Pretty pictures: Pink

Today we have various thoughts from the plant kingdom about the idea of "pink." In a couple cases, it's maybe more my questionable judgment, and the plant was actually thinking of "purple," but whatever. I had a whole bunch of pictures that I needed to do something with, having just sifted through almost the whole photo backlog, and this sort of post is a really efficient way of getting through a lot of photos in a hurry, even if they're not seasonally-appropriate, as some of these aren't.

Asclepias syriaca flowers in extreme close-up. Some insect life visible if you look closely and/or open the photo full-size in a new window.

Polygonum persicaria. I don't think anybody actually likes this plant, but it's awfully familiar, at least. And technically pink, so it counts.

Lamium NOID. Shortly after taking this picture, I was looked at suspiciously by two women talking to one another over their backyards' fence. I expect that the suspicious looks happen all the time, but I'm not normally in a position to see them, so it was noteworthy.

Cyclamen persicum NOID. I don't see the frilly-edged Cyclamens for sale very often. Not that I necessarily want one. I just think it's interesting what is and isn't popular.

Torenia 'Catalina Pink.' This is arguably more purple than pink, but the tag said it was pink.

Ipomoea NOID. If loving morning glories is wrong, I don't want to be right.

Zinnia 'Profusion Cherry.' I had sort of intended to get some Zinnias this year, or at least some Zinnia seeds. As with all my other outdoor-related plans, that didn't work out.

Cyclamen NOID. This is probably my favorite photo from the batch.

Portulaca grandiflora, second-generation flower. These have not yet taken off like I'd hoped, but considering how late I started them, I suppose I can't be too disappointed. I should still be able to collect enough seeds to try again next year.

Weigela NOID. Came with the house. The husband and I are both kinda meh about it, but it'd be a lot of work to take it out, and neither of us have any ideas for something we'd rather see in that spot, so it stays.

Hibiscus moscheutos 'Dave Fleming,' at the ex-job. I've seen hardy Hibiscus varieties I covet, but this isn't one of them. It's big and bright enough that I find it sort of alarming. Not the sort of Hibiscus you want to run into, walking around the back yard at night.

Assorted pictures / shameless attempt at bribery

Admittedly, I hadn't heard of the Mouse & Trowel awards before a week or two ago, and I don't ordinarily care about popularity contest-type things. Being part of Blotanical (which I have been for like two weeks and change now) has actually done weird things to my psyche: I've found a number of interesting blogs I wouldn't otherwise have run across, and that's good, but the site is set up with a lot of popularity-measuring devices (how many people like you personally but not necessarily your blog, how many people like your blog but not necessarily you personally, how many hits your site gets, how many people like each individual post you do, how many messages you get, how many you send, and so on and so forth. Numbers, numbers, numbers.), which is maybe less good.

Popularity-measuring devices are like catnip to me: really, anything with numbers that can be tracked over time. And I check constantly to see if things got favorited, or if I did, or where the blog is in popularity, and etc. The trouble with this is, then I start thinking about stuff like, why did that lady from Australia favorite my blog and then take it back right away? Is it my language? Sexual orientation? Does she just not like indoor gardening, or Georgia O'Keefe references? What does it mean? What did I do wrong? Should I ask her? But what would I say?

Which then slides easily into thinking like, Well, so then, should I tone down the language a little? Is it actually all that terrible? and Do I need more pictures of flowers and puppies and rainbows and heart-shaped objects and angels?

That this is even something I'm considering is sort of mortifying.

So I feel a little odd asking people to go to Mouse & Trowel and nominate Plants are the Strangest People for anything. This can only make the obsessiveness worse, I think. And yet -- wouldn't it be cool to have a little badge I can stick in the sidebar? Ooo! Shiny!

So here we are, bowing to the inevitable. The nomination form is located here, and I think PATSP would be appropriate in the following categories: Best Writing, Best North American Blog, Best New Blog. While I'm here, I'd also recommend Water When Dry for Best Photography and Blogger You'd Most Like as a Neighbor, and if I must compete on the Best Writing front, then let it be against Zanthan Gardens. I am almost certainly forgetting other worthwhile nominees: I find blogs much faster than I can add them to the blogroll or to my favorites list on my browser.

One need not belong to Blotanical to vote.

Or . . . not. Like who you like. I'm just going to be nakedly partisan about this, because for whatever reason, God help me, I want it. (And yes, I do recognize that trying to claim that I'm the best of this particular crop is, at the very minimum, probably inaccurate. But you may tell me so anyway, if you like.)

In order to make it worth your time, I have pictures! Many pretty, brightly-colored, pictures of flowers! And I'll rent some puppies and force them to frolic adorably, too, if that's what it's going to take. (I will, sadly, have to draw the line at angels.) So behold the bribery goodness:

Guzmania hybrids.


Anthurium andraeanum hybrid at home, which I suspect is probably Twyford International's 'Patriot,' though there are so many that it's hard to be sure, and the plant wasn't labeled when I got it.


An orange, doubled Kalanchoe blossfeldiana. I'd never seen a doubled one before. All bribery joking aside, this is a really interesting plant, and was, I believe, purchased right away, not by me.


Viola hybrid. I think the particular variety is 'Yellow Sorbet' or something like that, but I have the nagging feeling that I'm forgetting or misremembering some part of the name.Viola 'Yellow Delight.'


Nemesia x 'Sunsatia Banana.'


Impatiens 'Fusion Glow.' No really. It's an Impatiens.


Streptocarpus 'Falling Stars.'


Torenia 'Summer Wave Blue?' The ID is a little uncertain.


So that's the Mouse & Trowel Awards, then. Go nominate. Think of the puppies.