That's excellent. I've always been a fan of purple cauliflower, carrots and tomatoes, Yukon Gold zuc, and any differently colored veggies I could grow really.

I'd have other things to say if the good folks in Armenia decide that tomatoes should be similarly changed to that blue. I hope that Sherwood Greenhouse can pump their way out of the Saskatchewan deluge before June. I've been to the greenhouse a number of times when I lived in Regina, although sadly, not to take the prize for largest tomato with a Calgary Stampeder's sticker on the side of it... ;) ... not yet Lance!!

* Support your local growers, not the plants grown for zones 2000 kilometers away.

Kate:

When I first viewed the picture, I thought it was a drawing that you had done, and with crayons no less! I suppose it's a photograph, though it does have the look of something drawn by a competent illustrator. Now that I think of it, perhaps it's a photo all right, though one that has been doctored. I recall reading about certain photographers who subtley enhance their photos in ways that give them the appearance of extremely realistic paintings. Not all "critics" approve.

How does one resuscitate a failing trifolium repens
(clover)patch in a yard lawn, which used to produce many plants with four leafs?

Did I over harvested the four leafed plants?
Also, seriously!

Next we'll be hearing about a purple flurp.

Sure,sure,you neo-cons just have to feature a geranium in Conservative blue!

If someone had developed a RED geranium,you'd never even mention it on this here redneck site!

DMorris, botanical expert, Sunday driver.

Try to ban me now.

Very cool, now I'm going to look into how the heck he did it. Someone with some knowledge about this should do it too. This would be a money maker for sure. But the cynic in me sees into the future. I see a "patent" be taken out on this that will be used to try and stop anyone from making their own version of this even if they did all on their own. Patents these days are used to stop original work as well as protect just an idea.

A craynium?

Finally, a blue geranium ... my life is complete.

Maybe this is how Michael Jackson turned white.

I would love to see a blue Ignatieff, come the evening of May 2nd. Perry Winkle, of the Blue Dog Dems, says to Mikey, "C'mon down."

Wow! Gorgeous!

LOL, andycanuck!

I grew black pansies one year. They were nice and really were black. The next year they were sold out day one and I haven't seen them since.

I'm not a horticulutalist, but my former university room-mate was/is.

I recall 40 years back, he reported one of the profs had produced a replicating black or blue rose.....but that others had done this earlier.

That was prior to GMO stuff.

Nothing really remarkable....

It is intersting to note that most of our domestic food stuffs originated in ancient Mesopotamia (Chaldea, Babylon etc). Probably by means of Genetic manipulation......wheat, barley, radishes, etc.

The exceptions are corn (zea maize), potaoes, taro and rice....all of which have closely related wild cousins.

sasquatch - do not get me started about the centuries of human genetic manipulation of corn. That's a fight you can't win.

http://maize.uga.edu/index.php?loc=histdetail&key=primitive

Also: There were no blue geraniums before? Eh, I dunno flowers.

And: Crayons? You're having me on.

Doesn't this go against the new UN bill of Mother Earth rights?
Specifically the right for plant DNA to remain unmodified by play-dough backed art-supply conglomerates. RISE UP !!!

Black Mamba

I am more than familiar with the inbreds from which modern corn hybreds(single and double crossed) were produced....as opposed to the earlier open polinated varieties.

My point is that wild cousins, probably the original cultivars still exist....unlike those crops which originated in Mesopotamia.

It's not a debate with winners or losers.
"Tain't right, T'aint wrong...it just is."

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Interesting, how the subliminal jpeg-compression pixels show up with a pink/red/salmon colour. A strange compression algorithm indeed! You can see them in Photoshop by zooming-in more than 300%.
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Beautiful! I want some...just in time for May 3!!

sasquatch - to me, a fight to the death! I drink from the skills of my adversaries.

(skulls)

I think I've seen your work Black Mamba...

http://rubberstamping.about.com/od/projectcalendarthemes/ss/DayoftheDeadSkull.htm

Skulls, corn... it's funny how you get from geraniums (gerania?) to Mexico.

The important thing is: now, we know, it's possible to breed with crayons.

I love blue corn, makes great taco chips. I'm not much of a flower guy, except to photograph them of use then as a prop for lovely models, but I must say the blue geraniums look d be able to go out on the deck with my coffee and watch the flowers bloom as the sun rose.great.Personally, I fell in love with the hibiscus. Down south you could grow them all year. I know that is Texas you could get dozens of different kinds of roses which are entirely impressive but the strangest, in a nice, way was the black rose. I know it is difficult for painters to get a true black and a lot of black clothing is not too black under infrared.

Oh, and pink flamingos are pink from the pink shrimp they eat.

What do they taste like Texas Canuck? .. I recall some flamingos being at the Calgary Zoo.

Speedy; re black pansies.
You're looking for --- http://www.naturegay.com/pansy-accord-black-beauty-annual

Try these folks for seed; I buy from them and they're great to deal with!
http://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/annuals/pansiesviolas.html

April fools!

I prefer these flowers:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bacon-Roses/

[h/t Ace's ONT.]

marc in calgary: "What do they taste like Texas Canuck?"

There is an abundance of flamingos and a dearth of recipes ... I'm thinking that they need something special to make them acceptable table fare.

What could be more special than bacon? Weave a bacon blanket for it, and make some bacon/croissant stuffing. Mmm -mmm flamingo. Serve it with some mac & cheese ... the kids will love it!

Hybrids, hmmm...remember this old joke?

Q. What do you get when you cross a crooked politician with a crooked lawyer?
A. Chelsea Clinton.

(OK, OK...it was funny back in the day. :-)

The days when Crayon-Canadians were shut out of your snooty country clubs just for being the wrong colour are long past, bb gun.

So what do they mean by "crossed" with a crayon? Is this some actual alteration of the plant's biology, or something more akin to putting a white flower cutting into water with food coloring and watching it absorb the color?

KevinS: :Is this some actual alteration of the plant's biology ..."

I think it's more complicated than that. I know that when I eat a mess of pickled beets that my urine stream seems to change color. I'm not sure if it's a temporary effect on my eyes or urine.

If you send me lots of money, I will research it. I will also do research on pickled eggs and "smell" and "sound" for additional money.

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KevinS

You've never heard of the intimate mixing of vegetative wax? It's some sort of undercover crayola scheme by unethical inanimates.

Skiis do it with hot wax.
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Does that mean it's called a Caranium?

This story has a certain flavour to it. If I was running a genetic engineering company with a way
out in front research lead on blue geraniums, I might be inclined to check the "vault" for missing
material, the security tapes for suspicious activity, and the whereabouts of recently resigned key
employees.

My wife grew 'purple colored in the garden' green beans and entered them in the local fair under the 'green beans' catagory a few yrs ago.

They were disqualified even though they do turn green after you cook them, and they are sold as 'green beans'.

Sometimes you just can't mess with people's minds.

I've tried yellow tomatoes and watermelons, and found they had a slightly different flavour.

Oh crap! Look at the date on the newsletter... (upper right corner)
http://www.ballpublishing.com/ballpub/ViewNewsletter.aspx?article=803

...my first clue should have been their calling them "geraniums" instead of pelargoniums.

Purple potatoes are great. You can get really dark purple ones. They're very crumbly and they taste buttery.

DaninVan - yeah, I'm a little wary of the discussion of teleportation technology at the bottom too.

I can believe someone managed to make a blue geranium, possibly.

I do not for a god-damn second believe it's "cross-bred with a crayon", as it literally claims.

Paraffin wax and dyes don't have DNA, no matter what he says about "picking geraniums because they were compatible with it".

I think it's probably some sort of scam/hoax with dyes, mostly because I can't think of another motive to make up such an insanely stupid story; if it was just luck or breeding he could simply say that.