As a kid, I used to take chunks of all four glow-in-the-dark colors of Play-Doh and work them in to one lump. I’d keep kneading that lump until the colors formed psychedelic patterns. My very own hunk of Peter Max. But if you worked that hunk too much, the colors all blended together to dull gray.
What’s that got to do with Nectaroscordum siculum ssp. bulgaricum, my favorite flower this time of the year? From a distance, it’s pretty homely. All the subtle colors blend together and the eye turns them to a barely noticeable grayish green. But if you get up close, it’s a mixed sherbet delight. The colors also change dramatically depending on the light.
The structure is a bonus — interesting enough to inspire this sculpture from some pictures I took I took last year.
More Nectaroscordum siculum ssp. bulgaricum than you probably want to see. But hey. It’s a favorite…
Beautiful photos, nice enough to make me look up some info on the plant. Brent and Becky say I can grow this so I’ll be on the prowl for them this fall.
Ohhhhh Yes !
Ils sont magnifiques, wonderfull et tes images sont absolument Crazy ! :-))))
Thank’s for all !
Mon anglais est très mauvais, mais tant pis, Nectaroscordum siculum ssp. bulgaricum en latin est compréhensible dans toutes les langues…
Flowers like this (and onion/allium) make me want to know what is going on at the level of cellular signaling that results in the development of radial blooming patterns. What happens at the center where the little stems of those flowers meet the main stem of the plant? How does the flower keep it all organized?! Amazing.
Hi Craig,
Outstanding fotos on a beautiful plant, ours has not starting to bloom yet even if we live in the land vere the sun never goes down 😉
We live in south part and there is it dark about 5-6 hours in the middle of the night.
Best regards Ken
Sigh. The 10 bulbs I planted in fall, after admiring your photos, never appeared. Perhaps the chipmunks found them, or I overmulched, or they didn’t make friends with the Eryngiums planted nearby, but they are distinctly missing! At least I can keep admiring yours. lovely.