So Near, Yet So Far

© All Photos: Riihele. All rights reserved.

“The plant is so near,
yet so far …” thought Lumi, the Westie .

The plant puzzled me as well,
as to how does it stay put in the currents et al?!

No wonder, that Lumi, the Westie, was wondering, too!

This is the plant that
Lumi, the Westie,  was trying to reach at.

Picture Perfect: Up close ‘n Personal

© Photo: By Riihele. All rights reserved.

HYDRANGEA or as it is known in many countries: HORTENSIA

Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, English, Spanish
Feminine form of the Roman family name Hortensius, possibly derived from Latin hortus “garden“.

This photo was taken some good while ago in a garden in Finland and i  still like it very much.  Sorry for not taking part in the PP for such a long time.

The photo is totally untouched, not a thing added, nothing taken away.


Tis for now. Rii xx

Picture Perfect: Intricate

Riihele. All rights reserved

I wrote these lines summer last year about this picture:

It is the final showtime, showdown
for the flowers and plants
before the onset of autumn…
Nostalgic? Yes, very much so.

I am looking forward to autumn
but tis the winter, the winter,
that chills me right down to me blonde bones
and even blonder marrow!!

Hydrangea flowers tinged with yellow and pink, looking like
the most intricate lace, methinks.

Have a super weekend. Take great care of your great selves. 🙂

P.S.
The photo is totally untouched, so tis as it was…

Picture Perfect: WET

Riihele.  All rights reserved

The yellow shines so much brighter
— no matter the rain,
nor gloom or doom!

The oil extracted from lilies has healing and softening properties. Especially, when the lily fragrance oil is mixed with that of Calendula aka Pot Marigold works wonderful for very sensitive skin. One can use this oil for massage, in a bath, after a bath, for babies, dry cuticles, and elbows, as a facial moisturizer, under-eye oil and hot-oil treatment.

Some of the lilies are edible even such as Lilium bulbiferous ’Orange lily’ — its bulbs are edible tasting sweet and mealy; these lilies make very fair eating and can be used as a substitute to potato!! Other lilies have medicinal properties such as Lilium candidum ’Madonna lily’ — its bulb is employed for medicinal purposes, having highly demulcent and also astringent properties.

Lilium henryi ’Henry’s lily’ or as it is also known Tiger lily relieve congestion, and the nausea and vomiting of pregnancy  and also, Lilium japonicum ’Krameri’ is  nourishing and useful in diseases of the chest. Lilium martagon ’Martagon lily’ or as it is also called, ’Turk’s cap lily’ their bulb has diuretic, emmenagogue, emollient and expectorant properties. They are used to relieve heart diseases, pain in the cardiac region and angina pectoris.*

These fine wet yellow lilies are my contribution for the Picture Perfect theme WET.

Keep so grand and safe. Rii :))

* Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily
http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/mostpopularflowers/lilies
http://www.thelilygarden.com/pages_lilies/asiatic_yellow_2.html
http://www.thelilygarden.com/
The Lily Garden is a most marvellous site for all things Lilies.

FRAGILE …

© Riihele. All rights reserved

Beauty is a fragile gift.
Ovid

***********

Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis)

Commonly known as the Lily of the Valley or Lily-of-the-Valley, is the only species in the genus Convallaria in the flowering plant family Ruscaceae, formerly placed in the lily family Liliaceae or in its own family called Convallariaceae.

Lily of the Valley is highly poisonous, by the way; but very beautiful, methinks. I took a series of photos on the LoV last summer and this is one of them. Fragile, to me it says. This flower is the national flower of FInland.

LILIES …

Remember
that the most beautiful things
in the world are
the most useless;
peacocks and lilies
for instance.

John Ruskin (1819-1900)

The genus Lilium are herbaceous flowering plants normally growing from bulbs, comprising a genus of about 110 species in the lily family, Liliaceae. They are important as large showy flowering garden plants, and in literature. Some of the bulbs have been consumed by people. The species in this genus are the true lilies, while other plants with lily in the common name are related to other groups of plants.

Some facts about Lilies:

• Lilies are one of the most beautiful, and graceful of all summer-blooming flowers.
• Lilies belong to the Lilium genus consisting of less than 100 known species, occurring in all parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
• Lilies are believed to have been under cultivation longer than any other ornamental flower, having existed in gardens 3,000 years ago.
• Floral designs, particularly of Lilies, made their appearance and became very popular in the 18th dynasty of Egypt.

All Photos: Riihele. © All rights reserved.

The oil extracted from lilies has healing and softening properties. Especially, when the lily fragrance oil is mixed with that of Calendula aka Pot Marigold works wonderful for very sensitive skin. One can use this oil for massage, in a bath, after a bath, for babies, dry cuticles, and elbows, as a facial moisturizer, under-eye oil and hot-oil treatment.

Some of the lilies are edible even such as Lilium bulbiferous ’Orange lily’ — its bulbs are edible tasting sweet and mealy; these lilies make very fair eating and can be used as a substitute to potato!! Other lilies have medicinal properties such as Lilium candidum ’Madonna lily’ — its bulb is employed for medicinal purposes, having highly demulcent and also astringent properties.

Lilium henryi ’Henry’s lily’ or as it is also known Tiger lily relieve congestion, and the nausea and vomiting of pregnancy and also, Lilium japonicum ’Krameri’ is nourishing and useful in diseases of the chest. Lilium martagon ’Martagon lily’ or as it is also called, ’Turk’s cap lily’ their bulb has diuretic, emmenagogue, emollient and expectorant properties. They are used to relieve heart diseases, pain in the cardiac region and angina pectoris.

Kingdom Plantae
Division Magnoliophyta
Class Liliopsida
Order Liliales
Family Liliaceae
Genus Lilium

Fun Flower Quizz in ere for ye.

Lilies on the menu today, for the weather is only miserable over here in Finland these past few days, being more autumn-like than spring,
I so need to think of the time when these bright yellow lilies were in full bloom in July last summer.
Although, the rain came down in buckets, it did not stop their cheerful and vibrant colours showing off at their best!

Do take good care and good cheer. Rii :))
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily
http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/mostpopularflowers/lilies
http://www.thelilygarden.com/pages_lilies/asiatic_yellow_2.html
http://www.thelilygarden.com/
The Lily Garden is a most marvellous site for all things Lilies.

Coming or Going …

Our weather does not know whether it is coming or going presently; that is to say if the winter is finally at its end as in the photo underneath

or if the spring has finally sprung on us and staying?!! Every other day it is winter and then the next day it is spring; and so it goes round and round week after week this year!

© Photos Riihele. All rights reserved

KALANIT — Anemones

This is the time of the year, as it is the midwinter here in Finland, that I do so miss these scenes of Israel.

In Israel, February is the month when the first trees start to blossom and also the spring flowers, like the Anemones aka Kalanit, in Hebrew, put their colourful show on all around the country after the winter rains.


Of the trees, it is the Almond tree that bursts out forth as the Numero Uno!
Oh – the fragrance and the feeling of giddiness that comes over one when tis life and warmth again after the short spell of winter in Israel! The winter in there is more like the typical Irish summer, or a terrible summer here in Finland.

Tis for now yet again – Rii xx.

Photos on Mosaic Israel: Riihele. All rights reserved. Kalanit picture: Wikipedia

Moment of VAN GOGH: SUNFLOWERS

“You may know that the peony is Jeannin’s, the hollyhock belongs to Quost, but the sunflower is mine in a way.”

Vincent van Gogh
(written in a letter to his brother Theo)

Vincent van Gogh was a great painter. I did not really like his work until I went to the museum bearing his name in Amsterdam where his work is displayed and saw with my own eyes the mastery of his paintings and read many of his letters to his brother, Theo.

The Sunflower paintings of Vincent Van Gogh show a mental connection not only between the artist’s name and the painting, but also between the artist and the influence of Sunflowers on the development of art through these paintings. Van Gogh’s Sunflower paintings have altered mankind’s perspective of art and life. (Van Gogh Gallery site)

Did you know that Europe and the USSR produce over 60% of the world’s Sunflowers. Sunflowers make up the genus Helianthus. In Greek helios means sun and anthos means flower, thus Sunflower. The genus, which contains about 67 species, is thought to be native to the Americas (North, South) originally, and were domesticated around 1000 B.C. Although, Sunflowers are now distributed almost worldwide. (Sunflower Plant, Care, Growing site)

Sunflower is the national flower of Russia and the state flower of Kansas, USA. Sunflower is notable for turning to face the Sun, a behaviour known as heliotropism. Sunflowers were cultivated by Native Americans well over 1000 years ago. Sunflower heads consist of 1,000 to 2,000 individual flowers joined together by a receptacle base. The large petals around the edge of a sunflower head are individual ray flowers which do not develop into seed. Sunflower seeds have lots of calcium and 11 other important minerals. They do have 50% fat, but it is mostly polyunsaturated linoleic acid.

Sunflowers can be eaten, would you believe? The flower is best eaten in the bud stage when it tastes similar to artichokes. Once the flower opens, the petals may be used like chrysanthemums, the flavour is distinctly bittersweet. The unopened flower buds can also be steamed like artichokes. (New Hampshire Magazine online)

“We spend our whole lives in unconscious exercise of
the art of expressing our thoughts with the help of words.”

Vincent van Gogh
(New York Times online article has more on this)

Weather is such at present that we in Finland need reminders of the sun in the form of SUNFLOWERS!

Tis for now, Rii xx

Photos: Riihele. All rights reserved.

A great site for all things Vincent van Gogh.

Boulevard of Plants — ALHAMBRA

Just want to remind us all that there is summer somewhere…

Tis for now, Rii xx

Photo: Taken by Becki – my daughter. All rights reserved.

Link to Alhambra.

 The plant in the photo is Oleander. Oleander (Nerium oleander), is a evergreen shrub or small tree in the dogbane family Apocynaceae. It is the only species currently classified in the genus Nerium. It is native to a broad area from Morocco and Portugal eastward through the Mediterranean region and southern Asia to Yunnan in southern parts of China.

Oleander grows well in warm subtropical regions, where it is extensively used as an ornamental plant in landscapes, parks, and along roadsides. It is drought tolerant and will tolerate occasional light frost down to -10°C. Oleander is one of the most poisonous plants and contains numerous toxic compounds, many of which can be deadly to people, especially young children. (Wikipedia)