I'm increasingly feeling like I'm running a daily gardening column. Fortunately I like gardens, and plants and botany, and it seems to be a subject that gets plenty of feedback from you all.
It's somewhat ironic because when I was thinking of names for this column, a good friend at The Press, Ewan Sargent, suggested ''Posing with Paul''. I'm sure he meant it in the nicest possible way, as in posies of flowers. He must have done, as from time-to-time he still asks how the gardening column is going.
Anyway, gardens and flowers and such are all very appropriate today, as it's Valentine's Day of course.
Today's sunflowers are the last we will feature, unless someone can top Wendy Soper, of Pukerau's, 3.8m behemoth. I have photos of other tall plants coming in, which I'm looking forward to using over the next week.
Apologies if the column is lacking a certain joie de vivre today. I've got a yukky cold, and you know what blokes are like with those. The lovely lady in the albatross centre downstairs gave me a piece of shortbread, which I'm sure was absolutely delicious, to cheer me up. But with the taste buds on strike today, like the brain, she may as well have given me one of the coloured sticks of chalk that were sitting next to the tin the shortbread came out of.
Anyway, let's forget about man-flu for a bit. Time to move from sunflowers on to other botanical beauties.
The lily mystery
There's still some heat left in the debate on Anne Moir, of St Kilda's, smelly blooms.
Kay King, of Oamaru, says she has had that ''rather pungent plant in my garden for many years''.
''I've given away many tubers [to friends or enemies? - Ed] but have advised them to plant them well away from entertainment areas, due to the odour. But the stalks are a rather lovely cream with green spots up them, like a zebra, and the large flower is a sort of dark red while the spadex is blackish red.
''The botanical name is Amorphophallus rivieri or 'konjac', also called devil's tongue or umbrella arum. It belongs to the Araceae family and is grown from Indonesia to Japan.''
ODT photographer Gerard O'Brien also has a tale to tell about his mum, Nancy.
''Your mystery flower looks very much like a snake lily to me. My mother used to grow them at our home in Andersons Bay and their wretched stench gained a certain notoriety with us kids.
''Mum didn't possess a bad bone in her body, but she derived a larrikin pleasure by regularly dividing the lily bulbs and donating them to local school and church fairs labelled as 'heavily scented lilies'.
''I suspect that by such underhand means she was responsible for populating many Dunedin gardens with this pungent oddity.''
Great story, thanks.
St Clair shenanigans
From odious flowers near the sea to controversial roadworks near the sea.
The redevelopment of the end of Victoria Rd and Bedford St near Forbury Rd continues to flummox and flabbergast some readers.
John Pearce, of Andersons Bay, suggests ''perhaps there should be a sign in the middle of that round thing at St Clair that says, 'This is a roundabout'. I am sure many wouldn't recognise it as one, until when they were on it.
''Then again, if it had a sign in the middle, buses wouldn't be able to turn without colliding with it.''
Alistair Graham, of St Clair, questions a string of cones or bollards bolted to the road around that roundabout. ''They look like they'd be used for something that's a work-in-progress but they must be permanent, as they're bolted down.''
I know they look permanent, Alistair, but I have it on good authority from the Dunedin City Council that they will only be temporary.
However, Keith Jarvie, of St Clair, is pleased with the alterations at the Forbury Rd corner.
''I find the new pedestrian access excellent. It's a hell of a lot easier than what it used to be.
''There are islands in the middle of each crossing that make it so easy when the traffic flow is brisk. It's also easy to see cars approaching and indicating where they are going, and I find most of the drivers are very courteous and stop and let me cross. I am in a power wheelchair and appreciate this courtesy.
''I previously had to run the gauntlet of busy Forbury Rd traffic to get on the right side to cross the pedestrian crossing at Bedford St. The new roundabout gives me options of crossing on both sides of Victoria Rd and Bedford St.''
Good to please some of the people, some of the time.