Alamo vine flowers (Merremia dissecta) are some of my favorite summer flowers because I love their textured white petals and their pretty pink centers. There are always some blooming throughout much of the late spring and summer, but this year there have been more than usual. They started earlier than usual, too. I don’t know if it’s the heat, the rain, the combination of the two, or something entirely different, but I’m enjoying seeing them wherever I go. These were growing on a vine that covers one of my neighbor’s fences. The vine is especially thick and healthy this year and there were quite a few blooms on it, but there were unopened buds everywhere. They’ll open up slowly over the rest of the summer and I’m not sure which makes me happier; the beautiful blooms that are here now or the promise of so many more to come.