eye of the beholder

I'm from the desert, which many people think of as ugly, lonely, hot, and prickly: barren. It is not unfamiliar for people to consider what I love to be strange or unpleasant.

I laughed when I came across a link that listed these photos as being of the world's fugliest plants. Some of the best genetalia look-alikes, maybe, but "fugly" isn't what I'd call them. It's thought of as déclassé to plant purple, orange, and pink flowers together. Instead, the tidiest, the most controlled of gardens are respected. No weeds. No mixing. Trimmed. It says a lot about who we are.

These plants are performers, loud, garish in the most appealing of ways. They are out of control.