Botanical ABCs

I compiled this for my sing-a-longs at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden yesterday. These are all real plants that grow there. I stuck mainly to the common names rather than the scientific ones I'm unable to pronounce, much less sing.

There were so many families there, though, I decided to scuttle my hello song that would have featured the names of all the kids present + plants that start with the same first letters (the song would have been several hours long -- I only saw a couple of toddlers and dads in Dead shirts who would have appreciated this excess).

See if you can find a plant that starts with the same letter as your name. Send it to me if you'd like me to include your name and plant in my upcoming YouTube video of "BBG," the song I didn't get to sing.

A is for artichoke thistle and andean fire
B is for butterfly weed
C is for crepe myrtle, castor bean, and cherry trees
D is for daffodils
E is for echinacea
F is for forsythias
G is for Graham thomas and George burns (common names for two flowers, no kidding)
H is for honeysuckle rose
I is for iris and indigo
J is for jimsomweed
K is for kew blue and kiwi
L is for lilies and lilacs
M is for Maggie Bell Slocum and magnolias
N is for Nathan Hale (another personified flower) and Norwich Castle
O is for orchid
P is for papaver somniferum (poppy)
Q is for quercus
R is for roses and rhododendrons
S is sacred lotus and sunflower
T is for tulips
U is for uvularia
V is for violetta and vase vine
W is for water lily, wisteria, witch-hazel, and wildflowers
X is for Xanthosoma
Y is a letter I need some from a gardener on
Z is for zinnia

Lloyd (Ulysses S. Dee)

Until I post this new tune, check out a bunch of other fun sing-a-long stuff here:
www.youtube.com/singalongwithlloyd

Fort Greene Pop Quiz: Online Edition

If you missed the Fort Greene Pop Quiz at the Deedle Deedle Dees concert in Fort Greene Park this morning, you can take it online right now. Answers will be posted tomorrow.

To take the quiz, go to our Facebook page. Click "LIKE." Then post your answers on our wall or send them to me at thedeedledeedledees@yahoo.com. If you get all three questions correct, we'll send you a free gift.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Deedle-Deedle-Dees/121327638088

Fort Greene Pop Quiz

The Deedle Deedle Dees are playing Fort Greene Park tomorrow. During the show we'll be giving a pop quiz on your knowledge of Fort Greene's history. Top scorers will receive a free copy of American History + Rock-n-Roll = The Deedle Deedle Dees.

This quiz will by no means be comprehensive. It will focus on the sort of things the Deedle Deedle Dees like to sort through in our heads. Long-time fans can probably guess what these things are, but if you'd like to be prepared for specific questions, visit our Facebook page and our Twitter feed for clues.

http://twitter.com/ulyssessdee

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Deedle-Deedle-Dees/121327638088

See you tomorrow!

The Deedle Deedle Dees
10am
Weds, July 28
Fort Greene Park
Brooklyn
New York
USA

FREE!

I remain
your obt svt,
Ulysses S. Dee (Lloyd)

Prison ships, birds covered in oil... Sea shanties, Deedle Deedle Dees-style

I just finished two songs I've been working on for a bit:

"Wallabout Bay"
From the point of view of bones buried beneath the prison ship monument in Fort Greene Park... We'll debut the tune at our show there on July 28th.

"Everybody Looks the Way That I Do"
A bluesy tune sung by birds, turtles, and other Gulf residents covered in crude. The Dees have always avoided current events for some reason. Maybe it's my fear of confrontation-- I like my controversies situated well in the past. But this song just kept coming back to me, demanding to be sung.

The band probably won't have time to rehearse before we play these songs live for the first time so I'm just going to put some videos up on YouTube so that the other Dees can learn them. Look for them in a couple of days -- you can learn them along with us.

http://www.youtube.com/user/SingalongwithLloyd

your obt svt,
LM (USD)