OT: Maize and Blue Flowers (Calling all mgoblog BLUE thumbs!)

Submitted by Idzerd on

(Wanting to get my OT in before the deadline and before next spring as I'm doing some backyard work in the next several weeks.)

I have a small, very ugly retaining wall that actually belongs to my neighbor behind me.  I'd like to hide it the best I can without having to build a whole new retaining wall.

So, I'm thinking of plants and then the idea of Maize and Blue flowers popped in my head.

Any recomendations of the best flowers to use??  I am colorblind so am not able to pick accurate colors -another reason I need input from others.  

I'd prefer alternating maize flowers and blue flowers.  I live in Grand Rapids if you need to know the climate.  Also -no direct sunlight.  

Thanks for the advice.

 

UM Fan from Sydney

August 25th, 2017 at 2:49 PM ^

Are you entirely color blind? I ask because I know someone who is partially color blind. I sometimes wonder how she sees the world.

boliver46

August 25th, 2017 at 2:56 PM ^

Give the man (or woman) the respect they deserve and don't question the completeness of their affliction! (Or disability, or ableness, or whatever PC term applies here).

 

Oh.

 

And /s

Idzerd

August 25th, 2017 at 6:40 PM ^

It's a perfectly legitimate question.  And not the least bit offensive. 



The only thing that is tiring is people asking "What color is this?" when hearing I'm color blind.  Since I see some percentage above 50% of colors accurately, people often claim I'm not colorblind.



And, for the record, the vast majority of colorblind people are male.  It's a genetic thing.  Men get the deficiency from their mothers who are carriers of the gene at issue (and then not all her sons will be colorblind....of my two brothers, only one is colorblind.)  Mothers will not pass the gene on to their daughters unless the father is colorblind...and then again, it's not guaranteed.



 

Idzerd

August 25th, 2017 at 6:16 PM ^

No.  Total colorblindness, to my understanding, is very rare....and, IIRC, not what is commonly known as "colorblindness".



Colors are made of different wave lengths of light.   Eyes contain "rods" and "cones".  The "rods" distinguish between levels of light (grey scale, if you will) while the "cones" distinguish between the varying wavelengths of light that determine color.



The eyes of colorblind people are missing only some of the "cones" that would distinguish one color from another color.  Yet all the vision is in color (except for items, such as old black and white photos) that do not contain color.  It's just that sometimes/often some of the colors are wrong.



The best way to describe it?  It is hard for non colorblind people to understand.



But go back 15+ years to our old CRT "tube" tv's.  (Current HD TV's do the same thing, but pixels in the old CRT tv's are larger -making this a more obvious analogy.)  

Remember as a kid, maybe, taking a magnifying glass up to the tube?  You could also see this just by looking closely.  Remember the 3 different pixels?  Red, Green and Blue?  Those pixels being so small and so far away from our eyes effectively made it a single point of light.



Let's suppose that all of the "blue" pixels are not working.  (yes, not a realistic occurance as those phosphor pixels were all passive and didn't go "out"...but just humor me....)



Anyway, let's suppose all the "blue" pixels were out.....you'd still see the color, but the wrong one as just the "red" and "green" pixels were doing what they normally due, but the "blue" pixels were not there to give their input (or, more correctly, their 'output'.)



Reverse that, and you basically have a colorblind eye.  Though I should note that we have thousands of different "cones".  The lengths of the "cones" are what determine which frequency of light they "see" and colorblind people happen to be missing all of the same type of "cones".



So, yes, everything is in color...and if the colors do not involve the "cones" that are missing, the color is accurate....if they do involve those missing "cones", the color is inaccurate.



Hope that helps.



:)



 

UMAmaizinBlue

August 25th, 2017 at 2:55 PM ^

On sun/shade, but I'm partial to Black-eyed Susans (maize) and Blue Lobelia. We have those planted at our house. Both can live in partial shade, but will thrive more in full sun. The Lobelia attract a few hummingbirds too!

We are back

August 25th, 2017 at 3:06 PM ^

I tried to get red white and blue flowers for the area around my flag, I went and asked for blue flowers and was laughed at, I guess there's no blue flowers that exist, some purples are close but not blue

Oregon Wolverine

August 25th, 2017 at 3:35 PM ^

In my garden alone, blue pansies (name poor, but color great, deep rich blue), lupine, bachelor buttons, iris, and blue bells.

Hungarian Blue poppies are great too, but they are PURPLE, not blue.  Very hardy, striking, will re-seed themselves.  

When in doubt, ask the Google:

http://www.proflowers.com/blog/blue-flower

 

readyourguard

August 25th, 2017 at 3:36 PM ^

All Hail color blind people.

I can't see shit for colors. Damn near got myself T-boned by a dump truck because I mistook a flashing red for yellow.

Also, thanks for the topic.  I've always wanted to plant yellow and blue flowers.

 

Idzerd

August 25th, 2017 at 6:35 PM ^

I once T-boned a white car after a fresh snowfall on my way to class in college.



Yes, I came to a complete stop at my stop sign and looked both ways.  Didn't see him.



And, fwiw, I need to be careful at those lights, too.  Especially at light when you can't see the positioning until you're right near the intersection.  The worst ones, however, are the single blinking red or yellow lights.  Gotta look for the stop sign and then you can't assume the stop sign didn't get knocked down the day before....

Jangalang

August 25th, 2017 at 4:00 PM ^

Blue Bird Rose of Sharon (in the Hibiscus family) or there are many blue types of Buddleia - I recommend Blue Chip or Nanho Blue which is one of my favorites.  The more sunlight the better, but both should perform well enough to give you what you're looking for.

 

Maize is loaded with options...everything from Stella De Oro Daylillies (bloom all summer long) to Coreopsis or the already mentioned Black Eyed Susans.  Again most of these will do better with full sun but should be okay as long as they are getting something.

 

Good luck to you!

ATC

August 25th, 2017 at 4:13 PM ^

Flower is blue and blooms in late summer in time for fall camp. I have some in my deer plot. Also, if you brew beer.... dig up the root, dry it, roast it and throw in during secondary fermentation/conditioning. Decoration, beer enhancement and a hunting tool.... it's like a utility lineman that can play guard, center or tackle.

Lorch Hall

August 25th, 2017 at 4:17 PM ^

I planted yellow and "blue" tulips to come up for NCAA tournament time. The bulbs I bought were labelled "blue" but they bloomed as purple. Disappointing. In any case, be skeptical of labels at the garden nursery. Good luck.