Sunday, December 23, 2007

picture contest- week 7- December 23

Week 7
Greetings from the second half of the Picture Contest. Let me start out by wishing everyone a happy holidays from everyone here including the pumpkins. This one in particular dressed up for the occasion.
It is another weekend in Iowa. That means another winter storm, some more travel headaches from the fog, along with a little breath of warmer weather.
The Winter Solstice has come and gone. One of these days will be longer than the last. This is good. The Holidays are here. So are the politicians. Why Iowa, we all ask?
We have actually had some melting this week. Some hellebores peeked out for a few days, showing off their foliage that somehow manages to maintain its integrity into the dead of winter. Do their leaves contain some antefreeze?
Then of course we had 6-8 inches of snow in the last 24 hours. There is no peeking at the moment.
I really must give some attention to thinking about seeds. It is fast approaching that time of year.

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On to the contest.

So here is the vote for last week, Week 6
Last week was another blue week. It was a stampede. The Blue Crocus ran away with the contest, resulting in another majority win. This is rather remarkable.

The first number is the electronic vote, the second the write in or email vote.
1- Asiatic Lily 9+1=10 or 11.9%
2- Blue Crocus 37+11=48 or 57.1%
3- Pink Lupine 6+4=10 or 11.9%
4- Waterlily 11+5=16 19.0%


Here are the first 6 weeks’ winners and their totals:
Blue Iris 69%
Blue Crocus 58%
Pink Waterlily 55%
The frog- 54%
Pink Peony 38%
Emerging Poppy 35%


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This week there may be just about the best set of pictures in the contest. There is more blue. There is a wonderful close-up. And then there are a couple pictures of almost pure color.
So have at it.

1. The forget me not- a plant called Brunnera. And it is certainly a memorable flower. These tiny little blue flowers just sparkle in early May.












2. The yellow lilium. I do not know who this is. It bloomed on June 28. It is not an Asiatic lily. It is not as Oriental. It is not a trumpet lily. I really must get a book to help me with the other names of these wonderful bulbs. I make lists and put out nametags. In this computer age I keep records of what I have purchased with pictures to go with them. I read once about someone who had no labels whatsoever in their garden. How liberating. Maybe the person had a good memory. Not me. And let me let you in on a little secret. My memory is not getting better. I think I need to download or offload or whateverload a bunch of miscellaneous stuff that is clogging up my brain. Maybe then I can recall stuff easier. I doubt it.












3. The there is white. In this case a white Siberian iris that bloomed on May 27. It was a gift so there is no name to go with it. White Siberian Iris is sufficient. There have been white flowers over the years in my garden. Maybe after the contest I will have a special white week where white flowers from all the years can strut their stuff. This picture is just about the best.















4. Finally there is this close-up of daylily Mandalay Bay. There a couple things about this picture. First note the ruffled edge. This has been a trait that the hybridizers have been working toward over the years. Then maybe you can see the little flecks of gold sparkly things. This sparkly stuff shows up in a variety of flowers and maybe someday someone will explain it to me. “What is it about flower glitter” I should ask at some flower forum.












So there you have it for this week. I hope you enjoy the selections.
If you are with friends or family at the holidays you can all vote. Just email me with the totals.


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So here is the bonus section.

First of all there are more Siberian iris pictures. I have been growing some of these long enough for the clumps to get good. Here are pictures mostly from back by the pond. Remember if you are in the neighborhood during the year come on back. The garden is open at all times. While most of the garden can be seen from the sidewalk and street, people can and do just wander around.



































As to frilly daylilies here is a full picture of Mandalay Bay. It is followed by several pictures of one of my own hybrids, using Mandalay Bay as one of the parents. For now this plant is just known as “Mears 6”. It takes about 3 years from a seed to a bloom size plant in Iowa. There is not much more fun than waiting for one of your own seedlings to bloom for the first time. Will it be interesting or will it be mud?

































Here is a holiday slideshow of the winners so far.


Finally here are more pumpkins. I have begun to think about pumpkin accessories as the holidays approach.


Happy Holidays.
Philip

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Got to love those festive Pumpkins!!! :)

Diann

Anonymous said...

What a gift you give us each week. I smile through the whole read! Thank you Philip.

Janet