Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: Hydrophyllaceae

I had a few minutes before dinner to run out and look for something special to capture, and I couldn't help visiting the beautiful little Baby Blue-Eyes plant that's growing in our metal tub. There are lots of blossoms on it, and as pretty as their faces are, all I could see was their glowing undersides! I was amazed when I saw the pictures on my computer, the sun was even making the sepals glow! (Sepals are the green petals that first protect the bud and then hold the blossom petals.) Hans Christian Andersen (April 2, 1805 – August 4, 1875) was a Danish author and poet. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, Andersen is best remembered for his fairy tales, a literary genre he so mastered that he himself has become as mythical as the tales he wrote. Andersen's popularity is not limited to children; his stories—called eventyr, or "fantastic tales"—express themes that transcend age and nationality. Wikipedia: Hans Christian Andersen

In our front yard, we have a large metal livestock feeding tub that we bought a few years ago to grow sunflowers in. Last year I decided to put some gladiolus bulbs and dahlia tubers in it, along with a sprinkling of wildflower seeds. WHAT A SHOW IT WAS!! I was not prepared for the zillions of different wildflowers that bloomed, and took many pictures of which I still have many to share at some point. Then, the deer came by and in one night, ate them all!! Oh well, I couldn't blame them, there was nothing for them to eat, so they went for the flowers. A couple of days ago I went out to take a look at the tub, because it was time to replant the Gladiolus bulbs. I thought I'd just pull all the grass and weeds out, when I noticed a flash of blue! No....a flower??? It hadn't opened yet but I figured it might open today. I went out this morning with my bulbs and some wildflower seeds, and was delighted to see that the flower had opened up to show a gorgeous blue and white face! I pulled out everything else except for a plant that looked promising, piled on some new dirt, replanted the gladiolus, sprinkled wildflower seeds all around, and then went to get my camera and got some pretty pictures! Baby Blue Eyes grow in Oregon, but I've never seen them before and I'm so happy that this grew from the seeds I planted last year! :) From Wikipedia: Baby Blue Eyes is a common annual herb of California, Oregon, and Baja California. It is a spring-blooming wildflower that gets its name from the bright blue flowers of two of the three varieties that are recognised. It is also cultivated in gardens. It can occasionally be found outside its native range as an introduced species, in Alaska, for example. Bernard C. Meltzer (May 2, 1916 – March 25, 1998) was a United States radio host for several decades. His advice call-in show, "What's Your Problem?," aired from 1967 until the mid-1990s on stations WCAU-AM and WPEN-AM in Philadelphia, WOR-AM and WEVD-AM in New York and in national syndication on NBC Talknet. Wikipedia: Bernard Meltzer