Photograph Works

Age Cannot Wither Her

Open chrysanthemum flower with bud next to it

Snapping photos with my compact camera as I walked along the street, I came upon this chrysanthemum. It and its neighbour were the only flowers in a scrappy flower bed, hard up against the wall of a building, a little golden beauty.

I saw the raggedy edges of the outer petals with the flower past its prime. And I thought how lovely the flower was, raggedy edges or not.

Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety

Said by Enobarbus about Cleopatra and her infinitely interesting character and moods, in Shakespeare’s Antony And Cleopatra Act 2, scene 2

And here is the neighbouring flower:

chrysanthemum flower

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Comments

26 responses to “Age Cannot Wither Her”

  1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

    With a goodly amount of the centre petals remaining yet to unfold, I’d hazard a guess that she’s suffering more from neglect or abuse, rather than age… With SUCH a fabulous range and depth of brilliant colour she is truly an incredible beauty. Perhaps the damage she’s suffering is a result of the over-hanging rose we can see in the immediate background?

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    1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

      I would also (respectfully; ) suggest that, judging from her time of bloom and type of leaf in the following photo, that she is more likely a Dahlia?

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      1. David Bennett

        I hang my head in distress – You are indeed correct, as I read that “A key difference in appearance between the two plants is the leaves. Most chrysanthemums have delicate, lacy looking leaves with many lobes. Most dahlia leaves are ovate, with pointed tips and slightly serrated edges.” I never got my ‘chrysanths’ and dahlias clear in my head – until now. 🙂

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        1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

          To me, the biggest clue was the lovely shine on the plant’s dark green leaves… Chrysanthemum have an almost dusty-looking, more bluey -green colour and definite texture to their leaves.
          I am very much a plant lover and as they say: “The devil’s in the details” lol
          (Plus, this particular type of Dahlia’s petals are very much part of my growing up; )

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          1. David Bennett

            If you didn’t see the leaves and only a flower, would you be able to say whether a bloom was dahlia or a chrysanthemum?

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            1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

              Ohh, now that’s a very good question. I honestly can’t say. I would definitely be able to make a better guess if I were examining them ‘in person’. And lol, it would be even more likely if there were also a stem attached; )

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            2. Deb Weyrich-Cody

              If I could generalise, I would say that Dahlia are more… (durable?) in their leaf, stem and flower than those of Chrysanthemum… lol (I think; )
              But Chrysanthemum as a whole (plant), usually have a scent, while Dahlia do not (again, I’m generalising)
              And – as so often happens when decor takes over – the original reason for growing plants is lost… : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/11405748/Edible-dahlias-a-return-to-Aztec-roots.html

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              1. David Bennett

                That makes me think of boiled Jerusalem Artichokes, the tubers with their light, nutty taste. And I see that there is a super-tribe that dahlias and all these things are part of and that they are all New World plants.

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                1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

                  Yes, exactly right; while Mums are of Asian Descent; )

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        2. Deb Weyrich-Cody

          The variety in Dahlia flower/colour/structure is completely mind-boggling: https://www.gardenia.net/plant-variety/dahlia-types. And I ‘think’ this one might be classed as a Pompom? Also can’t help but wonder how many tubers there are under those fabulous blossoms?; )

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          1. David Bennett

            Some of them – particularly the ‘spiky’ ones – are what I think of as dahlias, but I am not that sure. As I said, I don’t think I ever got my dahlias and Chrysanthemums clear in my head until now.

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            1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

              If you see some that are not “attractive”, it may just be that they were favoured for their flavour, lol:
              https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/gardens-edible-dahlia-tubers-are-roots-to-relish-1.2434773?mode=amp

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              1. David Bennett

                I see – just what I was saying – she mentions Jerusalem artichokes.

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                1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

                  Yes, apparently they’re relatives; )
                  More on the differentiations: https://homeguides.sfgate.com/difference-between-chrysanthemums-dahlias-76851.html
                  ‘SFGate’ is (a collection of articles?) from the San Francisco Chronicle. I have found myself using their articles as a very ‘Reliable Source’ of information: )

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              2. David Bennett

                I just added a photo at the end of the post. What do you think – dahlia or chrysanthemum? I ‘thought’ it was a Chrysanthemum, and I named the image so, but now I have to wonder… 🙂

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                1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

                  Hmm… Thinking you may right in wondering. Truly hard to say for sure, but I ‘think’ I can see a (hint of) blue-green stem in the background? Is there still more of this photo to examine – or did you crop in tight right off the shot?; )

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                  1. David Bennett

                    I forgot I had the original until you asked. I added it to the post – and now the answer is clear. 🙂

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        3. Deb Weyrich-Cody

          Please Do Not ever be distressed about learning more David. My GranMa liked to say, “The day I do not learn something is the day I’ll pull the grass up over my head”

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          1. David Bennett

            I was joking, and more importantly I am grateful for you teaching me the difference.

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            1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

              lol, good to know!
              Yes, Plant Identification is a lot of (never-ending; ) “Hey, I wonder what this is? It kind-of reminds me of…”

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    2. David Bennett

      You could well be right. The strip of ground was neglected, and the flower was in such contrast to it.

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      1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

        As Dahlia come from the previous year’(years’?) Tubers, who knows how long ago and by whom it was actually planted? (Of course, I’m actually assuming that this would be a possibility in your particular climate? To have Dahlia come back without having been brought inside for Winter storage; the situation you may be witnessing could never, ever happen here; )

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        1. David Bennett

          So do you lift the tubers and then replant in the Spring? We do get ground frosts, but I don’t think they ‘bite’ very deep. And especially not here in Cambridge on the dry, protected side of the country.

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          1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

            Yes, they (and Gladioli) were a constant in my Parents’ garden. Sadly, while the distance is not really all that far between us, their soil/ microclimate is not the same as here and all too often, while waiting for a light frost to put them into dormancy, I wound up losing them to the ‘first frost’ being a Hard Freeze:/

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      2. Deb Weyrich-Cody

        Is that actually a slender Rose branch in that first photo, David?

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        1. David Bennett

          I think so – I may take a walk that way to see.

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