Category: Floral

23 Apr

Tulips Petal Shapes

Amelia Hoskins / Floral / / 0 Comments

Tulips which changed colours from Cadmium Red to peach pink and burgundy

First planting 2022:  Bright dense red with a bronze early appearance. Orangey petal flares and yellow centres. Seven images show how as the tulips age, petals turn to peach blending to pale pink which is predominant on petal edges when the sunlight  catches their luminosity.  The previously black centre changes to burgundy.  Grasses in their wintry dried form make an excellent backdrop to tulips planting.

Tulip Salmon Van Eijk from 2021 planting: Reappeared, with their cerise inner pink delicately blended to pale pink outer petals, contrasting with a deep violet centre.

17 Mar

Grand Mullein

Amelia Hoskins / Floral / / 0 Comments

Mullein leaves make a light gold silk dye.   Plants take 2 years to produce the yellow flowers on tall spikes which are attractively bright.  The fury leaves were used historically to make slow burning torches.

I annoy my allotment neighbours allowing Grand Mullein to grow (up to 7 feet). they are frightened of the hundreds of thousands of seeds dispersal.  I've been told the seeds are narcotic and dangerous to fish, so I havn't used them.

25 Jul

Star Forms

Amelia Hoskins / Floral / / 0 Comments

Flowers - Seeds - Cosmos

Star shapes are one of the most common forms in nature; flowers and seeds.   A developing seed pod stores light energy as a cosmic star does. 'As above so below'.  Daisy type flowers under Aster = Greek 'star'.

Glorious purple-magenta Salsify flower, also in yellow.  Genus: Tragopogon porrifolius, Sunflower family, asteraceae evolved 85m yrs ago.  This is wonderful evolution and we can assume the plant is very 'wise'.  Salsify flowers are time machines which close at 12:00 mid day, as they know exactly when the sun is past its zenith; hence the folk name 'John-go-to-bed-at-noon' .  Bees love it.  The triple rows of daisy type petals are perfectly formed. Each Salsify seed ( achene ) has a 'parachute' to ensure spread far and wide on the wind. Each a 'star form' within a globe of 'stars' creating one spherical star form.  Parachutes touch each other which enables them to hold together, while the seed base is loosening from the hub.  Once some go, then they all must follow.

[Author Note:   To be linked to Salsify new reconstructed gallery]

Leek flowers - Allium flower forms in a tight pod, or spathe, which then bursts out as a star cluster with many more points than the ancient Salsify. Each tiny bud opens as a tiny star flower.  White is common: this pink one with magenta stalks maybe ampeloprasum

Tulip Star Forms - Pointed 'Persian' varieties seen on persian carpet designs.  This type of star comprises two rows of 3 petal sets which form triangles, like two triangles one inverted upside down over the other.

COMPARISON SIZES OF STARS - Unbelievable!

This video animation explores the cosmos stars, from our SUN up to Sirius, B-Centauri, Gacrux, blue hyper giant Pistol Star, yellow hyper giant RHO Cassiopeiae and unbelievable power of  super-mega-gigantic red hyper giant Stephenson 2-18 (two thousands times bigger than the Sun).

07 Apr

Tulip Beauty Salmon Van Eijk

Amelia Hoskins / Floral / / 0 Comments

Tulip Salmon Van Eijk

Salmon pink when closed.  Cerise-magenta centre when open.  Deep violet star shaped centre around violet stamens. Tulips follow the sun while open.

Salmon Pink tulips were early bloomers in 2021; all growing tall.  Pale salmon pink from the outside, but with dramatic navy-violet centres.

Click to view Gallery images

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