extend beyond the horticultural may enjoy watching some videos on another favorite summer pastime: soccer (aka football). Check out this Yabla video at the top of this article and search for more soccer videos on German Yabla.

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Further Learning:

Take a look at this excellent list of German flower names. See which ones are easy to remember for their similarities to English, and make up a set of flash cards for the ones you find difficult. Hibiscus is clearly der Hibiskus, but who could've guessed that baby's breath is das Schleierkraut? Then go through the Yabla videos above and explore the context in which these flowery sentences were used!