The Night Sky Seen in the Day Time, Castel Gandolfo

 

 When we toured the Papal Gardens outside of Rome in the town of Castel Gandolfo I was struck, not only by the gardens, but by the way ordinary objects were used to hold plants. When we walked down the main street of the town I noticed bicycles being used for vines and different types of plants. Some bikes were covered in vines, while others held numerous potted plants. I love bicycles, so I found this very charming.

   The bicycle in this picture has a hanging basket of Petunias coming off the handle bars. This variety of Petunia, however, is new to the United States. It is called the Night Sky Petunia because of its deep color and white spots that resemble the stars. As we learned in lecture, Petunias normally come in all colors except true blues. Yet, this variety of Petunia appears fairly close to a true blue color. Like most Petunia varieties, this unique flower also has the semi-trailing habit. When the summer days turn to extreme heat and the nights cool off, the Night Sky becomes a predominately white flower with blue-purple speckles. When the days and nights are both above 63°F, the coloring can become almost completely blue-purple.

   The art principle we talked about in class that I see in this picture is repetition. The Night Sky Petunias have white spots on them as well as the bicycle seat, which ties the artistic approach together very well. This brings uniformity to the flowers and bicycle.  

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