In preparing to show you the blossom of the final lisianthus in the tri-color group I purchased this season — lime green, joining the previously unveiled blue and yellow — I couldn’t help noting how much they lived up to their description. The distributor promised blossoms reminiscent of those on a rose.

Basically, to me that means the way the buds compact and the subsequent layers of petals unfurl look a lot like that most popular of garden flowers. The lisianthus bundle I purchased is in fact dubbed “rose bouquet.”

Unfortunately the lisianthus, an annual, doesn’t provide the added gift of fragrance that roses can bring… On the other hand, it also doesn’t come with thorns (smile).

The lisianthus petals are ethereal and rice-paper thin — a bit less substantial than those on a rose — and they tend to give more with the breeze (a very pleasing effect when looking out on the balcony garden).

The stems, aren’t as sturdy as a rose’s either, making them trickier for use in arrangements in my book.

After taking the photo of my lime colored lisianthus my eyes fell on a peach-hued begonia (right) and I couldn’t help but notice how it also resembled a rose in the way the bloom opened.

Then I started wondering what other flowers take on this aspect… ( I remember once seeing a succulent photo out there in the blogosphere that looked like a rose, too.)

So here’s my request of you: Send your photo — with caption and credit — of a rose-like flower in your garden, and I’ll post it here. Email pictures to CityDiggity@hotmail.com