Pink Dahlia ピンクのダリア(天竺牡丹)

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is dahlia. I saw this in my neighborhood on December 29 last year. 

Pink dahlia ピンクのダリア

I saw this lonely dahlia on December 29, 2020 一人ぼっち

It's named "Dahlia" after Anders Dahl, a Swedish botanist, and "Dahl" reminded me of Roald Dahl.

I read his several stories in my childhood, not "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" but adult short stories, such as "Lamb to the Slaughter," "Man from the South," and "Switch Bitch." I've been a great fan of crime novels and macabre stories since my childhood, so I've loved his short stories. And this is not only me. One of the best Japanese crime fiction authors Seicho Matsumoto used the plot of "Lamb to the Slaughter" for his short story! 

So, I generally enjoy dark jokes but there was one joke I couldn't find funny, i.e., a British joke made by the host of a BBC quiz show nine years ago about a survivor of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki where he was introduced as "the unluckiest man in the world." I lost several relatives in the Hiroshima bombing and some still suffering long-term effects. I couldn't enjoy this British joke at all, but I'm also sure that "Switch Bitch" should make some very uncomfortable...

Dahlias flower from early summer to autumn, but I saw this dahlia on December 29, 2020. The garden had not only the dahlia but bougainvillea, hydrangea and Chinese lantern, all of which were blooming out of season. 

One more thing. Dahlia is called also "Indian peony" in Japan because it came to Japan through India and its flower shape is similar to that of peony. 
  
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去年の年末に見たダリアです。スウェーデンの植物学者 Anders Dahl にちなんで名前が付いたそうです。でも私にとって Dahl といえば何といっても Roald Dahl!子供の頃「チョコレート工場の秘密」ではなく、「おとなしい凶器」、「南から来た男」、「来訪者」などを読んでました。「おとなしい凶器」は同じネタで松本清張も短編書いているほど面白い話です。

なのでブラックジョークは大好きなのですが、唯一許せなかったのが、広島・長崎の両方で被爆してなお生き残った方を「世界一不運な男」として紹介したBBCの9年前のクイズ番組。広島の原爆で親戚を亡くしていますし、後遺症に苦しんでいる親戚もいますので、原爆を茶化したこの物言いだけは許せませんでした。(でも実は「来訪者」も同じぐらい後味悪い、笑えない話です。)

ダリアの開花は初夏から秋。でもこのダリアを見たのは12月末。しかも近くでブーゲンビリア紫陽花チロリアンランプも季節外れに咲いている。。。 温暖化恐るべし!です。

ちなみにダリアってインド経由で日本に持ち込まれ、かつ花の形が似ていることから「天竺牡丹」とも呼ばれるそうです。

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