Today's Flora Wonder Blog is a re-run from 10 years ago.
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In Scandinavia winter is considered to begin on October 14 and ends on the last day of February. I spent one Christmas in hot Lima, Peru, walking the streets and sweating, occasionally stopping at cafes to imbibe Inca Cola. For plant people in the Northern Hemisphere "winter" has a different definition than any scientific explanation. For us, winter is the time when our plants can be damaged or die. In Oregon that is usually from November 15 to the end of February, but disasters can occur at any time of course.
So here we are…at the winter solstice, which is as low as one can get. It's dark when I go to work, and dark when I come home. We had a little snow earlier, but now it is wind and rain. The usual puddles will stay filled for months, and bark in my landscape floats down the hill. Woe, woe is me.
Today I will offer you a little pep-up blog. I saw a lot of wonderful plants in 2012, and we'll celebrate their flowers, the prettiest part. The word "flower" is from Middle English flour, that from Anglo-French flur or flaur, and that from Latin flor. Flora was the Roman goddess of plants.
Most photographs were taken at Flora Wonder, but I also visited other gardens in Oregon, Washington and California. I won't describe these flowers, because frankly I don't know much about peonies, roses and proteas. But anyway, the flowers can speak for themselves.
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| Aloe arborescens |
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| Banksia coccinea |
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| Bletilla striata 'Alba' |
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| Clematis 'Serafina' |
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| Clematis 'Sport of Belle Nantaise' |
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| Cornus kousa 'Heart Throb' |
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| Cornus kousa 'Heart Throb' |
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| Cyclamen coum 'Something Magic' |
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| Daphne burkwoodii 'Brigg's Moonlight' |
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| Fritillaria pudica |
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| Grevillea 'Moonlight' |
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| Grevillea alpina |
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| Helianthus annuus |
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| Helleborus 'Peppermint Ice Strain' |
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| Iris douglasiana |
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| Kniphofia thompsonii 'Triploid Form' |
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| Lagerstroemia 'Pink Velour' |
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| Lamium orvala |
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| Leptospermum Scoparium 'Kiwi' |
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| Leucadendron 'Safari Sunshine' |
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| Leucadendron coniferum |
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| Leucadendron salignum 'Winter Red' |
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| Leucospermum 'Veld Fire' |
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| Leucospermum cordifolium |
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| Lilium 'Loreto' |
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| Lilium 'White Henryi' |
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| Lomatium columbianum |
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| Lupinus 'New Generation' |
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| Magnolia 'Golden Gala' |
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| Magnolia 'Red Baron' |
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| Magnolia 'Vulcan' |
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| Melianthus major |
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| Nepenthes species |
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| Nepenthes species |
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| Paeonia 'Red Charm' |
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| Paeonia lutea |
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| Pieris japonica 'Shojo' |
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| Pleione 'Versailles' |
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| Protea neriifolia |
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| Regelia ciliata |
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| Rhododendron 'Alexis' |
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| Rhododendron daphnoides |
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| Rhododendron macrosepalum 'Linearifolium' |
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| Rhododendron orbiculare 'Edinburgh' |
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| Rhododendron orbiculare 'Edinburgh' |
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| Rhododendron 'Taurus' |
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| Ribes sanguineum 'Brocklebankii' |
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| Rosa 'Lemon Chiffon' |
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| Rosa moyesii 'Regalia' |
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| Sarracenia species |
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| Sarracenia species |
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| Sedum kamtschaticum 'Weihenstephaner Gold' |
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| Sinocalycanthus raulstonii 'Hartlage Wine' |
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| Stachyurus chinensis 'Magpie' |
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| Tulipa bakeri 'Lilac Wonder' |
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| Tulipa species |
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| Watsonia species |
Well, there you are. I know that I feel better. I probably won't go to bonfires or attend parties this winter, as long as I have memories of this past year's floral extravaganza. And the best part: the world did not end today.
