The National flower of Turkey is the tulip, both due it's being native to this area and also, (reportedly), to the turban shape of the flowers. As I had already used that flower for the Netherlands, I decided to go with something different and worked on a couple of images for this week.
The first was a mixed medium piece depicting a newly identified endemic plant found just late last year in Izmir, a Western province of Turkey. In the photo below you can see my attempt at the newly named plant which is reportedly from the Apiaceae (parsley family) and from the Peucedanum genus.
It has been called "Eferezenesi" and the seeds look to me very like developing parsley seeds, with a feathery slim leaf.
When I printed the image out in the size appropriate for the inchie however, the colouring and size made it just a tad obscure...well impossible to be honest!
So I then drew a more simplistic version of a Fritillaria aurea, such a bright little flower, which I coloured with Derwent Coloursoft pencils.
I had several Fritillaria species in my last big garden, but not this pretty little one. It replicated much more clearly than the first image although I have again made the leaves a little too dark...
When I lived in Sydney I met many folk with a Turkish Background during my work projects. Some friends and I would often meet for a "Cheap Eat" on a Thursday evening when I was in the city. One of my favourites was a Turkish Cafe in Auburn, an area when a wide range of eating experiences can be had, we would often be the only Caucasians present, and had to rely on the son of the proprietor to interpret the menu for us...plus just across the road is the Real Turkish Delight factory and outlet...I love both the Rose and Pistachio confectionery they make.
To get me back from thoughts of high kilojoule delights, we had a lovely couple of hours of moderately heavy rain on Saturday...the garden is breathing a sigh of relief! Hopefully the dam at Tim's garden relieved a top up as well, although I think it probably would need more like a week of rain to make a real difference, the area being so dry.
My daughter was taking me through some of the basic functionality when they visited last Thursday and suggested I set up an inchie playlist, with some music from each of the countries as I visit them. We set it up and now I am having fun trying to navigate and source appropriate music...it is proving a great resource...I am linking it here just as a trial to see if it is accessible to others through the blog...I am still fiddling with how the titles display and other bibs and bobs etc..
Addit: A family member who does not have a Spotify account, tested this link for me and found that to be able to listen to the playlist, one does need to have a Spotify account of one's own...however, signing up for the free account on the Spotify site does allow access to other's playlists...so, now I know...and you do too! I am uber conservative with music, much preferring jazz and classical music to almost any other genre...now I can broaden my horizons as we stop over at each country, by listening to a range of music from there and picking one or two for the playlist...
Next week the inchie is on home ground...I am already wondering what plant I will use...Don't forget to check out the other inchies...
Bye now,
Di