Friday, May 20, 2011

FSO/Macro Flowers/join-my-photo-challenge-flowers









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Our theme for May 20 is Flowers in your town. I feel this will be a cheery and very colorful theme.

"Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into." ~Henry Beecher, Life Thoughts, 1858

"Flowers... are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities of the world." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1844

"Flowers have an expression of countenance as much as men or animals. Some seem to smile; some have a sad expression; some are pensive and diffident; others again are plain, honest and upright, like the broad-faced sunflower and the hollyhock." ~Henry Ward Beecher, Star Papers: A Discourse of Flowers

I like what Henry Ward Beecher had to say about flowers. Think about it, do they have expressions? Do they emit a feeling? Challenge for our shooters for this theme .....
show us a flower expression
show us a flower thought
show us a flower feeling
show us a flower attitude
show us a flower mood
show us a flower emotion


Macro Flower Saturday
http://blueberrycraftandhobbytime.blogspot.com/p/join-my-photo-challenge-flowers-on.html
This plant reminds me of my late Grandfather who told me that in China, it is known an embroidered flower ball, "SIAW CHOW FA". In Chinese movies, a girl will throw her flower ball to a group of admirers, the lucky chap who catches the ball will wed her. Woe to her, if a nasty obnoxious man catches the ball.

It is fictitious, because it never happens this way. There were match making sessions.

I was lucky to live in houses that have hydrangea hedges. In the first house, the hedge was at the main road at Mt Eden Road, I used to cut them and take it to church during my turn to do the flowers. Often, little old women would stop their cars and help themselves with branches of flowers. I didn't have the heart to shout at them. After all, God gave me those flowers. In fact, later I learnt that they were doing me a favour. Hydrangea likes to be pruned and the next season, they would grow better.

At this present house, I pruned it only once. That is why the flowers are not so beautiful. A friend said that if I leave tin cans at the roots, the rust would change it colour to a dark red hue. I thought of "Hawaii" where James Michener had written about this either for the pineapple gardens or sugar cane farms. It's been so long ago. I have forgotten.

Then when I told this to my florist friend, W. he says it is better with the pale coloured ones. So I stopped putting cans. It blew my mind when I saw the completely white ones at my friend M.'s kitchen. It could be used as bridal bouquet. May be next time, I should pour beach instead. LOL

My hydrangea hedge is getting shorter and thinner. I have a new elderly neighbour and he is trimmer happy. The hedge is on my side of the boundary, but he uses his garden shears, and trims both sides of the hedge. When we asked him, he said , he didn't want burglars hiding. So to make peace, I left him to his trimming.

17 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Ann,

Dropping by reading and enjoying your blog, you know i was tending to my plants just now,and i am really having headache of keeping the in house plants healthy, they tend to die..

really have to google to try it out to see what was wrong

have a great weekend ya

Linda said...

so beautiful!!!

diane b said...

You have some excitement with your hydrangeas. Their colour is caused by the soil ph level acidic gives blue and alkaline gives pink or is it the other way around?

Carletta said...

Hi Ann,
I love how you have shown us all the different stages.
I had a hydrangea bush when we bought this house almost four years ago but it died - probably nibbling deer problem.
Lovely shots!

Joanne Olivieri said...

I absolutely believe flowers have expressions and different personalities. Your shot progression is beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

SquirrelQueen said...

Your hydrangea bush is beautiful. Each flower does seem to have a personality all its own.

Channal said...

Beautiful... love the blue colour!
much love Anna

Discovery School at First Baptist Heath said...

as much as I love Hydrangeas.. I have never seen a hydrangea hedge...Beautiful...

Cecilia Artista said...

What a beautiful Hydrangea bush you have! I like the blue colors!

J9 said...

I wonder if your neighbor knows that next year he will have more work because of this year's trimming. Great shots!

fjällripan said...

Very beautiful flowers!

Maia said...

Nice hydrangeas and a lovely story with your neighbor.
It is said that the hydrangea flower color often mirrors the pH of the soil. It seams you have an acidic soil.

Bella Skye said...

beautiful hydrangeas!

Unknown said...

hydrangeas look lovely in the gardens!

Jama said...

Gorgeous hydrangea! they seem to mass bloom when the weather's good.

Unknown said...

awesome bush Ann. I like how you showed the flower from bud to bloom. I have an hydrangea plant, just sprouting. very small. I wonder if it will get as big as yours?

Suburban Girl said...

I like the stages of the bloom.