Flowers

June 20, 2014 – Exposing your Beautiful Self

This week all the plants are fascinated with the idea of the emerging bloom. gloriosa04Gloriosa Daisy’s tour de force performance on Monday got the conversation rolling and now everybody is into it. The great question is “how to best expose your beautiful self.”???????????????????????????????

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DSC00730“I’m telling you,” says Gloriosa.  “It’s all about emotion and tension.”???????????????????????????????“And you gotta add a twist.”???????????????????????????????“Bring the audience along, then overwhelm them with your gloriousness.”???????????????????????????????“Yeah yeah yeah.”  says Cosmo.  “We all know about your evocative tendencies, Gloriosa.  Milk it for all it’s worth.  Whatever!  I say just bloom.  Keep the whole anticipation thing to a minimum….”??????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????“… and BLOOM.”???????????????????????????????The whole garden laughs.  Go Cosmo Go.  Gloriosa laughs along.  He’s a strong personality.  He likes being challenged.

Poppy says “Oh, I don’t know.  I think it is kinda fun to work at a while.  I like to get real fuzzy..”???????????????????????????????“Then do the crack thing…”???????????????????????????????“And gradually unfold myself….”???????????????????????????????“… before I open all the way.  A little smoothing of my petals and I feel like a million bucks. I just know that shows.”???????????????????????????????Yep.  It shows.  No doubt about that.

White Spikey dives into the fray.  “I think it’s all about putting out a nice long stem and progressively opening your petals up the stem.”???????????????????????????????“That’s how to do it.  I just wish,” White Spikey continues “That I had a little room to move.  I’m so crowded by Yarrow and Dianthus, I can hardly move.  How can I be expected to perform at my peak level in this situation?”???????????????????????????????The other plants ignore the complaint.  Its tough around here.  Time wasted on complaining is just plain time wasted.  They would rather focus on the matter at hand.

They look to Bee Balm.  Monarda Didyma.  The scarlet beauty.  Bee Balm is one of the oldest plants in the garden.  Something about Bee Balm’s understated, color focused performance is captivating to all the members of the garden.

“We must begin with a subtle statement of green with just a little hint of what is to come.” Says Bee Balm.???????????????????????????????“Then add some color.”Beebalm03“Once we have established our color, we begin to work on the flower.”???????????????????????????????“Be in no hurry.  Goriosa is right.  A little tension goes a long way.  It’s OK to milk the performance a little.  This is, after all, the moment for which we live.”???????????????????????????????Coneflower agrees.  “Yes indeed.  It is our moment.  I know I’m kind of boring, but I like the straightforward approach.”???????????????????????????????“Build your cone, fill in your petals and show ’em who you are.”coneflower02The others nod.  Coneflower is an old warhorse and they hear he is everywhere.  So many gardens have coneflower.  He must be doing something right.

Then, of course, there is Lamb’s Ear.  This crazy plant takes a completely different approach.

“Dare to be different!” states Lamb’s Ear.  “Dare to try things a totally different way.”

“First, focus on geometry and foliage.  I try to make the softest, most luscious green petals I can muster, presenting them in a brilliant pattern.”???????????????????????????????“Then I aim for the sky.”lambsear03“Shedding the glory of my foliage while I gradually build and fill my stalk with pretty yellow flowers.”???????????????????????????????“It’s quite a novel approach, I realize.  But I like it and, you know, I think it works.”???????????????????????????????The others all agree.  It works.  Lamb’s Ear is cool.

They are all cool – that’s why they are here.  Cool in their own different ways.

The conversation breaks into a dozen different discussions.  It seems like everyone is talking at once as all the plants are excited to share their ideas about the best way to expose their beautiful selves.

It’s a fun week in the garden.  The heat builds and the rain cleanses while all the plants look forward to the summer solstice.  This is the time to bloom.  This is the time to show your beauty.

31 thoughts on “June 20, 2014 – Exposing your Beautiful Self”

  1. What a delight Jim, I found myself smiling scrolling down all your beauties. Just lovely, thank you:) Have a fantastic weekend, kindest regards Eily

    1. Thanks Eily. If you are smiling as you are scrolling then In Jim’s Garden must be doing something right. I’m working on that fantastic weekend already. I hope you have one too. Cheers. 🙂

  2. I’m inspired to paint some flowers today! Thank you for the gorgeous images! 🙂

    1. Oh, you are most welcome. Inspiration is a beautiful thing – I hope to see your paintings soon. 🙂

    1. Oh yeah. You just can’t thrive in such a competitive environment without being a little sassy. Thanks. 🙂

    1. Thanks Amy, as always. I find the flowers themselves to be exquisite and if I am able to portray them in such a light, that is awesome. I’m glad you like it. Have a fantastic day traveling. 🙂

    1. Thanks Jardin. Bringing a smile to your face is one of my most sincere goals. Glad to hear it is working. Given the quality of your photography, I’m going to take the compliment about my photos to heart. Thanks. 🙂

  7. A most impressive array of solo and section performances!! But can the gardener tickle an ensemble? Can the soloists join together in play? The ultimate challenge in nature, perhaps?

    1. Ah Nate, you old Troll. You’re determined to bring my game to a higher level. Thanks. I’ve been puzzling on that idea since I saw your comment come through. Plus, I’ve had the music of the overture to Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro dancing through my head the whole time. How to portray such music through pictures of flowers together……. we’ll work on that. Cheers. 🙂

  8. Fantastic, Jim! The photos are stunning and your writing is delightful. I smiled all the way through and uttered “Ahs!” through the parade of fashion and style!

    1. A parade of fashion and style. What a nice way to perceive this post. Thanks. I’m glad you are smiling. They are an entertaining lot, those garden flowers. Thanks for reading and thanks for smiling. 🙂

  9. All this flowers are perfect and “grâcieuses”(i don’t know how say this in english)J’aime beaucoup la juxtaposition des couleurs et des variétés de fleurs. C’est du grand art 🙂

    1. Hi Christiane. Do you seek, perhaps, the word “elegant” ? Or, perhaps, “complementary”, which is to say the flowers go well together. That works with your phrase “Juxtaposition des couleurs…” I always appreciate your artistic perspective of my photos. I genuinely appreciate that you read my posts and provide insightful commentary. My friend Nate has challenged me to present the flowers “en ensemble.” I’ll be interested to hear, and interpret, what you think of that, if I rise to the challenge. Cheers. Bonne Journee, mon ami. 🙂

    1. Great. Thanks Sharon. I’m just trying to present the pretty flowers in an interesting format. Glad you like it. 🙂

    1. Thanks as always Cynthia. It’s hugely comforting to know that readers like you are actually paying attention to my blog. Cheers. 🙂

    1. Thank you very much. The wildflower and wild combination of traditional flowers is very compelling to me. You too, eh? And naturally they all have their own personalities. After all, plants are people too. 🙂

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