Assorted Brights And Pinks
Let my first be a warning to expect rather a mixed bag as a hail and farewell to two challenges that have brightened and pinkened our April. Continue reading “Assorted Brights And Pinks”
Pink Floral Fantasy
When I get the chance, I try to create a floral fabric design – something a designer might paint – from living flowers. Not that I deserve the credit for growing the flowers, cutting them or arranging them, mind you. By ‘create’ I ought to say spot the opportunity and take a picture.
Old-fashioned Pink Roses With Lots of Petals
There’s something about roses with many petals. For many, these romantic, soulful plants are the archetypal roses, especially if they happen to be pink and to have a good fragrance.
Some of these do and some don’t. What interests me about them is their flower forms, the patterns the petals take, and the way the blooms cluster together. The odd one you may recognise. Continue reading “Old-fashioned Pink Roses With Lots of Petals”
Magnolia x soulangeana
In the world of home decor, magnolia is a best-selling colour that outlasts every new craze because it is so easy to live with, but its biggest fan would not call it exciting. On the inside of the loose, cup shaped flowers held on a magnolia tree, the sheeny colour has all the allure you could hope for, especially when backed with pink, as here. Continue reading “Magnolia x soulangeana”
Hibiscus mutabilis (Cotton Rosemallow)
Hibiscus mutabilis is a very striking mallow that produces huge flowers, similar in form to a double rose or peony. As ‘mutabilis’ (changeable) suggests, the flowers mature from white through pink to red, displaying flowers of all three colours on the same shrub. Well, that’s what Wikipedia says.
We found this plant growing in a cemetery in South Mississippi. In stature, it was as magnificent as its flowers: considerably taller than me, and nearly as wide as it was tall. It seemed to be fending for itself in the full sun with no ill effects other than slightly droopy leaves.
Call me a nitpicker, but this is a ‘plain’ pink double form. It’s the same colour in the bud as in the open flower, as shown here – just one shade of pink. An immutable mutabilis, we might say. Continue reading “Hibiscus mutabilis (Cotton Rosemallow)”
Wordless Wednesday: Actinidia Kolomikta
Susan Rushton 