Blue Flowers, Bioengineering, and Bow Wow

Today, Vanna White Dog (whom most of you know is really a boy named Riley) has invited Clover to help display our Flowers de la Semaine.  That’s Riley on the right.  You can see the whole flower arrangement below. 

Along the way, we’re going to learn a little about blue flowers—the real and the not-so-real.   

Florigene “blue” rose. Click on photo to go to website.

Okay, here are the doggies and the flower bunch.  I put these together with delphiniums from the farmer’s market, and lilies and hydrangea from the grocery store.  I also added a little Queen Anne’s Lace from my yard.  Total cost was about the same as a movie ticket and a Diet Coke.   Well, and maybe a bag of Reese’s Pieces.  In Montana, that’s about twelve dollars.

“Clover, stop sniffing and look at the studio audience.” 

“She’s so fickle.  I can’t count on anyone.”  

I love these flowers.  My inspiration was the blue in the  the outer petals on the delphiniums, and the  hydrangea. 

Real blue flowers are rare.  I couldn’t resist! 

Have you ever noticed that much of what we call blue is actually purple?  

Here are a few “true blues” (with links to their sources):     

The corydalis…

…the bugloss, or forget me not…

…and this Rocky Mountain native, the blue columbine. 

In 2004, a company called Florigene produced a genetically engineered bluish-purple rose using blue genes from pansies.  The photo at the top of the post is that flower. 

Although roses have been cultivated for over 5,000 years, the blue rose has eluded breeders until very recently.  This is because roses lack the gene necessary to produce the blue pigment—called delphinidin. 

The Florigene blue rose does not appear to be commercially available yet.  I read in one source that this company is trying to refine the color, shooting for a sky blue shade.

Florigene does market a line of genetically engineered “blue” carnations (which are really closer to purple), including this one called “Moonvista:” 

Okay.  I generally avoid political issues.  But.  Even if I could get okay with tampered-with crops to lessen world hunger, it is okay to engineer flowers as a marketing scheme?   

These flowers would be exciting to design with, but I’m not sure I could use them with a clear conscience. 

I like the “true blues” better... 

  …morning glory... 

…allium…

 

 

 

 

 

…and these, which are now sitting on my kitchen table.     

“Enough about the dang flowers already.  Can we go to bed now?”