Flowerquest: The Last of the Season

Fall is here, and while that doesn't mean that all flowers have instantly disappeared, I've decided to draw the line till next spring - unless winter sponsors some mega-tremendous blooms, which is doubtful. So here's a picture of a weird space-flower that I believe was at 1st & Vine. I took it a while ago, so I'm not completely sure. It doesn't matter, because it's not there any more. Take a look:

Isn't that strange-looking? I'm pretty sure it's a kind of daisy, but a strain usually only grown in outer space.

Flowerquest will return in the spring, with or without me.

Flowerquest: KIRO Gardens

I've said it before, I'll say it again: it's hard to believe that the good people at KIRO TV can tend such nice gardens and show us riveting episodes of CSI: Miami. Where do they find the time? Have a look at what's going on at 3rd & Broad:

Marigolds!

More marigolds!

A geranium (and marigolds)!

Many small flowers!

It's always nice to walk by KIRO's rather secluded location just to see what's going on with their flora. In addition to all these flowers, they also have what appears to be the largest rhododendron in all of Belltown. I don't have any pictures of it, but believe me, it's pretty gigantic. Anyhow, enjoy your Sunday flowers and...(see below)

Flowerquest: Cedar Street's Turn

I apologize for shirking my flowerquest duties over the last few weeks. Two weeks ago, it was way too hot and last week, I totally forgot to look for flowers of any kind. This week is different. I was walking along Cedar Street and right before it turns into a miraculous extension of 5th Avenue (directly in front of a Christian Science Reading Room), I saw these very nice hanging pots. Lookit:


I have no idea what these flowers are but not only are they pretty, but they also come in two colors. This is 100% better than if they were just one color. The rest of Cedar Street isn't all that nice.

Flowerquest: Denny Park in the Rain

I always end up in Denny Park. Time and again, I find myself taking pictures for this blog, telling myself that I know I'm not in Belltown. But where else are there squirrels and some very nice greenery in the same place? Not in Belltown, that's for sure. Anyhow, two weeks ago, it happened to rain here. Strange how we've had so much sun that rain seems like a novelty or a welcome change of pace. It's almost like this year's incredibly dreary winter/early spring happened in some other city. So in the midst of this refreshing change in the weather, I went out walking, ending up in - you guessed it - Denny Park. The squirrels now recognize me and follow me around. They know that I'm their peanut connection. While being followed by squirrels, I noticed a really nice bit of bloomage. Here it is:


I don't know the name of this plant, but it's really nice. And perhaps you'll agree that it's even nice in the rain.

Flowerquest: Broad Street Edition

I was recently wandering around 2nd & Broad. I saw flowers. I took pictures. Here they are:

Since the light was low, I used my camera's "dusk" feature. The result is an intriguing graininess. Everything else turned out looking a little more natural:


All of these plants belong to the newly-construct Gallery. Along with the Mosler Lofts, they're the two newest buildings in the north end of Belltown. Believe it or not, I really like both of them. I'm gonna write about them sometime soon. Until then, enjoy the flowers.

Flowerquest: The Blarney Boxes

Have you ever wondered what flowers would look like if nourished with a diet of stale beer, cigarette butts and puke? Well, I have. This morning, I happened by the Blarney Stone Pub at 3rd & Stewart and my questions were answered. They have flower boxes bordering their "terrace" and this is what they look like:



As you can see, they're doing well. Sure, these are not exotic varieties, but they're still pretty. Here's what they look like when you've had a few too many:

Flowerquest: 1st Avenue Has Some

Film scoring class continues and lordy, it's really got my brain in a dither. Did you know that there's such a thing as "modal interchange?" I had no idea it existed until yesterday. I always called all non-diatonic chords in film music "random harmony" or "clumsy modulation." But no, there's a name and a practice for it. I have to ponder this principle, plus we have to watch The Shawshank Redemption tonight, so today's postings will be limited to this one and an After Hours later today. So let's take a look at what 1st & Cedar has to offer:

A pansy. You know, the more I write that word, the less weird it becomes. They're nice flowers. We should call them something else.

Another nice, luminous flower. I don't know what you call these, but they can't have a worse name than "pansy."

So there you go - 1st & Cedar tries to add some prettiness in this bleak neighborhood.

Flowerquest: The Darth Vader Gardens

Is there any aspect in which the lovely Darth Vader Building does not excel? Let's see...It's a gloriously unorthodox structure reminiscent of the dyn-o-mite seventies, it has a wonderful little park attached to it and it contains some nice flowers. All of this is true, but I just found some even nicer flowers on the Lenora side of the place. I feel the need to warn you: everything is really pink. Observe:





Even those on their way out are quite beautiful. So yes, the Darth Vader Building is the one of the few things I admire in this life. The Darth Vader Building and the vocal stylings of Buddy Greco. That's all.

Flowerquest: The 3rd Avenue Story

It's no secret that 3rd Avenue is Belltown aesthetic embarrassment. It's a very unattractive street. But it's not all ugliness and unnecessary awnings. It does have a few flowers. You just have to know where to look. In this case, if you go to the corner of 3rd & Bell, you'll encounter the Belltown Inn - Belltown veterans like myself still refer to it as the Marvin Gardens. Anyhow, there is a little bit of color that is worthy of note. Observe:

I know this flower! It's a, ahem, pansy.


I also know what this is! It's lavender. Say it with me: LAV-EN-DER. It smells nice.

So there you go. Pretty flowers on 3rd Avenue. It is possible. But first you must believe.

Flowerquest: Unknown Territory

My crusade to find plant color around Belltown has become so intense that I'm taking pictures of all kinds of unknown flowers. Maybe these specimens are common to those of you who live in verdant meadows outside of this neighborhood, but me, I got no idea. They're still very pretty. Observe:




In case you're interested, all of these shots are from the hanging baskets out in front of Ralph's at 4th & Lenora. I didn't notice them until yesterday. Did I ever claim that I was observant?

Flowerquest: The Quest for Flowers Continues

Here are a few shots of the flower beds at the wonderful Darth Vader Building. I've walked past them a thousand times and never noticed them. But since I've been on my Flowerquest(tm), I notice more stuff. For instance, these red-orange guys (I'm color blind, so I can't tell what color they are) had an iridescence that caught my eye. Too bad my camera didn't pick it up. I guess you'll just have to take my word for it. I would totally not lie to you about iridescence.


More prettiness, and finally:

Yes, that's a mini-wine bottle at rest in the midst of the shot. Hmmm... Flowers and an empty wine bottle... I'm pretty sure that's the closest any of us will get to romance for the foreseeable future.

Flowerquest: The Quest for Flowers

I've devoted quite a bit of time looking for color around this godforsaken neighborhood. Although things have gotten better since last Sunday, I still feel like my head is going to explode. So let's just get to the flowers. We have very bright marigolds:

Not particularly bright marigolds:

Daisies:

And maybe some kind of violet:

I'll post more as soon as I find them.