Greater Periwinkle (Vinca Major) ツルニチニチソウ（蔓日々草）

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

I found only two flowers and that's understandable. Greater periwinkle (Vinca major) flowers usually from spring to early summer. Though being warm on some days, it's winter in Tokyo. Flowers in such a beautiful color, like these, always make me smile.       

Greater periwinkle (Vinca major)　ツルニチニチソウ（蔓日々草）

Vinca Minor (Lesser Periwinkle) 姫蔓日日草（ヒメツルニチニチソウ）

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

This is Vinca minor or more commonly known as lesser periwinkle or dwarf periwinkle. I wrote about Vinca major (or greater periwinkle) more than a month ago, but I saw the two types of Vinca blooming side by side for the first time (2nd photo). The deep (i.e., Vinca minor) and pale (i.e., Vinca major) purple flowers among the green leaves were so beautiful.  

  

Vinca minor 姫蔓日日草

Deep purple lesser periwinkle and pale purple greater periwinkle
ヒメツルニチニチソウ（濃紫）とツルニチニチソウ（薄紫）

Vinca Major (Greater Periwinkle) 蔓日々草（ツルニチニチソウ）

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

These are Vinca major or more commonly known as greater periwinkle. I love the flower for the color contrast between the violet purple petals and deep green leaves.   

They're on the roadside, growing like weeds, but they aren't weeds. According to Wikipedia, Vinca major is grown mainly for ornamental purposes. They're beautiful and energetic, which I always admire!

Vinca Major 蔓日々草

Vinca Major/Minor - A Sign of Spring and Hay Fever😂 （姫？）ツルニチニチソウ - 春と花粉症の訪れ😂

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

This is vinca major or more commonly bigleaf periwinkle or large periwinkle, or vinca minor or commonly lesser periwinkle or dwarf periwinkle. It's been rare to find new flowers recently. They must be a sign of spring!

Vinca major or vinca minor 姫か？姫じゃないのか？

White, Pink and Red Cape Periwinkles 白、ピンク、赤の日日草

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

I like colors. I like color combinations. So, naturally, I like these bicolor cape periwinkles or Madagascar periwinkles.

Pale purple cape periwinkle with dark purple eye
濃淡紫の日日草

Also called "Madagascar periwinkle"
Baby pink petals with pale pink eye 
濃淡ピンク

Pale pink petals with bright pink eye 
別の濃淡ピンク

White petals with yellow eye 白と黄色

White petals with red eye 紅白

Dark red petals with white eye 濃い赤と白

Red petals with red eye 真っ赤っか

In Japan, cape periwinkle is called "daily plants" because it flowers every day from early summer to late autumn. I'm happy that I can enjoy such a beautiful flower through autumn!

There is another thing which shouldn't be forgotten and which makes this flower prettier... Green leaves! A single color is beautiful, but a bicolor flower combined with the green leaves makes the flower look far prettier and more conspicuous. Diversity matters to not only people but flowers😆!

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日日草です。初夏から晩秋まで次々咲くので「日日草」。ということは秋まで楽しめるんですね！

色が豊富です。白、黄、濃淡ピンク、濃淡赤。そしてその組み合わせが葉の緑と相まってファンになってしまいました。ダイバーシティ（多様性）、人だけでなく花にも大切です😆！

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Blue Blue Blue! Foxglove, Vinca and Forget-Me-Not ブルーブルーブルー！ 忘れな草、狐の手袋、日日草

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

Japan has not issued a state of emergency yet but strongly requested people to stay at home unless essential. I still can go out but only to a supermarket or convenience store to buy daily necessities. It's time to be super-resourceful, so I decided to go through the pictures I have taken recently and dug out them from my photo archive.

Forget-me-not 忘れな草

Foxglove* 狐の手袋*

Vinca 日日草

They were taken at different times, but I chose them for the same reason. Blue! The color always catches my attention and heals me....

Knowing that its another name is digitalis changed my perception of foxglove* a bit as I often saw the term "digitalis" in Agatha Christie's books as a murder weapon, but even if so, the foxglove flower's color and shape is distinctly beautiful. And of course, forget-me-not and vinca are both pretty.

Their colors and life force warmed me, telling me that they live their lives whatever happens to humans and that for me it's time to appreciate more what I have...

* Several days after the publication of the post, I got a comment saying that the flowers I said were foxgloves are not foxgloves but Muscari or grape hyacinths, so I have added this note. 

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忘れな草、狐の手袋*、そして日日草です。外出自粛要請が出る前に撮った写真です。お散歩できない、美術館に行けない、居酒屋に行けない｡｡｡ 「ない、ない」ばかりなので「ある」ものを見直してみました。

狐の手袋* がジギタリスと知ってびっくり。アガサ クリスティーの本で凶器として使われています。戦時中、確かクリスティーは看護師のような仕事をしていて、毒薬の知識があったそうです。でも花はこんなに美しいんですね。忘れな草と日日草は可憐です。

青い花々にパワーをもらいました。そして、今あるものの大切さを教えてもらいました。

* この記事を掲載して数日後、狐の袋と書いた花が本当はムスカリまたはグレープヒヤシンス（葡萄風信子）であるというコメントをいただきました。ここに訂正いたします。

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