Althouse: Ruth Anne wants a palate cleanser.

April 29, 2008

Ruth Anne wants a palate cleanser.

Here:

Sorry. I was out walking over the Brooklyn Bridge.

26 comments:

MadisonMan said...: AI was amusing tonight. Paula was completely out of it at the break when they critiqued the first songs -- it was absolutely vintage. Total befuddlement. Addled.

Jason was dreadful again tonight. Horrible horrible horrible. If he stays and Syesha, sparkling Syesha, is given the boot, well....

Have you watched the Idolatry videos at EW.com? Christopher won't like them -- they slam Brooke, but some of their commentary is amusing.; 4/29/08, 9:18 PM
MadisonMan said...: Oh, and David A.'s voice cracked! He's not perfect!

But very very similar from week to week.; 4/29/08, 9:19 PM
Revenant said...: What kind of flowers are those? I'm looking for something for my front yard.; 4/29/08, 9:24 PM
Ann Althouse said...: They're just tulips.

I don't even like tulips.

Hang on. I'm watching AI. Will have a post soon.; 4/29/08, 9:31 PM
MadisonMan said...: Those are tulips. We have trouble growing them -- the squirrel and chipmunks dig up and eat the bulbs.

They look like lily-flowered tulips to me. Here is a website.; 4/29/08, 9:34 PM
vbspurs said...: What kind of flowers are those? I'm looking for something for my front yard.

I want to say pink tulips, but the petals aren't broad enough, I think.

With all these jolly marriage proposals in the air, time to explore the language of flowers, perhaps?

Cheers,
Victoria; 4/29/08, 9:34 PM
vbspurs said...: Doh! Should've read the other comments. Tulips it is.

Well, my greenthumbed granny would've been pleased I was in the ballpark.

Cheers,
Victoria; 4/29/08, 9:36 PM
Zachary Sire said...: American Idol exposed!

Just proves how much of a sham this whole thing is. Paula reads comments written to her by producers about a performance that hasn't even happened yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh7vSat-7eU; 4/29/08, 9:41 PM
blake said...: Does it seem to anyone else like the lighter flowers are ostracizing the darker ones?; 4/29/08, 9:42 PM
vbspurs said...: Does it seem to anyone else like the lighter flowers are ostracizing the darker ones?

Top middle one leaning the opposite way is definitely gay.

Cheers,
Victoria; 4/29/08, 9:44 PM
Bissage said...: Here in USDA zone 6b, tulips planted in beds should be dug after blooming and discarded.

It’s not worth the space, or the bone meal, or the effort, to keep them when $6.00 at Home Depot in Autumn will buy you three dozen perfect bulbs.

Put them in potting soil (barely damp) in pots in the garage for the winter.

Put them out in March, near the house, to discourage squirrels.

Enjoy them in April and fall in love all over again.

NOTE: If Meade disagrees . . . take his advice over mine.; 4/29/08, 10:03 PM
Meade said...: Huh. Shows how much I know. I just assumed they all must be female, empowered as that shot makes them appear to be.; 4/29/08, 10:05 PM
Meade said...: Brilliant bulb bulletin by Bissage!; 4/29/08, 10:09 PM
JohnAnnArbor said...: Want bulbs? Ann Arbor's got you covered.

(Cool place. Lots of extremely rare stuff.); 4/29/08, 10:14 PM
Fen said...: Does it seem to anyone else like the lighter flowers are ostracizing the darker ones?

...the trouble with the Maples
[and they're quite convinced they're right]
they say the Oaks are just too greedy
and they grab up all the light

- The Trees, RUSH.; 4/29/08, 10:15 PM
Ruth Anne Adams said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/29/08, 10:22 PM
Revenant said...: Thanks for the tulip information, everyone. :); 4/29/08, 10:30 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: Mmmm, sherbet.

Aren't tulips the best? Too bad they're so short lived. Innit a bummer? At the house I planted a couple hundred along the fence idiotically all in a row with a little bone meal in each hole. They came up like little soldiers. The next year they thinned in some areas and doubled in other areas depending on the amount of sun each received and how the sprinklers hit them. The next year they did that again. The year after that they finally had themselves arranged into proper spontaneous looking patches. That's not the way to go with planting bulbs. A better way is hold a handful of bulbs and toss them straight up in the air then plant them where they land -- for a Zen occurred in nature natural appearance. Then plant hyacinths between them for a contrasting longer lasting ultra spontaneous carefree look that's so impossible to achieve.

Mess with squirrels by planting the bulbs under pieces of thick wire screen. There's also squirrel traps for the kind-hearted and air guns and wrist rockets for the cold-blooded.<--100% of actual gardner wisdom.

I also love tulips because they were the first flower I ever drew. This is how a kindergartner does it; draw two w's next to each other connected. Connect the ends by drawing a cup. Then go back to the W's and draw ^'s between each peak of the W's, that's for the other side of the flower. Color the whole thing in, careful to stay inside the lines. Color the bits within the ^'s a different shade. Draw little pistols sticking out. Draw a stem and long sword-like leaves. Perfectly parallel lines make leaves look fake. An elongated pointed 8 shape makes the leaf look twisted. Bend some of the leaves downward for authenticity. Add butterfly, but that's another lesson. >/drawing lesson<; 4/29/08, 11:55 PM
vbspurs said...: Chip, dude, wow. You're an awesome commenter!; 4/30/08, 12:40 AM
Chip Ahoy said...: Danke.

Have yourselves an indignant tulip.; 4/30/08, 1:32 AM
Synova said...: Go to the link Madison Man posted, click introduction to tulips and then 15. Other botanical whatever.

I grow the clusiana varieties, and the linifolia at the bottom of the page is brilliant... they're so red that pictures don't even work... but my absolute favorite is sylvestris, that's on the bottom of the page too.

The only problem with them is that they have to be dug and separated after a few years because they multiply so well and when they're over crowded the blooming suffers. My linifolia looks like a patch of grass this year. :-(; 4/30/08, 2:24 AM
Meade said...: I heard that, Chip.; 4/30/08, 6:31 AM
rhhardin said...: I'm wondering how to get Dames Violet to grow out by the back fence.

There must be some seed gathering and scattering ritual that would work.

Also having no luck with Goats Beard. The flower is interesting because it shuts at noon and sleeps the rest of the day. And the fruit is a neat sphere mesh.

They're both weeds and won't grow.; 4/30/08, 6:39 AM
Meade said...: Ron,
Have you tried glyphosate to kill existing vegetation in July-August and then sowing the Hesperis seeds and lightly scratching them in to make seed/soil contact? No mulch, fertilizer, or herbicides.
Soil well-drained?; 4/30/08, 8:02 AM
rhhardin said...: I have more in mind obtaining some seeds and tossing them around.

They're supposed to be weeds! That should work!; 4/30/08, 9:06 AM
Meade said...: alright then good luck; 4/30/08, 7:04 PM