Friday, September 19, 2014

Against All Odds

 
Nigella damascene (Love-in-a-Mist)
belonging to the buttercup family Ranunculaceae
 
I fell in love with this flower when I saw it on someone's blog last year. I just had to have it in my garden. It's native to southern Europe, north Africa and southwest Asia. So, my chances of finding it in Canada were slim!
 
 
I managed to locate heirloom seeds, 'Persian Rose', online. I ordered them and planted them in June. I didn't have high hopes of them growing (considering our climate), but, against all odds...they grew and bloomed!

(The bloom is about the size of my thumbnail)

 
sharing with...
 
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46 comments:

  1. Oh, Karen! What an exquisite flower!! I do love your captures of it, too!! Thanks so much for sharing! What a clever lady you are!! Hope you have a lovely weekend!!

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  2. Wonderful macro photos! I like nigella...
    Have a great weekend

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  3. A truly beautiful thing - and with luck they will self-seed for next year.

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  4. Beautiful images, my favourite is the one with the Bee, superb.

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  5. Great pics. One of my favourites in the garden too.

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  6. These are exquisite little blooms Karen and gorgeous photographs. Thank you for ID'ing it for me. I had forgotten its name. Thank you also for linking with Today's Flowers. And have a great weekend :)

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  7. Gorgeous blooms and color.. Lovely images, happy weekend!

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  8. Karen .. I can understand your joy in seeing this beauty survive and bloom in your garden.

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  9. Extraordinary! As well as that winged insect! Golly you are a talented photographer.

    Those probably won't take to coming back after a Great Northern Winter Freeze - but I am so impressed you took the care to try, and that something bloomed. Good for you, seriously!

    Well done, Karen!! Hugs!

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  10. Oh it is beautiful Karen and I am so happy it loves Canada's weather:) Hug B

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  11. an exotic beauty growing in canada! yay!

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  12. Beautiful little flower and well done on growing it from seed....HPS Michelle

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  13. It really is a gorgeous bloom. Good for you, finding it and nurturing it. Maybe next year, it'll bloom again?

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  14. This is so unusual, Karen, and it is absolutely gorgeous.

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  15. They are wonderful flowers, with the twisty stigmas and wispy foliage. I have had them self-sowing without care for 20 years here, they always appear in spring, mine are blue. Hopefully yours will do that too. The pink is pretty.

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  16. Karen, stopping back to say thank you for linking up, have a great weekend!

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  17. It is such a pity that times in the nursery world have changed so much that the larger old-fashioned flowers are no long available as seedlings or seeds. I have not been able to get any nigella seedlings this season or indeed tall growing stocks either. Everything is geared to the small or courtyard garden.
    I find it quite disheartening to have to search out 'heritage' seeds just to have the flowers our grandmothers had reseeding in their gardens.

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  18. They are very pretty, love how the petals look, nice shape to them.

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  19. The second picture with the wasp on the flower is simply wonderful.

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  20. I've never seen anything quite like it. Sure is beautiful!

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  21. Wow- what a gorgeous flower! I'm glad they bloomed out for you..you never know unless you take a chance! I've never seen this before.

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  22. excellent....don't you just love when that happens!!

    what a beautiful color!!!

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  23. Gorgeous specimen...and with an insect♪ http://lauriekazmierczak.com/just-my-grandson/

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  24. The flower is really beautiful. I like the shot of the hover fly too.

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  25. Very lovely flower. Looks unique.

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  26. Wonderful macro photos! I like nigella...
    Have a great week!
    Hugs from Hamburg
    Rivien

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  27. Wonderful macro photos! Like the soft look!

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  28. lovely shot really like the hover fly too

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  29. Nice to see it in PINK! I have seen only blue or white versions.

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  30. Beautiful nature shots.

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  31. A lovely summer flower! Have to remember to saw it next year. Missed it this summer.

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  32. Oh lovely . And if there were the slightest chance that it would bloom in your climate I would have had no doubt that you are the gardener who could make it happen!

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  33. I hit publish" too soon. Meant to ask if this is a perennial or will you have to plant it each year?

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  34. Wonderful shots of the beautiful flower.

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  35. Karen, how exciting! It's a gorgeous flower. No wonder you fell in love. You also captured it beautifully. I should plan some too!?!

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  36. how gorgeous Karen, I can see why you searched high and low for this beauty. Thanks for sharing the love up-close with I Heart Macro:-)

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  37. Nigella are one of my favourite flower : their shape has something royal, in my opinion... And their colour pink to blue is so impressive...

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