Posted on by susurrus

Omphalodes cappadocica ‘Starry Eyes’

Omphalodes cappadocica 'Starry Eyes'

All flowers are miraculous but some more than others. Omphalodes cappadocica ‘Starry Eyes’ is one you’ll recognise next time you see it, even if, like me, you have to look up its name.

The flowers all look as if they’re holding out their arms for a hug – most of us can empathise with that feeling at this stage.

Small white flowers with pronounced blue star shape

The blue pattern fascinates me – it’s not rigid, like so many decorative flowers, each splash being a little different. What stops the blue reaching the edge?

Thinking of nature’s curiosities reminds me that I’ve been trying again to read Walden by Thoreau. You would think it would be just up my street – the right era, living simply, about nature, etc – but I’ve had a copy for decades and can never manage to do anything other than restlessly skim through a few pages. Walden always makes me think I’d rather spend time in a forest or gazing at a flower or getting a good night’s sleep.

I’ll have one more go tonight and if that doesn’t work, it’ll go back on the shelf, waiting for the next Surely, I must be ready now to read Walden? impulse. If you have any getting-to-grips-with-Thoreau tips, now’s the time to share them!

For Cee’s Flower of the Day – her picture is a radiant dahlia.

32 Replies to “Omphalodes cappadocica ‘Starry Eyes’”

  1. Pingback: Variations on a Theme: Forget-me-not, Heartleaf or Green Alkanet? – Susan Rushton

  3. Sometimes, my mind just does what it wants, and there’s no way to explain it. When I read the scientific name of this gorgeous flower, I immediately ‘saw’ in my mind’s eye a group of Oompa Loompas drinking capppucino.

    As for Thoreau, I’ve never made it all the way through Walden. His journals are better. This article started me reading them, and, for me, they’re a pleasure in a way Walden isn’t.

    1. Oompa Loompas drinking cappuccino sounds like the theme for a flower show stand.

      You might be right. I will look out for the journals and browse. Thanks for the suggestion.

  4. I love the name, and I think it wants to be a song. If I knew how to pronounce it, I’m quite sure I could sing it. Then I could remember it. (Jiminy Cricket’s song about the encyclopedia is the only way I remember how to spell that!) My first reaction to the top photo was “Delft!” The flowers did not seem real. But when I read your vision of the hug, I could absolutely see the reality and I agree that hugs have never been more wanted — or wanting. So to me it will be the Hugging Flower.

    As for Thoreau, I can tell you I’ve read “Walden” more than once but it was years ago. What I remember most clearly about it is that I totally muffed an exam question on it in grad school.

    1. Are you sure you muffed it? I can’t imagine what you might have put. As for pronunciation, I cannot say it without an extra ‘i’ (-loides; loy-dees). The inconvenient truth is it does not have the ‘i’ as I have checked several times. Since I know of nobody at any risk of conversing out loud with me about this, it does not seem a major issue if I mispronounce it. They would all rather play ‘Name a Common Vegetable’.

      1. Thank you for yet another laugh today! And, yes, I’m sure I muffed it. I distinctly remember slapping myself on the forehead. (Not the first or the last time I did that!)

  5. My feelings about Walden echo yours! It was a Christmas present years ago and I’ve barely cracked the spine. But do try ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’ by Robin Wall Kimmerer. You won’t be able to put it down.

  6. Not a Walden or Thoreau fan so I can’t give you any tips. Or maybe I do. Don’t expect to be inspired and you just might make it through the book. 😉 As for Starry Eyes…I am absolutely smitten.

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