Who doesn’t love beautiful de Caen poppy anemones (A. coronaria ‘de Caen Group’)? I never bother to grow these little, tuberous, Mediterranean jewels because they love cool temperatures and they’re not hardy, so they’re really better suited to regions with long cool springs, like the Pacific Northwest and California. But I cannot resist photographing them: those jet-black eyelash stamens; those seductive central disks; those silken petals in rich purple, violet and brilliant scarlet. So when I saw this lovely specimen on the shelf at Seaside Gardens in Carpinteria, I couldn’t resist. It was just perfect, right? 
Well, it turns out you can’t always see the stowaways when you’re photographing the sleek red convertible. 
I imagine they must have been saying (warning: ‘aphipomorphism’ coming): “Smile. She won’t even notice us until she magnifies us on that screen of hers.”
Ah, that’s true. I didn’t notice you at all. Yet sweet as you are, I have many ways of getting rid of aphids – and they’re all perfectly organic. Sayonara, baby!