Thursday, April 30, 2020

Eavesdropping and laughing

Walking a garden, or nursery, I try to be conscious of of the dialogue happening around me. Some might call it eavesdropping, I call it being aware of my surroundings. I love the little bits of conversation I overhear. During my visit to the Huntington Gardens in December (posts still to come) I was privy to the exchange between a couple of young students working an educational booth, and a family visiting the garden.

The students had just explained and shown cochineal to part of the family group. The newly educated were amazed!

"That white fuzzy mess is a bug? And it makes pink dye? NO WAY!" Yes, way. An important detail, my story rests on the fact they were told it makes pink dye, not red dye.
photo of cochineal from my visit to The Lodge on the Desert in Tucson, I didn't see any actual cochineal at the Huntington
 
When you say "pink dye" kind of fast it can be heard as "pink eye"... so you had one part of the family excited to show the other part where pink dye comes from...

"You guys this is where pink dye comes from! Here touch it...."
... "Pink eye!"... "I don't want to touch it, I don't want to get pink eye!"

...and around and around they went. One side saying pink dye and the other hearing pink eye, and both sides getting more and more exasperated with each other.

I just giggled quietly to myself and walked on, admiring the opuntia...

Weather Diary, Apr 29: Hi 74, Low 53/ Precip .01

All material © 2009-2020 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

22 comments:

  1. Pam/DiggingApril 30, 2020

    Funny! I've heard some funny things in gardens too. At Chicago Fling, touring the Lurie Garden, the hort person touring us around pointed out the salvia "river" running through the garden. Two passing dudes looked at each other and smirked, and one said, "Saaaaalvia." They weren't talking about the ornamental kind!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. danger gardenMay 01, 2020

      Ha! That's pretty fabulous. I wish I would have been able to attend that Fling, I've never been to Chicago.

      Delete
  2. chavlinessApril 30, 2020

    Amazing bit of info about where the red dye comes from. I would find it difficult to keep quiet and not try to end the silliness of that conversation :-)
    Bug or no but, the last photo is a particularly fetching vignette!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. danger gardenMay 01, 2020

      I just hate coming across as the know-it-all, sometimes it's better to just listen.

      Delete
  3. outlawgardenerApril 30, 2020

    Thanks for the giggle - Pink eye indeed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. danger gardenMay 01, 2020

      Right! Ha. Wish you would have been there with me... (miss you!)

      Delete
  4. Gerhard Bock (Succulents and More)April 30, 2020

    LOL, this was a great conversation to overhear!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. danger gardenMay 01, 2020

      I've heard some great ones in my days, this one is right up there.

      Delete
  5. Linda BrazillApril 30, 2020

    How could anyone pay attention to anything but those incredible Opuntia!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lisa at GreenbowApril 30, 2020

    Too funny.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousApril 30, 2020

    Overheard coming out of the Rodin Museum in Paris: "why...that was just...OBSKEENE!"
    rickii

    ReplyDelete
  8. Adam DavisApril 30, 2020

    Cochineal reminds me (very fondly) of my nan (my dad's mum).

    Back in the 70s my sister and I used to visit her at the weekend and she would cook us a lovely Sunday roast and then we would have custard for dessert and we would always have Cochineal added to it.

    At the moment I feel quite serene thinking about my nan, she was a lovely old lady. Thank you for reminding me of her :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. danger gardenMay 01, 2020

      I am so glad to help bring back what sound like lovely memories.

      Delete
  9. Kris PetersonApril 30, 2020

    Your story sounds like the garden equivalent of the Abbott & Costello exchange "Who's on First?"

    ReplyDelete
  10. Eliza WatersApril 30, 2020

    Hilarious! Thanks for sharing that, Loree, I need to laugh a lot more these days.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Beth at PlantPostingsApril 30, 2020

    Oh, that last scene is delicious! Hey, you were in a public place, so...it's impossible to ignore interesting conversations. [snicker]

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Comment moderation is on (because you know: spam), I will approve and post your comment as soon as possible!