In order to prove my point in today’s entry, I had to first hook myself up to a nice little contraption that measures your “excitement” levels when viewing a particular photo:
Now that I have that in place, we can start the test. Here is the first photo I will now view:
Now that is a nice flower, a Hemerocallis ‘Joan Elliot’ daylily if I had to guess. Wait just one second … OK … done. I am now confirming the actual excitement score. Looks like an 88 on a scale of 100. Not too bad. We move on to the next photo:
Whoa!! Is it hot in here or is it just me? Can I get a cigarette? Here’s the score … looks like a 98 out of 100. Hot damn.
Let’s try this one more time. First photo:
Well hello there little lady … come here often? The excitement score is … 93 out of 100. Not too shabby.
And photo number two:
Um … excuse me while I stumble over my words … now that is a beauty inside and out. Score is 101 out of 100. Deep breaths … deep breaths.
I knew it.
I love flower “buds” more than I love the actual flowers. I had a feeling all along that this was true but I am thrilled to now have confirmed it through a true scientific test. Now the question I ask myself, is why? My thoughts:
- It’s the anticipation that is more exciting than the actual event. As soon a peony blooms, and maybe this is just my somewhat negative view on life in general, I feel like it is on it’s way out.
- A bud signals the fact that the plant has made it through another year successfully and that is an exciting time in the garden for me.
- Bud’s are just as attractive as flowers. This may be a stretch, but so many of them are pretty sweet looking in contrast to the plant’s foliage.
- The buds’ that appear in the spring coincide with our best weather here in zone 6, so the foliage looks so healthy at the same time the buds are appearing.
- The buds are typically safe from the deer but once they bloom, GONE (especially true with the daylilly blooms).
- Maybe I just want to be different so back off already!
As I scanned through my photos from last year, I realize now, how obsessed I’d become in taking close up shots of emerging buds. I have so many of these photos and I am just as excited looking at them now.
For your viewing pleasure, I now give you some of my many macro shots:
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| Lobelia Siphilitica |
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| Chelone glabra (Turtle head) |
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| Clethra ‘Hummingbird’ (Summersweet) |
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| Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower) |
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| Echinacea purpurea alba ‘Fragrant Angel’ |
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| Hemerocallis ‘Little Grapette’ (Daylily) |
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| Achillea ageratum ‘Moonwalker’ (Yarrow) |
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| Astilbe ‘Deutschland’ (False Spirea) |
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| Knockout rose |
Who’s with me on the bud love?
ONG
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I see your point…but I was sure you were going to go off about ornamental grasses!!
At last, we have a difference of opinion!
I experience an excitement for flower buds when I am in the garden. There, I feel like a theater patron sitting in his seat, the lights are dimming and the curtain is about to go up. If there is an overture playing, that’s even more thrilling. The anticipation is electrifying. Seeing that same bud in a photo just isn’t the same.
LOL interesting post. I love buds too, but I also love flowers. And foliage. I liked all your photos, but I must admit I’m wondering how the knockout rose turned out…
I agree with you, flowers in bud always make me happy, but as you said, once they bloom, I feel melancholy. I like the anticipation, I guess.
You funny guy. Now, I do love a good bud. I also love a good, full-blown flower. And, hey, I even love the look of a flower when it’s on its way out… and I love the seed heads, too. If you gave me the excitement meter, I think it might spike if you showed me a patch of unplanted soil… especially if it were mine. Now *that’s* a thrill.
Haha…hilarious, but so true…it’s the anticipation and the promise of all that flowery goodness that thrills the most.
xoxoxo – brace yourself for even more ornamental grass love this spring, I planted a ton of new varieties in the fall.
allan – a difference of opinion? I need some time to recover. As always, I so appreciate your comments!
mac – the roses were thrown out in the late spring. For three years running, the beetles destroyed the foliage. Finally gave up and ditched them.
karen – thank you for being on team anticipation!
helen – couldn’t agree more with the soil comment. My soil is so god awful that I have developed such an intense jealousy of anyone who has nice soil. Will stick with adding compost, mulch and leaves and hope for the best
scott – thank you for another add to team anticipation!