It is February. February, for good reason is the shortest month. We saw spring a week ago. Now it is cold again and impatience starts. Why can’t it be 50 today? What’s this with a sprinkle of snow? Why do I have to wear my winter coat?
So I wish you a Happy Valentines Day. February is almost half over. It is only about 5 weeks until spring is officially here.
So let’s get on to the contest.
In last weeks voting the winner, which was somewhat of a surprise to me was the daisy. Real quick movie trivia question. Who said “I love daisies”?
The full votes were
Daisy 24
Pansy 14
Tiger Kitten daylily 14
Triumphator lily 10
For this week’s contest I have quite a color selection.
First up this week, is the center of this poppy. Gosh it looks like a satellite picture of some structure on Mars. That center thing is some big tent or rising balloon. Poppy interiors are really wonderful as you can tell from several of the bonus pictures this week. The picture was taken on June 6.
The next picture is a bluebell clump. Bluebells. I can’t wait for their April show. This picture was taken on April 24. I am fascinated by the fact that bluebells start off pink. What is with that change of color? I guess having spring flowers called pinkbells just wouldn’t work.
Third we have the color yellow. This Siberian Iris, called Tom Schaefer, wears it with such success I believe. The picture was taken on May 30.
Finally you have the color pink, as exhibited by this clump of fall crocuses. The picture was taken on September 14.
Vote away. Will it be pink or blue or yellow or whatever color is that poppy-red/orange.
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For your bonus viewing this week I want to show you all the pictures that I liked this past year that did not make it into the contest. The way I select the pictures each year is to make a file on my computer of all the pictures I have really liked during the year.
I need 48 pictures to go into the contest. I like to start with a group of 60-70. As late November approaches, I find the pictures that clearly belong in the contest. That usually gets me maybe 30. I then start narrowing the field.
Some of the pictures were too similar to pictures going into the contest. I could not have two pictures of the center of poppies. Some pictures were too similar to pictures from last year. The nice leucojem picture was in this category. Sometimes I just needed more color for a particular week.
But here they are. Enjoy.
First up are the other poppy centers. I really had a hard time picking the one to go into the contest.
This next picture is the leucojem, the winner a year ago.
This is hosta Liberty. It was just named 2012 hosta of the year. If you have to have only one hosta this might be it.
Have a good week. Next week the finals begin.
Comment on the times: I read in a garden magazine this week about a new product I had not seen before. The hook, as they say, was to ask if you were tired of watering your hanging baskets. This product was a shepherd's crook that was hollow. YOu could then hook up a hose and water would come up through the crook and rain down from above the basket. There was the observation that you could add a timer and never have to do anything with the basket at all. Please....
One final afterthought.
It was down into the single digits this week. This will test the cellular structure of the snowdrops and aconite. I will report next week.
Philip
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