fugacious and otherwise
Diane Whitehead (Tue, 24 Apr 2007 13:24:26 PDT)

I find it very hard to understand fugacious flowers. All that effort
for a couple of hours of show, and it is not as though they just did
the minimum necessary. Often they are incredibly intricate in
colour, shape, markings, scent. I guess they must grow in an area
with a guaranteed sufficiency of pollinators.

I much prefer flowers that hang around hopefully waiting. Like
trilliums. John Gyer reports that the flower opens, then the pollen
ripens and two weeks later the stigma is receptive. Then the flower
remains open another week or so to receive pollen.

Or snowdrops. I should keep track one year. It seems that I have
had Galanthus woronowii in bloom from early January to late March.
Those are the ones outside my kitchen window so I see them every
day. I don't know how long the other species out in the garden
last. Certainly they all give good garden value.

Diane Whitehead
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
maritime zone 8, cool Mediterranean climate
mild rainy winters, mild dry summers