Flowers and Plants

Peony ‘Coral Sunset’

Peony ‘Coral Sunset’

Peony ‘Coral Sunset’

The garden is coming into full bloom at this point. We have roses starting to bloom, including those I planted over the last few years, and they are wonderful. I also have this peony, called ‘Coral Sunset’ with more blooms on it that it has ever had. Peonies are wonderful plants and continue to grow, year after year. They can take a while to really get going but they don’t disappoint. I can’t say I have one favorite peony out of all the wonderful varieties available but I certainly do like this one, with it’s fabulous color and strong growth.

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Buttercup (Ranunculus species)

Buttercup (Ranunculus species)

Buttercup (Ranunculus species)

I took a few photos in the park this evening. I got two not so good pictures of a woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) and some decent pictures of multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora). This photo is of a buttercup of some sort, possibly the meadow buttercup, (Ranunculus acris), but I’m not sure, exactly. That particular plant is native to Europe and Asia and is common blooming in pastures in the spring. it’s a weed, of course, and as a non-native, it’s almost certainly out of favor. But it’s still a pretty little thing.

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Cornus kousa (Kousa Dogwood)

Cornus kousa (Kousa Dogwood)

Cornus kousa (Kousa Dogwood)

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, we went to the National Arboretum. The main purpose of the trip was to see the rose species in bloom and we enjoyed that. We also walked through the National Herb Garden. We skipped the Bonsai this time, because it was fairly crowded. We walked through the azalea collection and to the top of Mount Hamilton. Sadly the boxwood and peony section was closed for pest control. We drove to the far corner of the arboretum and walked through the dogwood collection. There was quite a varied collection and I took some good notes (in the form of photographs of both trees and tags). This one, a standard kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa) is a lovely example of the species and I think it would make an excellent puzzle.

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Rose ‘Dupontii’ (Snow-bush Rose)

Rose ‘Dupontii’ (Snow-bush Rose)

Rose ‘Dupontii’ (Snow-bush Rose)

Cathy and I went to the National Arboretum after church today. They have a reasonable collection of species roses, which typically bloom earlier than the hybrid roses. Last year we were too late so we made an effort to go a bit earlier this year. Some of them were past but a few others were still in bud, so there’s no way to see them all on a single visit. We did see a good selection though, and I was happy. This rose, called Dupontii or the snow-bush rose is not quite a species but is a hybrid of Rosa moschata, the musk rose, bred by André Du Pont in 1817. It’s a lovely, slightly pink flower and one that I’d love to grow. Understand that this rose only blooms once in the spring, though, so don’t expect a summer full of flowers.

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Myosotis sylvatica (Woodland Forget-me-not)

Myosotis sylvatica (Woodland Forget-me-not)

Myosotis sylvatica (Woodland Forget-me-not)

We have these woodland forget-me-nots (Myosotis sylvatica) growing in our back yard (and a few elsewhere). They move around a bit and some of them are in the grass, so the edges of the bed doesn’t always get mowed the same way from year to year. They are considered a noxious weed in some mid-western states so you may not want them, depending on where you are. Here they don’t seem to be terribly invasive and we’re happy for our small clump of them each spring. You have to get down close to them to see them in their glory, though, because the flowers are fairly small. But they really are quite pretty.

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Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)

The common name for our most commonly planted, native dogwood is “flowering dogwood’ (Cornus florida). That’s a little deceptive, since all dogwoods—that is all Cornus species—flower. But that’s what they are called and that’s the one of the things about common names. They have some significant health issues, including dogwood anthracnose, which is fairly serious. They are also susceptible to powdery mildew, leaf spot, canker, root rot and leaf and twig blight. Stressed trees become vulnerable to borers. Nevertheless, when they are in bloom, as they are right now, they can hold their own against our other flowering trees. There are pink blooming varieties that I think are even better, although it’s hard to complain about something as lovely as this. It should be said that they also generally have terrific fall color.

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Dogwood Portal

Dogwood Portal

Dogwood Portal

I know I posted a similar picture to this last year, on Sunday, April 24, 2022, titled Dogwood Porthole. I entered this year’s title before looking that up to see what I used and was happy that I came up with something slightly different, even if it’s pretty close to the same. At the front of the church is this circular window and on the hill outside it a flowering dogwood (Cornus florida). This year’s photo is about a week ahead of last year’s and that seems about right for the weather we’ve been having. Everything is slightly earlier, although probably not outside the normal range of dates. Last year we had a fairly hard, killing frost in late April but I think we’re probably in the clear this year. I hope so, anyway.

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Mertensia virginica (Virginia ‘Pink’ Bells)

Mertensia virginica (Virginia ‘Pink’ Bells)

Mertensia virginica (Virginia ‘Pink’ Bells)

Cathy, Dorothy, and I went out to enjoy the bluebells (Mertensia virginica) today. They were pretty much at their peak and it was really lovely. Although they are called bluebells and that’s the predominate color, the buds generally start out being pink or purple and then the flowers turn blue as they open. We found a handful of them, however, that never made the switch, so we dubbed these Virginia ‘Pink’ Bells. There were also trout lilies (Erythronium americanum) and many, many spring beauties (Claytonia virginica), as well as yellow ‘violets’ (Viola pubescens).

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Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)

Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)

Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)

Cathy and I were out in Poolesville today, to drop something off for someone. After that we decided to see if the bluebells have started blooming along Seneca Creek. It is definitely a bit early for the full show, but there was enough to see that we were glad we went. In addition to bluebells, which I’d say were somewhere around 5% open, there were trout lilies (Erythronium americanum), spring beauties (Claytonia virginica), and possibly my favorite spring ephemeral, bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis). They bloom very briefly and the flowers are very delicate, so seeing them at their peak is a real treat. Outside their short blooming period they are easily identified by their deeply-scalloped, palmate leaves, but you have to keep your eyes open, because they aren’t very flashy. The flowers are pure white, as you can see here, with beautiful, yellow stamens.

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C&O Canal – Flowers and Birds

Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

Cathy and I went out to Poolesville to drop off a publication that we’ve had since I was in college. I had forgotten that the person we were taking it to was a classmate of mine since elementary school. From there we went to the C&O Canal at Riley’s Lock, where Seneca Creek empties into the Potomac River. We parked on the other side of the creek from the lock and lock house, near the old, ruined stone mill. It’s a shame it’s defaced by so much graffiti, but I suppose that’s something that’s just going to happen. When we got onto the towpath we walked west for a little over a mile. We didn’t expect to see much but I brought my long lens, just in case. Towards the end of the walk we spotted that particular green of the leaves of Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica). It’s a little early for them to be in full bloom but they were starting to open and I got a few nice photos. We love bluebells.

Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)

Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)

In addition to the bluebells, there were spring beauties (Claytonia virginica), cutleaved toothwort (Cardamine concatenata), and Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria). There were Trillium leaves but they were not in bloom yet. In the turning basin there was a great blue heron (Ardea herodias) on the far shore and two pairs of hooded mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus). These are lovely birds and I never get tired of seeing them. The females are a bit less noticeable but are also pretty birds. The turtles were also out in numbers, at least in a few spots. What a beautiful day for a walk.

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Chionodoxa Species (Glory Of The Snow)

Chionodoxa forbesii (Glory Of The Snow)

Chionodoxa forbesii (Glory Of The Snow)

We went to the Agricultural History Farm Park briefly today. There are bulbs coming up and some Lenten rose in bloom. The photo I’m posting is of a spring ephemeral commonly called Glory of the Snow. The genus name, Chionodoxa, comes from the Greek words chion meaning snow and doxa meaning glory. It’s definitely one of my favorites and I have a fair number of these around the garden at home, including C. forbesii and C. luciliae (which I think this probably is, but I’m not sure).

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Stump

Stump

Stump

Cathy, Dorothy, and I walked to Blockhouse Point today. I took my long lens with me but didn’t really see any birds today. I took some long distance shots of the river but only a few. I like this picture of a dried stump, though, mostly for its texture. We stopped again at Rocklands Farm and I took a few pictures there, but nothing to speak of. In the evening we celebrated Chinese New Year at Tsai-Hong’s house with the rest of the local family. That was a nice time. We brought Margaret with us, although getting her up the front steps was a bit of a chore. Next time we’ll go in through the garage (fewer steps and better light).
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Juniper Trunk

Juniper Trunk

Juniper Trunk

Cathy, Dorothy, and I went for a walk at Red Gate Park today. This used to be Red Gate Golf Course but it’s been closed for a while and is now a very nice park with plenty of paved paths (the old cart paths) so you can walk easily even when it’s wet. There is less to photograph in the winter but I took my camera, in any case. I took pictures of a few trees that I think looked interesting. I also ‘processed’ a few of them into black and white images.

I say processed but they are digital, of course, so there’s no processing involved, except for desaturating them. I do my post processing in Corel AfterShot Pro. There are a few annoyances with it but it has the advantage of having versions for both Windows and Linux (and macOS, but that’s not an issue for me). I have both Windows and Linux machines and it’s nice to be able to run this on either one.

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Camellia ‘Winter’s Star’

Camellia ‘Winter's Star’

Camellia ‘Winter’s Star’

I love camellias of all types and although they are still not very large, I have six in the ground and one more ready to be planted. One that I planted in April, 2020, is a hybrid called ‘Winter’s Star’ that was developed by Dr. William Ackerman and introduced by the U.S. National Arboretum in 1991. This is similar to the Camellia sasanqua ‘Cleopatra’ that my dad had, and which survived better than most in very cold winters. This one is a cross between Camellia oleifera ‘Lu Shan Snow’ (for its cold hardiness) and Camellia hiemalis ‘Showa-no-sakae’ (for its flower form) and is considered to be hardier still. Native from North India to China and Japan south to Northern Indonesia, Java and Sumatra, many are not reliably hardy this far north. Anything that blooms this nicely the second week of November is a winner in my book.

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Trifoliate Orange

Trifoliate Orange

Trifoliate Orange

Cathy, Dorothy, and I took a trip up to Pennsylvania today to put a few things in the cabin and to take the front steps apart in preparation for replacing them. The stringers have mostly rotted away after over 40 years and it’s time something was done about it. We walked around a little and I took a few pictures including this one of the Trifoliate or Hardy Orange (Poncirus trifoliata) growing at the edge of the woods below the pond. There is a cultivar called ‘Flying Dragon’ that has curved spines and more contorted branches, but this specimen is the species, which is native to China. If you want a hedge that isn’t going to be easy to climb through, this might be a good option.

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Milkweed Pods

Milkweed Pods

Milkweed Pods

We took a nice walk in Redgate Park today. The fall color has started but it isn’t really in full ‘bloom’ yet. I did get some nice photos of Carolina horsenettle (Solanum carolinense), American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) leaves which were a deep purple-red, and some pretty, peeling birch bark. Of course there were a few general scenery photos. We saw a heron at one of the ponds but were not anywhere near close enough to get a worthwhile photo and I wasn’t carrying my new, long lens. I got some photos of non-native and invasive plants, as well. These included the dreaded mile-a-minute vine (Persicaria perfoliata), Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), which is found throughout our woods, and porcelain berry (Ampelopsis glandulosa var. brevipedunculata), an Asian vine in the same family as the grape. The milkweed pods in this photo, probably (Asclepias syriaca), were really nice, though, so I thought I’d go with them for the walk’s featured photo.

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Dahlias

Dahlias

Dahlias

This is my first year growing dahlias. I’ve admired them for a long time but never made the plunge or spent the time getting and planting the tubers. This spring our friend Anna gave us a box of extra tubers that she had. I planted about a dozen of them and also gave some to a neighbor who said he loved dahlias. Years ago I created a small vegetable garden with a fence around it. In more recent years I had some oregano there and it took over the entire plot. So, in the spring I dug out the oregano in a little over half of the bed and put the dahlias there. They did much better than I reasonably expected. The one thing I needed to differently was tie them up in some way because they mostly flopped over. Next year I’ll do that. Most of the plants that I grew have orange blooms, although there were a few purple, as well, but all the remaining flowers are orange, as seen here. Soon I’ll need to dig up the tubers and save them for next year’s planting. I’m definitely hooked.

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Cosmos bipinnatus

<em>Cosmos bipinnatus</em>

Cosmos bipinnatus

We stopped at Rocklands this afternoon after a fairly long walk on the C&O Canal, starting at Violet’s Lock and heading southeast well past Blockhouse Point. We saw a few herons and a lot of turtles and enjoyed the walk quite a bit. I took pictures there but really like this one of cosmos blooming in the historic garden at Rocklands, which Dorothy is in the process of weeding and renovating. It’s a large garden and there’s a lot to be done, but the flowers that are there are quite spectacular.

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Dahlias

Dahlias

Dahlias

We were at Anna’s house for another worship night and I took some photos of everyone singing but I sort of feel those are for private use. I took a few photos of the dahlias on the mantle, though, so I figure I can share those. The colors aren’t as vibrant in this as they were in real life, with the natural lighting, which is a little harsh, but dahlias are so nice I thought you might like them anyway. I certainly do. Thank you, Anna, for sharing a box of dahlia tubers with us this spring. We have them blooming in our back yard for the first time, and that’s really a treat.

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Sunflower

Sunflower

Sunflower

We took another visit to the Ag. History Farm Park today and Dorothy was there with us. I took more butterfly pictures, including a few of a black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes). I decided, though, that I’d post this photo of a sunflower, instead. It was a lovely day with a beautiful, blue sky and the combination of yellow and blue is so nice, I just can’t get enough of it. We missed the sunflowers at McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area this year, so it was nice to get a small taste of them here.

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Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

Cathy and I went to the Montgomery County Agricultural History Farm Park this afternoon and enjoyed the butterflies on the flowers. After being really overgrown during ‘the summer of covid’ it’s back in good shape this year and really lovely now. There were lots of skippers and I saw what I suspect was a fritillary but I really didn’t get a good enough look at it. It was the right color and size, though. There were both ‘standard’ and the dark-morph females. There was also a monarch flitting around but never let me get very close. The sulphurs and whites were likewise fairly skittish. So, I was pleased to get this one.

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Our Garden

Cathy in Our Back Garden

Cathy in Our Back Garden

I’m posting this more than a month after it was taken. As you can see, we have a little bit of black-eyed Susan in our back garden. If you don’t like yellow you might not like our garden in late July. Thankfully, we’re happy with that color and the difficulty is keeping it under control rather than keeping it alive. It does have a tendency to move about on its own and we’ve even started pulling it out in a few places. This photo has a single tiger lily in the center. That’s nice but the big clump of them in the front yard it really the way this should be grown. It’s quite amazing for about three weeks in late July. We’ve also had a pretty successful summer with our elephant ear. Last year’s didn’t really do anything but I’m happy with this one and hopefully can keep it alive for the years ahead.

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Flowers for Renee

Flowers for Renee

The plan was that Cathy and I would drive up to the north shore today, meeting Dorothy who was already there. We’d go to Renee and Daniel’s wedding tomorrow and then drive home on Monday. We’ll, with Cathy’s mom in the hospital, plans had to change. Dorothy was already in Massachusetts and Cathy suggested that I fly up today instead of driving by myself. Having a second car would come in handy, but would also cost (in gas and tolls) about what my one-way flight cost, even with the additional charge for baggage. When I got there this afternoon, Dorothy was pretty much finished with the bridal party’s bouquets, which are shown here. The flowers were a mix of bought flowers and foraged flowers and greens. Included in the foraged materials were some blueberry stems with fruit on them, which I think was a really nice touch. Renee’s bouquet, which was especially nice, is the larger one with the day lilies in it.

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Rose ‘Dr. W. VanFleet‘

Rose ‘Dr. W. VanFleet‘

Rose ‘Dr. W. VanFleet‘

A few years ago my cousin Lyn rooted a rose that’s been growing in his yard for many, many years. It grows and blooms prolifically and it’s become established on our back fence. We had a few flowers on it last year and more this year. Although it looks like ‘New Dawn‘ it only blooms once, so I’m guessing that it is ‘Dr. W. VanFleet‘, of which ‘New Dawn‘ is a repeat flowering sport. ‘New Dawn‘ has the distinction of having plant patent number 1 (October, 1931) and it shares with ‘Dr. W. VanFleet‘ very shiny, disease resistant foliage and lovely, pale pink flowers.

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Gotelli Conifer Collection

Gotelli Conifer Collection, U. S. National Arboretum

Gotelli Conifer Collection, U. S. National Arboretum

I have always enjoyed the U. S. National Arboretum at New York Ave (US 50) and Bladensburg Rd (US 1) in Northeast Washington. Probably my second favorite parts, after the rose garden in bloom, is the Gotelli Conifer Collection. William Gotelli collected more than 1,500 plants from around the world for his South Orange, N.J. garden. He donated his collection to the Arboretum in 1962. I can attest to the fact that it has changed considerably over the years as the various plants have matured. I’m sure there have been losses, replacements, and additions. Nevertheless, it’s a testament to what one person can do if they have a passion. We often are too tired by the time we get to this part of the Arboretum, so I asked specifically if we could make that one of our stops this trip.

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Hosta Garden

Hosta Garden

Hosta Garden

This basin has been outside our front door since we moved here. Up until a couple weeks ago it has an hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana Gracilis’) in it. I recently took that out and put it in the ground out front and we reused the container for some small plants. As you can see, there are two varieties of miniature Hosta (one of them is ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ but I’m not sure what the other is), some mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus), and a few other things. I think the green malachite stones go very well with it.

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Patio Garden

Patio Garden

Patio Garden

This is the corner of our patio, looking pretty good, if I say so myself. In the barrel is a David Austin rose called ‘Gabriel Oak’ that should have its first flush of blooms in the next week or two. In front of that is a Portland rose called ‘Rose de Rescht’ that I thought had died but which was hanging on. I repotted it and it seems to be thriving. I’m going to try to take better care of it, now. Both of these roses have really strong fragrance. In another half-barrel I planted another David Austin rose called ‘Lady of Shalott’ which is growing taller but with fewer buds, so far. Of course these are new and will be much better next year, but even in their first year, they should be nice. And they are supposed to repeat very well.

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Peony

Peony

Peony

Cathy and I went up to Seneca Creek State Park this evening to see the Schwartz Peony Garden. It’s perhaps not quite at peak as of today but there were plenty of blooms. There’s a bit of variety in peony flowers and lately I’ve been drawn to the simpler, single flowers, particularly the pale colors. Of course I also like some of the extremely dark and vibrant colors, so it’s not just one or the other. This one, especially in the light we saw it, really caught my eye. The petals look to me as though they were expertly fashioned out of porcelain. It’s just absolutely lovely. Lovely and fleeting.

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Flower Arrangement

Flower Arrangement

Flower Arrangement

Margaret had a visitor today who brought her this lovely flower arrangement. Writing this now over a month after the fact, the arrangement is gone, of course, but it lasted a surprisingly long time and was on the table next to Margaret for all that time. It was such a thoughtful thing to bring and of course, the visit was a blessing, as well. If anyone wants to visit her, don’t hesitate to give her a call. You don’t have to bring flowers, naturally, but we’re not going to turn them down if you do.

Sometimes Margaret will tell us to put them in the kitchen or dining room where we can see them but lately we’ve been ignoring her and leaving them in her room. They were brought for her, after all, and she really should get the benefit of them. We’re in that part of the year when things are blooming in the yard, so we’re not short of flowers ourselves, anyway. I have three new roses this year and the first of those is starting to bloom, which is really nice.

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Rhododendron periclymenoides (Pinxsterbloom Azalea)

Rhododendron periclymenoides (Pinxsterbloom Azalea)

Rhododendron periclymenoides (Pinxsterbloom Azalea)

After work Cathy and I went for a walk on the northwest branch of Rock Creek. The wild pinxsterbloom azaleas (Rhododendron periclymenoides) are in bloom. That’s what’s shown here. Unlike the Glenn Dale hybrid azaleas, which is what most people think of in terms of Azaleas, at least in our area, none of our native azaleas are evergreen. The flowers are also a bit different, but that’s not a bad thing, either. I think native as well as other non-evergreen azaleas should be used more than they are. I’ve got two Exbury azaleas and if I had more space, I’d have more.

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Susanna Farm Nursery

Susanna Farm Nursery

Susanna Farm Nursery

After stopping at the Beallsville Cemetery, we drove around a while and eventually made our way to Susanna Farm Nursery. They specialize in Japanese maples and unusual conifers, although they do have a few other things. It’s a beautiful place with a lot of nice specimens growing as well as the trees and other plants they have for sale. Next to the parking area is this old pickup truck that has been turned into an occasion for a garden. I really like it and think it’s a great way to incorporate what would otherwise be an unsightly heap of rusting metal into the landscape.

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Apple Blossoms

Apple Blossoms

Apple Blossoms

As mentioned in my preview post, we wanted to be outdoors today because it was so nice. We went to the Agricultural History Farm Park and after going through the woodland garden and the Master Garder’s Demonstration Garden, we walked around one of the fields adjacent to the central part of the farm. Between two fields there is a line of a dozen or so apple trees and they were in bloom, which was a really nice bonus. I don’t know how much car these trees get but it appears to be the right amount, at least in terms of their flowering. They were absolutely lovely and the bees and other pollinators were a buzz.

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Dogwood Porthole

Dogwood Porthole

Dogwood Porthole

I happened to have my camera with me at church this morning and I thought the view through the circular window at the front of the sanctuary was really nice today. We normally sit on the left side of the sanctuary but we were late getting to church and attendance was up a bit so we had to go over to the right side to find seats. I was happy that we did because the view was so nice. There are dogwoods on the hillside outside the church, below the upper parking lot. These dogwoods are in bloom and the sun was on them. I purposefully exposed this for the light levels outside, so the nearly white interior walls show up as very dark here. The small amount of green in amongst the white flowers sets them off very nicely. The beautiful weather encouraged us to go outdoors for a while after church, as well, so the next post is from the same day.

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Beech Leaves

Beech Leaves

Beech Leaves

Cathy, Dorothy, and I went for a walk on the Cabin John Creek trail today, from Bradley Boulevard to River Road (and a little beyond). It was warm today but still very good to be outside. This is a a nice walk and one we haven’t done before. There are some particularly nice areas, including an area thick with mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) and a few scattered wild azaleas. There is some bamboo growing along the trail in places, as well, which is different, even if it isn’t a native thing. The beech trees are starting to leaf out. On many stems the leaves are still tightly rolled and that’s pretty cool. On a few stems, as shown here, the leaves are open and their color is quite remarkable.

Also visible through the trees from the trail is the Robert Llewellyn Wright House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1953 for his sixth child.

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Soup and Sandwiches (and a Pork Chop)

Soup and Sandwiches (and a Pork Chop)

Soup and Sandwiches (and a Pork Chop)

Dorothy had us over for dinner this evening. She made a chunky sweet potato soup with coconut milk and grilled cheese sandwiches for Cathy and herself. I brought a pork chop and a half cup of sauerkraut, since sweet potatoes are not on my diet. We had a nice time chatting while everything was cooking and then, since it was such a lovely evening we ate out on the back deck. We brought home some of the leftover soup and Cathy’s mom enjoyed that a few times over the next couple days.

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Spring Flowers

Spring Flowers

Spring Flowers

In September of 2019 we bought and planted a hawthorn, Crataegus viridis ‘Winter King’ in the bed that used to have a Colorado blue spruce. Then in April of 2020, we added a Viburnum carlesii to the same bed. Over the years I’ve also planted quite a few daffodils in that bad. The hawthorn isn’t shown in this photo but the viburnum is, to Cathy’s right (left in the photo). The daffodils in the foreground are called ‘Lemon Beauty’. And the ‘stone’ rabbit came from Cathy’s parents’ yard when their house was sold.

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Erythronium americanum (Trout Lily)

Erythronium americanum (Trout Lily)

Erythronium americanum (Trout Lily)

On our bluebell walk, we also saw a few trout lilies (Erythronium americanum). They are easy to miss but once you start seeing them, you see them everywhere. The leaves are a sort of mottled green and it’s common to find large patches of them. The flowers are, as you can see here, bright yellow. However, they look downward and the backs of the petals are not so bright, which camouflage them a bit. To get good pictures of them you have to be willing to get down on the ground, which has never been a problem for me.

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Mertensia virginica (Virginia Bluebells)

Mertensia virginica (Virginia Bluebells)

Mertensia virginica (Virginia Bluebells)

Cathy and I went out to Seneca Creek to see the bluebells today. I think they were a few days from their peak but it was still pretty amazing. We walked quite a while and it was a wonderfully beautiful day. We also saw a pair of bald eagles flying overhead and a few common merganser on the creek. One of the cool things about bluebells is the way their color changes from the pink of the buds to the pale blue of the open flowers. The crisp, clear green of their leaves really sets off both colors.

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Camellia japonica ‘Pink Perfection’

Camellia japonica ‘Pink Perfection’

Camellia japonica ‘Pink Perfection’

Last year’s cicada swarm did some serious damage to two of my camellias as well as to the two dwarf apple trees. They all survived, but I wouldn’t say any of them are thriving yet. There are a few flowers on this plant, Camellia japonica ‘Pink Perfection’, which was planted in the spring of 2010. It’s still only about three feet high, which is disappointing, but at least it’s still alive. ‘Dad’s Pink’, planted two years later, has even fewer blooms and I’m not 100% sure it’s going to survive. The healthiest camellia I have at this point is ‘Hokkaido Red’, planted only two years ago and in a spot well protected from both the cold wind and from deer.

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Podophyllum peltatum (Mayapple)

Podophyllum peltatum (Mayapple)

Podophyllum peltatum (Mayapple)

We walked in Meadowside Nature Center this afternoon and saw more bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) as seen in yesterday’s photo. We also saw quite a few mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum) coming up. They come out of the ground as cones and then the leaves spread like an opening umbrella. Apparently plants with a single leaf will not flower but those with two will produce a flower stem from the leaf axil (where the two leaf stems branch). While the leaves and roots are poisonous, the fruit, when ripe, can be made into preserves and jellies. I never have, though.

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Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)

Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)

Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)

We went for a walk near Rock Creek today and enjoyed the spring flowers. The spring beauties (Claytonia virginica) which are in great profusion. We also saw a few bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) as seen here. The flower petals are the purest white with bright yellow stamens. Although they don’t last long, they are quite lovely for the little time they are blooming each spring. The roots have a red sap, which is where they get both their common name and their genus name. The leaves are palmate and deeply-scalloped and attractive in their own right.

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Lenten Rose ‘Rose Quartz’

Lenten Rose ‘Rose Quartz’

Lenten Rose ‘Rose Quartz’

Mostly because I’ve stopped taking a photograph every day, I haven’t photographed our spring blooms as thoroughly as in the ten years when it was an easy way to get a photo for any day in the spring. Nevertheless, I took my camera out into the yard today and took a few photos of things blooming, including this Lenten rose called ‘Rose Quartz’. It was planted in the fall of 2014 and took a few years to get established, putting out just a few blooms in it’s early years. Now it’s doing really well and is absolutely covered with flowers and I really like it. Definitely worth the wait.

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Late Snow

Snow on Maple Flowers

Snow on Maple Flowers

March can be very spring like but can and usually does return to winter conditions again before it’s done. We’ve had some wonderful weather but then we just got a pretty decent snowfall and blustery conditions. Cathy and I went for a walk in the neighborhood and enjoyed the blowing snow and I took a few pictures, including this one of the snow on maple flowers around the corner from our house. It won’t do the tree any harm and it’s actually quite pretty. Within a few days the snow will very likely be gone and we’ll could be back into spring like temperatures.

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Dorothy and Cathy at Dumbarton Oaks

Dorothy and Cathy at Dumbarton Oaks

Dorothy and Cathy at Dumbarton Oaks

We haven’t been to Dumbarton Oaks in a long time but we decided to take a trip now, before everything is out, to see how it looks out of season. It’s not nearly as spectacular this time of year, of course, but there were some things in bloom. It’s also really nice to see the bones on which the garden rests. I took quite a few photos and really like this one of Dorothy and Cathy siting on a bench. You have to make reservations and book a time but out of season it’s free. Even in season it’s only $7, which isn’t bad value.

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Early Cherry Blossoms, McCrillis Garden

Early Cherry Blossoms, McCrillis Garden

Early Cherry Blossoms, McCrillis Garden

We picked up Dorothy today and went to McCrillis Garden on Greentree Road this afternoon. It’s a wonderful little garden (five lots totaling about 4.8 acres) that’s especially lovely when the azaleas and rhododendrons are in bloom. But it’s worth a visit at other times of the year, as well, to see the sometimes less spectacular but still lovely plants. At the north end of the property there were a few cherry trees beginning to bloom. We also enjoyed seeing some of the ‘bones’ of the garden, including trees that have interesting shapes and structure even when they don’t have leaves. But seeing the blossoms was particularly nice.

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Amaryllis ‘Lemon Star’

Amaryllis ‘Lemon Star’

Amaryllis ‘Lemon Star’

Amaryllis ‘Lemon Star’

We’re in our second flush of flowers from our ‘amaryllis forest’ and I have to say, while we’ve always had either red or red and white blooms before, I’m really happy with this white and green one. It’s called ‘Lemon Star’ and it’s a real show stopper. I’ve moved them from our dining room table onto a table by the window. This allowed me to use the leaves of the fiddle-leaf fig (Ficus lyrata) to provide support to the long stems and keep them from tipping over. A few of them were noticeably shorter, which is a real benefit, but for the tall stems, some external support is needed.

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Amaryllis Forest

Amaryllis Forest

Amaryllis Forest

Even after giving a few away, we had a bunch of amaryllises this year. They really have put on a show and right now are just about as good as they are going to get. And they vary quite a bit in terms of color, too. I particularly like the white one in the back with a little green in the center. Of course the pure red blooms are pretty awesome, too, as well as the red and white in the upper left. Heck, they’re all really nice. Together they’re spectacular. Many of them have second blooming stems starting, so we’ll get even more flowers in a little while.

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Snow and Holly

Holly in Snow

Holly in Snow

We have the day off for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day today, for only the second time. It’s nice to have something after New Year’s Day, although we still have a fairly long gap before our next holiday, Memorial Day near the end of May. Still, we’ll take what we can get. There was a little snow on the ground today but the sky was clear and it was sunny and nice. We took a walk in the neighborhood and enjoyed being outdoors. I also finished reading Evenor, a collection of three short stories, by George MacDonald and started reading Piers the Ploughman, written sometime around 1370 by William Langland. So, a nice day, overall.

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Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Robert’ (Witchhazel)

Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Robert’ (Witchhazel)

Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Robert’ (Witchhazel)

We decided to go to Brookside Gardens today. It’s one of the county’s nicest places. They have two, connected conservatories, the first of which has mostly permanent plantings while the second changes more often and more extensively with the seasons. In addition to spending time in amongst the green, we walked in the grounds. It certainly wasn’t crowded on this fairly cold day but it was worth if to see the witchhazel starting to bloom. If you’re looking for a small, flowering tree that will give you joy in late January or early February, you could do a lot worse. This is Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Robert’.

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Paperwhites

Paperwhites (Narcissus tazetta)

Paperwhites (Narcissus tazetta)

I bought Cathy some paperwhites and planted them in mid-December. They started growing almost immediately and have given us a wonderful display. I’m not particularly fond of the smell, but it’s a small price to pay. They really are lovely and at a time when flowers of any kind are quite welcome. They are a variety of Narcissus tazetta, which is quite cosmopolitan, with sub-species found native to Europe, through the middle east and into southeast Asia. In contrast to many bulbs which require a period of cold in order for them to bloom, paperwhites don’t need any special treatment. Simply plant them, keep them properly watered, watch and enjoy.

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Tree Cutting

Tree Cutting

Tree Cutting

As mentioned about a week ago (see Tuesday, December 14, 2021), these two trees are leaning and needed to be taken down. I got two quotes which were not vastly different. That made it a little harder to pick the company that would do the work because I couldn’t simply say, “these guys were a lot cheaper.” I basically flipped a coin in my head. The company I picked could do the work fairly soon as they were coming to do some work next door today and could get both that and our work done in the same day. Certainly a plus. I took some photos of the work being done, including 11 pictures taken in the two seconds or so that this branch took to fall to the ground.

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Sinuous Vines

Sinuous Vines

Sinuous Vines

Coleridge, in his poem Kubla Khan, mentions “gardens bright with sinuous rills.” That came to mind today as we were walking the circuit around Lake Frank. I know that rills are not vines, but that’s what came to mind, anyway. Sue me. The Lake Frank area isn’t exactly “twice five miles of fertile ground, with walls and towers … girdled round.” Nor, this time of year, “blossomed many an incense-bearing tree.” Nevertheless, we found the walk quite enjoyable (and probably preferable to “caverns measureless to man; down to a sunless sea”). Also, I doubt Coleridge had poison ivy in mind when he spoke of the gardens of the Khan’s pleasure dome.

We did see quite a bit of recent damage done by beavers and also found the beaver lodge. We had a good look at the bald eagle nest, although there was no sign of any eagles today. Hopefully they will use it again this year. All in all, a very nice day for a walk.

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Leaning Trees

Leaning Trees

Leaning Trees

Cathy asked me to look at these trees in our back yard and wondered if they’ve always leaned like that. No, that’s new. There is a hole in the ground to the left of them, but that’s been there since before we moved in, more than 15 years ago. The trees are not straight but they seem at least reasonably healthy. Nevertheless, they have started to lean and their roots are pulling up a large mound of earth. If they were to fall they would not hit the house but it’s quite likely they would hit our back fence. Not the end of the world but it’s a hassle we’d just as soon avoid. So, I called a couple tree services to get estimates.

Of course, the fact that they are part way down will tend to make the estimates a little higher, because of the danger of them falling while they are being worked on. At least the fact that nothing will drop on the house works in our favor. But it’s a bigger job than I can handle safely and the trees really do need to come down.

Stay tuned…

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Celastrus orbiculatus (Asian Bittersweet)

Celastrus orbiculatus (Asian Bittersweet)

Celastrus orbiculatus (Asian Bittersweet)

Cathy and I went for another walk after church today (that’s pretty common, as you might have noticed). This time we went to the Blue Mash Trail on Zion Road behind the Laytonsville land fill. I didn’t take many pictures and most of them were of Asiatic bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) as in this photo. I particularly like this picture because of the added color of the juniper (most likely eastern red cedar, Juniperus virginiana). We have a native bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) but I’ll confess that I could not readily differentiate between the two, basically assuming that anything we see is the more aggressive C. orbiculatus.

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Rose Leaves

Rose Leaves

Rose Leaves

Abba and Josh are still in town but only stayed with us through yesterday, so life returned to normal (or as close to normal as we can get. Cathy and I went to the Ag. Farm Park after church and took a nice walk around two large fields. This time of year is challenging in terms of photography.Colors are generally less extreme with the exception of berries and other late-season fruits. I photograph those fairly often but I don’t want to post the same type pictures too often. There are still a few plants with leaf color. I really love the colors of these rose leaves.

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Under the Pines

Pine Cones and Needles

Pine Cones and Needles

Cathy and I went out for a walk around Redgate park today, making a circuit of the entire former-golf course. We didn’t see a lot of wildlife, although we did see a great blue heron at a pond and quite a few Canada geese. There were, as usual, lot of little birds in the bushes at the edges of the woods and in the dried weeds that now fill most of the old fairways. We are pretty sure some were bluebirds but beyond that we didn’t really identify any. Almost certainly many were sparrows.

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A Little More Fall Color

C&O Canal, Below Violet's Lock

C&O Canal, Below Violet’s Lock

We went for a longish walk on the C&O Canal today, starting from Riley’s Lock and heading towards Washington. We passed Violet’s Lock and turned around a little past Blockhouse Point. We saw a bald eagle (although I didn’t get a photo), a pair of deer, and lots of vultures. The nicest part of the walk was the fall colors. They are mostly past at this point but there area a few trees, mostly maples, that are still quite spectacular. The sky was the deepest blue and reflected in the still water of the canal, it was really lovely (although you can’t really see it much in this photo.

From there we met Dorothy at Rocklands and helped her set up the flowers for a friend’s wedding reception. We hadn’t really planned on that but it was a nice addition to our outing. I also got a photo of Dorothy wearing Janis’ mink stole and a vintage hat, which was a bonus.

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Red Maple Leaves

Red Maple Leaves

Red Maple Leaves

The red maple (Acer rubrum) in our back yard is in full fall color mode. Like the wonderful flowers of spring, the glorious colors of autumn are more beautiful for their evanescence. Here today and tomorrow only a memory, they are precious to us. I look forward to autumn and it’s brilliance, which varies from year to year much more than do the blossoms of spring. The colors are intense and they full the woods, much more than the spring blooms. Withing a few days, the leaves will all be gone, onto the ground, brown and brittle, mulch for the lawn. But for a few short days, they sing the glory of creation.

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Manchester Cedar Swamp

Manchester Cedar Swamp

Manchester Cedar Swamp

Cathy and I drove up to the Manchester Cedar Swamp this morning. I know swamps aren’t everyone’s cup of tea but I actually like them quite a bit. This little park, owned by the Nature Conservancy, only had a relatively small area of swamp and stand of Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides). This photo was taken on the edge of the swampy area and features a black gum or tupelo tree (Nyssa sylvatica) estimated at over 450 years old (the large tree on the left). I did take some photos of the cedar trees, but taking photographs of woods it difficult and rarely conveys the feel of a place. It was actually quite lovely. Also, this may be the best time of year to be there, as there were no mosquitos.

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Busy As A…

Bumble Bee Leaving a <em>Rudbeckia</em> ‘Herbstonne’

Bumble Bee Leaving a Rudbeckia ‘Herbstonne’

Cathy and I went to Stadler Nursery late this morning. I bought a ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) called ‘Fireside’. It has very dark leaves which are a really lovely red early in the year and darken until they are nearly black in the late summer and fall. As usual I also took some flower photos. Getting an insect on the wing is not something I’ve had much success doing but this one turned out pretty well. It’s a common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) leaving a Rudbeckia ‘Herbstonne’ flower. We have a lot of Rudbeckia in our yard but most of it is one variety that is quite invasive. I wouldn’t mind thinning that out and replacing some with different types and this one is pretty nice.

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Early Fall Color

Early Fall Color

Early Fall Color

I worked in the office today, as opposed to working from home. Then I had lunch with three work friends, including my former—now retired—boss. It was great to finally get together again and get caught up on what’s been going on for the last year and a half. A couple of those who had planned to come couldn’t at the last minute so we’ll need to plan another get together before too long. After work Cathy and I went for a walk in the neighborhood and I took this photo of some early fall color. It’s not really fall yet, but there are hints that it’s on its way.

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U. S. National Arboretum

National Capital Columns

National Capital Columns

We decided to drive over to the National Arboretum today. It was a pleasant morning, although it got quite warm over the course of the day. We parked near the grove of state trees, which allowed us to park easily and in the shade. From there we walked to the National Capital Columns, which originally were part of the East Portico of the U. S. Capitol Building. An addition to the east side of the Capitol was constructed in 1958 and the columns removed. They were erected as you see them here in the mid-1980s, along with a pavement made from stone steps, also from the Capitol building as well as the reflecting pool added in the foreground. They site on a rise in a 20 acre meadow, filled with yellow Helianthus and other wildflowers. There are also a few trees, including a pair of Cornus officinalis (Japanese Cornel) and Gingo biloba, both heavily fruited.

Evergreen Wall, National Bonsai and Penjing Museum

Evergreen Wall, National Bonsai and Penjing Museum

From there we walked to the National Herb Garden. Although it wasn’t at its best, it is nice any time of year. Then into the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. I particularly liked the shapes and symmetry of the plants and the contrast of the plants with each other and with the white wall. It was quite warm by this point so we headed back to the car via the nicely shaded woods of the azalea collection, including both the Frederic P. Lee Garden and the walled Morrison Garden, one of my favorite spots, although it’s showing its age and perhaps not getting the upkeep it deserves.

We drove past Fern Valley and stopped at the Asian Collections. Although there was not really much in bloom, we very much enjoyed the amazing range of greens in the dappled shade of larger trees. It’s on a steep slop and a nice place to wander. It also reminded me why I love Camellias so much. I have six, but somehow that doesn’t seem like enough. But we only have so much space.

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Dahlia ‘Bloomquist Jean’

Dahlia ‘Bloomquist Jean’

Dahlia ‘Bloomquist Jean’

We took a walk on the upper Rock Creek late this morning. It had been threatening rain all morning and it started to come down just as we got out of the car. Because we were in the woods most of our walk, it wasn’t really all that noticeable but we did end up fairly damp. Still, it was good to be out. The spicebush (Lindera benzoin) plants are covered with berries and many of the American Hornbeams (Carpinus caroliniana) are decorated with their winged fruit. After our walk we stopped briefly at the dahlia garden. I particularly like this flower, called ‘Bloomquist Jean’.

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Cleome

Cleome

Cleome

We took a walk in the neighborhood this evening and I took a few pictures of this Cleome blooming a few blocks from our house. The yard in question is one of the nicer gardens in the neighborhood, filled with quite a variety of plants and with something in bloom pretty much the entire spring, summer, and fall. We’ve had Cleome in the past but currently don’t have any. It’s fairly easy to grow from seed, so we should try to get some for next year. The seeds are not particularly hardy, so it’s safest to keep them indoors before planting them in the spring.

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Dahlia ‘Pam Howden’

Dahlia ‘Pam Howden’

Dahlia ‘Pam Howden’

After church today we decided to go to the Agricultural Farm Park and look at the dahlias. While were were there, a woman told us that there were dahlias being displayed and judged over near the farm house. This is one of my favorites of those that were displayed. It’s a dahlia called ‘Pam Howden’ and was hybridised by Gar Davidson. It’s a really lovely waterlily type dahlia with really amazing color. I was able to ask about a dahlia that I photographed last year (see Saturday, September 26, 2020). While I thought it was really amazing, apparently it didn’t make the grade because it didn’t produce enough blooms. Pity.

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Colorful Bracket Fungus

Colorful Bracket Fungus

Colorful Bracket Fungus

Cathy and I took a walk in Meadowside Nature Center this evening. It wasn’t terribly hot this evening but it was very humid. I took pictures of a few different types of flowers including Vernonia (Iron Weed), Senna, Helenium (Sneezeweed), Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal Flower), and Eutrochium (Joe-pye Weed). We tried to identify the leaves that looked a little like a rue-related plant. They had small flowers but it wasn’t until we saw the seeds that we were able to identify it as tick-trefoil (Desmodium Species). This bracket fungus was on the side of a fallen log. I think it’s really beautiful.

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Magnolia and Chamaecyparis

Magnolia and Chamaecyparis

Magnolia and Chamaecyparis

After church today we went to Stadler Nursery in Laytonsville. We only bought one small plant but we enjoyed looking around. I think a little later in the year we will be back to buy a few shrubs, including a dark red leaved nine bark (Physocarpus opulifolius) and possibly a crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica). I photographed varieties of both that I’m interested in. As we were out in the large shrub and tree area, I took this photo of a Chamaecyparis (possibly C. obtusa, the hinoki cypress, but I didn’t actually make a note of it). I think the juxtaposition of the big, bold Magnolia grandiflora (southern magnolia) blossom with the more delicate foliage is really nice.

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American Black Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)

American Black Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)

American Black Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)

From Sunflower Field #4 we went to the parking area for field #1. There are no sunflowers there, but close to the parking area are two shallow, artificial ponds. We walked about half way around one of them and enjoyed the diversity of plant and animal life. We mostly saw insects and a few birds in terms of fauna. Early afternoon, in the heat of the August sun is not the best time for wildlife viewing. But the mallows (probably Hibiscus moscheutos), cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) and especially the American black elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) were really nice. this is the fruit of the elderberry, ripe and ready to eat.

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Another Sunflower Photo

Sunflower

Sunflower

We decided to go see the sunflowers in the McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area again today. It was quite hot but really nice. I got photo of both male and female indigo buntings (Passerina cyanea), although neither of them is really great. Good enough to positively identify them, but that’s about all. I also photographed a great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele). Naturally, I took more photos of the sunflowers. Cathy and Jim’s mom stayed in the car with the doors open. She could see the flowers but it’s much too bumpy for the wheelchair.

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Eurytides marcellus (Zebra Swallowtail)

Eurytides marcellus (Zebra Swallowtail)

Eurytides marcellus (Zebra Swallowtail)

After spending a few hours at McKee-Beshers, we stopped at Rocklands Farm for a little while. It was closing soon and we didn’t stay long but I took a few pictures, including this zebra swallowtail Eurytides marcellus on Janis’ buddleia. I’m pretty sure this is the first of them that I’ve seen and definitely the first I’ve photographed. It’s really a striking butterfly, with the bright red on the underside of it’s wings. I was really happy to get this photo. As for the rain that had been coming down fairly heavily when we left home, the roads were drying up by the time we got out here and by the evening the sky was totally clear.

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Sunflowers at McKee-Beshers

Cathy Amidst The Sunflowers

Cathy Amidst The Sunflowers

It started raining about mid-morning and we weren’t sure about going out but decided we’d go regardless. We drove to the McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area, which we’ve never visited before. They have four fields that they plant with sunflowers, although only two of them were planted this year. I don’t know if that’s normal or not. Sunflower area #4 was the more spectacular of the two (the weeds were taller than the sunflowers in field #2). We saw a few male (and a lot of female) indigo buntings in the field, which was really nice. There were also a lot of gold finches and cardinals on the flowers, as well as butterflies. We walked all the way around field #4 as well as near the ponds on the way to field #1. That field was planted with corn, but we actually enjoyed the ponds quite a bit, with their wildflowers, etc. Highly recommended.

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Tiger Lilies

Tiger Lilies

Tiger Lilies

The tiger lilies (Lilium lancifolium) are blooming. These were all descended from bulbils that we took from lilies growing at my parent’s house. We started with just a couple and the rest came from those. We have them in a few different places in the yard but this is the largest group of them. they stand over six feet tall and they are pretty noticeable. Each year the group gets just a little larger. Last year I collected seeds, as well, although we never did anything with them. I may scatter some on our property in Pennsylvania. They should do well there.

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Blackberries

Blackberries

Blackberries

It’s been pretty warm the last few days. Yesterday was quite brutal and while this morning was a very pleasant, it warmed up a bit in the afternoon. After church we went to the Agricultural Farm Park and walked around a largish soybean field. Towards the far end of the field there were brambles growing with wild abandon and I took a few pictures of the berries. I’ve cut all sweets out of my diet and for now, I’m not eating even natural sugars, so that means no blackberries or raspberries for me. It’s a hard thing to walk past bushes of berries and just feast with mine eyes. But I restrained myself.

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Blackberry Lily and Tall Verbena

Blackberry Lily and Tall Verbena

Blackberry Lily and Tall Verbena

We have quite a few of these orange-flowered blackberry lilies (Iris domestica) around our garden. Most of them are seedlings from the first few that we planted. We brought those dew from our old house and they originally came from seeds we collected in South Carolina. In the circular hawthorn bed in our front yard, they compete with the tall verbena (Verbena bonariensis) for dominance. The lavender is done and the rosemary isn’t really tall enough to be seen. This rime of year, these two herbaceous perennials provide the lions share of the color. They are both visited by butterflies and other insects and we’ve seen a hummingbird there this summer.

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Echinacea ‘Tomato Soup’

Echinacea ‘Tomato Soup’

Echinacea ‘Tomato Soup’

We went to Stadlers to spend $20 worth of Stadler Bucks today. As usual, I brought my camera and took pictures of a few flowers. I like this one in particular. There are a lot of new coneflowers (Echinacea hybrids) available now with some amazing colors. I’m drawn to the really hot reds and oranges. Cathy likes the more subdued, paler yellows, but we agree that they’re all very, very nice. This one is called Echinacea ‘Tomato Soup’ and it’s a winner. The flower isn’t quite all the way open yet, but it’s already quite spectacular. We really need to get us some of these.

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Vitex agnus-castus

Vitex agnus-castus

Vitex agnus-castus

We’ve talked off and on about getting a chastetree (Vitex agnus-castus). The question we haven’t answered yet is where we’d put it. I wouldn’t mind cutting down the holly that’s growing near the intersection of our front walk and driveway and putting it there, but so far, that’s just me. It would be a big change and for a little while it would make the area look comparatively empty. I think it’s worth it, frankly. I’m not a big fan of holly trees, especially when I’m outdoors barefoot and step on the leaves. Hollies are evergreen, of course, and the robins do like the berries in the winter, but those are the only real assets, as far as I’m concerned. The holly tree is a native plant, of course, but we’d have to change a lot if that was going to be a reason for growing something. It does bloom, it’s true, but the flowers are nothing compared to this. The Vitex flowers are small, but they are fragrant and are lavender to pale violet, attracting bees and butterflies in great abundance. I’m a fan of bees and butterflies.

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Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’

Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’

Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’

We had this in the past but haven’t had it since we moved here in 2006. Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’—a hybrid bred by Alan Bloom and officially Crocosmia x Curtonus—has wonderful, bright red flowers and we really should plant a large clump of this. As it is, we just have a single plant but maybe we could buy some more to add to this location. It’s growing in our large, front bed and clashes a little with the otherwise purple theme of the bed, but who can complain about such a red. The species of the Crocosmia genus are mostly native to the grasslands of South Africa.

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Tiger Swallowtail on Milkweed

Tiger Swallowtail on Milkweed

Tiger Swallowtail on Milkweed

I stopped at the Croyden Creak Nature Center again this afternoon. I took a picture of Joe Pye weed here two weeks ago (see Wednesday, June 16, 2021) and wanted to see if it had started to bloom. It really hadn’t but it’s getting close. I walked around and took a few pictures, anyway, including a few of this eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) enjoying the swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). There was also a nice buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) in bloom. It has spherical clusters of tiny flowers that like little pincushions.

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Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

While not a native, common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) was introduced to North America in colonial times, and has since naturalized throughout the United States. It’s considered by some to be an invasive weed, although we’ve never had a lot of luck with it surviving in our garden. This specimen is a cultivar being grown in the Master Gardener’s demonstration garden at the Agricultural History Farm Park and it’s a lovely color. It certainly makes me interested in giving it another try. There are paler versions, as well and some really nice yellows. We have plenty of yellows, though, so I think I might go for something like this.

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Eutrochium purpureum (Joe Pye Weed)

Eutrochium purpureum (Joe Pye Weed)

Eutrochium purpureum (Joe Pye Weed)

I stopped at the Croyden Creek Nature Center on the way home, figuring there might be something to photograph there. The swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) was just starting to bloom and I took a few pictures of that with bees on it. Around the other side of the nature center there was some Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum) coming up. It’s a native, herbaceous perennial and I find it sort of humorous that garden centers actually are able to sell it, since it grows wild around here. I don’t know who Joe Pye was but I’ve seen one story that he was a Native American medicine man who used the plant for various treatments. Anyway, I was attracted to the symmetry of the leaves and the way the light was shining on them at the top of the stem.

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Platycodon grandiflorus (Balloon Flower)

Platycodon grandiflorus (Balloon Flower)

Platycodon grandiflorus (Balloon Flower)

A few weeks ago we went to Stadler’s with our friend Yvette to buy a few plants for her. She wanted to plant something in memory of her nephew and wanted something blue. She settled on a balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus), which is actually more blue to the eye than it appears here. It’s a really pretty perennial that should do well as long as it’s got the right amount of water. We bought one, too, and have it in a container outside our front door, greeting us with these big, sky blue flowers, and reminding us of Jack, as well. It’s native to the northern far-east and is quite hardy and easily grown. The only thing to watch out for is wet or poorly-drained soils (which is why growing it in a container is easier for us).

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Nigella damascena (Love-In-A-Mist)

Nigella damascena (Love-In-A-Mist)

Nigella damascena (Love-In-A-Mist)

We were out at Rocklands this morning with Dorothy for their chick-rental pick-up. I took a walk at one point to take some pictures of Anna’s flowers. It was a wet, cool day and there isn’t a lot in bloom at the moment but the love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) was blooming. The flowers are a lovely shade of pale blue and I think it’s even prettier in the rain, with water droplets on the various flower parts. This is a very hardy annual, growing well up to USDA Hardiness Zone 2, although it’s only native to northern Africa and southern Europe.

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Mahonia (Oregon Grape Holly)

Mahonia (Oregon Grape Holly)

Mahonia (Oregon Grape Holly)

In the shade garden at the Agricultural Farm Park there are a couple mahonia shrubs. I have mixed feelings about mahonia. On the one hand, I they seem course and rough to me, and in that way, not terribly attractive. On the other hand, they sometimes have pretty nice leaf color, as well as very attractive berries, as seen here. I really like the berries. The flowers are bright yellow and fragrant, which is another thing in their favor. I think if I had a larger garden, I’d have some, but as it is, I’ll just enjoy it where I see it. Some species are native to northern North America while others are native to the far east.

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Rosa davurica (Amur Rose)

Rosa davurica (Amur Rose)

Rosa davurica (Amur Rose)

Back in April of 2005 I planted 29 species roses in a bed I prepared on our property in Pennsylvania. Sadly, many of them did not survive, but there are a few that are still holding on and two that are actually thriving. This is one of those. It is, I think, Rosa davurica although the garden is in such bad shape, it’s not exactly clear where each rose should be. This rose has formed a small mound of plants about four feet tall and it is very happy. It’s absolutely covered with blooms and is quite lovely.

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Peony ‘Coral Sunset’

Peony ‘Coral Sunset’

Peony ‘Coral Sunset’

It’s peony time here. I love peonies and it’s a little surprising I haven’t planted more than I have. We have a few on the south end of the house that were here when we moved in. This one, planted in our back garden near the fence, is the only other one we have and I planted three of them in 2014. One thing about peonies is they take a while to really get established. Once they do, of course, they are hard to beat. Even a small plant like these, which only produce one or two blooms each, are pretty amazing, though. I really like this one, called ‘Coral Sunset’. I also love the fact that I caught a little potter or mason wasp hovering near it.

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Rose ‘Perle d’Or’

Rose ‘Perle d’Or’

Rose ‘Perle d’Or’

It’s rose time. This little China rose, ‘Perle d’Or’, bred by Joseph Rambaux in 1884, is putting on a fabulous show right now. Especially on warm, humid days like we’ve been having, the fragrance hangs in the air all around the bush. You don’t need to get close, it’s wonderful. This first flush is, of course, the best we get from it all year. Nevertheless, it will have flowers on it pretty reliably until well into the fall. It’s not a big bush but it’s as big as it’s ever been and it probably needs to be pruned back a bit, but certainly not right now.

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‘Tulip’ Flower

Tulip Tree Flower

Tulip Tree Flower

Another from today. After we left the peony garden, Cathy and I drove around in the park and took another walk down by the lake. The tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera, also known as yellow poplars) are in bloom and their flowers, while not as showy as some, are still quite pretty when seen in good light. The trees are quite large, commonly reaching 60 to 90 feet, and the flowers are often not easily seen from the ground. This one was situated well and I was able to get a good photo of it. They really are quite pretty and you can see why it’s called a tulip tree.

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Schwartz Peony Garden

Schwartz Peony Garden

Schwartz Peony Garden

Cathy and I decided to go to the Schwartz Peony Garden in Seneca Creek State Park. We met Dorothy there and had a great time enjoying the flowers. There were only a few folks there when we arrived, although two of them were a camera crew from a local TV affiliate. The ‘formal’ garden—which isn’t terribly formal, but comparatively speaking—is really something and of course we spent a good while there. But we also really enjoy the informal field that’s got many, many more peonies growing throughout it. You’ll probably want to wear long trousers, socks, and shoes if you are going to wander there, especially if you plan to get off the paths at all. There’s a bit of poison ivy to watch out for. But it’s worth it. The flowers are amazing. We all agree that the darker colored flowers are generally our favorites, regardless of if they are single, with only a few petals or very double. But we also like some of the others. They’re all nice, actually.

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Lewisia cotyledon

Lewisia cotyledon

Lewisia cotyledon

Cathy and I went for a short walk in the neighborhood this evening. It was getting dark but I carried my camera with me anyway. I had the flash, so I was able to take a few photos. None of them are what I’d describe as great pictures, but this is a little interesting. It is (I’m pretty sure) Lewisia cotyledon, also known as Siskiyou lewisia or cliff maids. It’s an alpine plant native to northern California and southern Oregon and it’s growing in a container near our neighbor’s mail box.

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Cicada on Blue-eyed Grass

Cicada on Blue-eyed Grass

Cicada on Blue-eyed Grass

The cicadas (Magicicada species) of Brood X are beginning to emerge from their 17-year subterranean sojourn. Interestingly, this one, near the base of a large oak tree, is one of only a few at this site. Another oak tree at the other end of the yard is absolutely covered with them. I suspect I’ll have a few more photos before their visit comes to an end but I thought for at least one photo I’d include some flowers to brighten what is otherwise a sort of ugly bug. Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) is something of a weed around our yard, but it’s at least a pretty weed.

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Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis)

Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis)

Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis)

The lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) is in full bloom right now. We have a large patch of it in the back yard and then smaller patches in a few other places. This is growing near the front corner of our house and it’s very happy. One thing about lily of the valley, at least for us, is that it seems to want to move. That is, the clump or colony spreads and the tail edge dies back, so the whole colony migrates over time. I’m not sure what, if anything, can be done about that.

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Bleeding Heart and Siberian Bugloss

Bleeding Heart and Siberian Bugloss

Bleeding Heart and Siberian Bugloss

After going to Fehr’s Nursery in Burtonsville, we stopped for lunch as a Cuban place on the way home. We could have picked a better day for it, as it was jammed for Mothers Day and it took us over an hour to get sandwiches. We’ll probably give them another try on a less busy day, but it was a bit off-putting. We drove to Woodlawn Manor and ate our sandwiches in the shade of one of their lovely trees. Then we walked around and I took a few photos, including a couple of the bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis) and Siberian bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla, similar to forget-me-not) growing together under an America holly (Ilex opaca). Quite pretty, don’t you think?

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Clematis

Clematis

Clematis

We took a walk in the neighborhood this evening and I took this photo of a clematis growing on a mailbox a few blocks over. Whether you pronounce it KLE-ma-tas or kle-MA-tas, it’s a pretty thing. We have a few of them but none are doing exceptionally well. One doesn’t get enough sun (it was there when we bought the house and we talk about moving it but so far it hasn’t happened). Another was overshadowed by a rose bush. The rose is gone now but the clematis needs a bit more support than it has.

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Shady Grove Steeple

Shady Grove Steeple

Shady Grove Steeple

We started going to church in person today. We went twice last year, when the services were outdoors and with the weather being so nice, we started again today. We plan on making it a regular thing. Although we’ve become a bit accustomed to our stay-at-home Sunday routine, we felt we needed to get out with people a bit more. It was a lovely day and there were a pair of hawks circling the church for a while. I had my camera with me and after the service, I took a few pictures, mostly of the rhododendrons blooming in the woods to the south of the church. With the flowers in the shade and the steeple in the sun, it was a little tricky to get this picture, but I think it turned out pretty well. On the way home from church we stopped at Lake Needwood and I took more pictures of our native Piedmont or mountain azaleas (Rhododendron canescens) in the woods there.

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Columbine

Purple Columbine

Purple Columbine

This columbine (Aquilegia) is growing in a container just outside our front door. It’s a almost certainly a hybrid of some sort but I really don’t know anything about its parentage. It’s a pretty, pale purple color that looks especially nice in the shade. The purple goes very well with the bright yellow centers. Any time you can combine purple and yellow, it’s a winner. These are very hardy plants and grow in relatively poor conditions, which makes the ideal for a garden, especially in a shady spot.

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Bluebells with Rob and Susie

Bluebells with Rob and Susie

Bluebells with Rob and Susie

We met up with our good friends, Rob and Susie today and went for about a three mile walk through the woods. We were heading towards where we knew there would be Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) and it was a lovely walk. We came upon a patch of yellow trout lilies (Erythronium americanum) as seen on Saturday, May 15, 2021. We had to walk further than I expected to get to the bluebells and we could have parked closer, but the walk through the woods was really nice, so it wasn’t a waste.

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Lavandula pinnata

Lavandula pinnata

Lavandula pinnata

We met our newlywed friends Josh and Lizzie today for lunch. It was, we think, the first time we’ve eaten in a restaurant since the Covid lock down started. We sat outside and though it was a little cool, it was really nice to be able to sit and visit with them. On the way home we stopped at Fehr’s Nursery, mostly just to look around rather than to buy anything this time. I like this little lavender (Lavandula pinnata, sometimes called fern leaf lavender). It’s apparently a native to southern Madeira and the Canary Islands and I’m not sure how hardy it is, but it’s a pretty thing.

The lavender we have in our front garden, Lavandula stoechas ‘Anouk Supreme’, is starting to come back to life. I think we probably should have trimmed it before it started to grow, so it may not have as many blooms on it this year as it did last. It put on quite a show last year and I’d like to figure out the proper care so we can get that more regularly.

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Erythronium americanum (Yellow Trout-Lily)

Erythronium americanum (Yellow Trout-Lily)

Erythronium americanum (Yellow Trout-Lily)

In our second attempt to reach Bluebell Island, we walked south on the Seneca Bluffs Trail from the parking area on Montevideo Road. Looking at the map, this comes close to the creek just below the island. We found, unfortunately, that when you get to that point, you’re on the top of the eponymous bluffs. We could have worked our way down to the creek but decided it wasn’t worth the effort. We could see that on the far bank of the creek the bluebells (Mertensia virginica) were blooming in great profusion. We saw other wildflowers and the hike was a success, in spite of the fact that we didn’t get to our planned destination. This yellow trout-lily (Erythronium americanum) is one of our prettiest spring flowers, photographed under some large Canadian hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis).

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Geum ‘Rustico Orange’

Geum ‘Rustico Orange’

Geum ‘Rustico Orange’

Geum ‘Rustico Orange’

Cathy, Dorothy, and I went to Stadler’s and Johnson’s this morning and the girls bought a bunch of things. I mostly took pictures although I did buy one Santolina chamaecyparissus (lavender cotton) to put in a container. We’ve not had great success with Santolina in the ground because we don’t have good drainage but I thought it might do well in a pot. I like this little perennial and thought I’d share the picture, even though we didn’t actually buy it. There is a small garden at the entrance to our neighborhood and there are a few of these growing in that. They really catch the eye.

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Daffodils

Daffodils

Daffodils

Cathy, Dorothy, and I went up to Pennsylvania today to do a bit of work in the front yard. There is a small garden bed along the front of the cabin and it had become very overgrown. At the work day on March 13 we cut the small trees that were growing in it but today I dug up the roots of some of them. It was hard work and made a little harder because I wanted to avoid killing the peonies, irises, and lilies that were starting to come up among them. I didn’t take many pictures on this visit but I did take a few of the daffodils growing on the dam.

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Chionodoxa forbesii

Chionodoxa forbesii

Chionodoxa forbesii

It’s been more than a couple years since I planted any new bulbs but of course, one of the beauties of bulbs is that they come up pretty reliably every year. Tulips aren’t that long lived, but daffodils and some of the smaller, more ephemeral blooms will likely be coming up long after I’m gone. This is one of my very favorite blooms, Chionodoxa forbesii, also known as glory of the snow. I like the fact that it blooms so early but I think my favorite thing about it is the amazing blue color. I really need to plant more of this.

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Ficaria verna

Ficaria verna

Ficaria verna

Dorothy, Cathy, and I walked on the Seneca Greenway Trail this afternoon, parking where MD 28 crosses Seneca Creek and walking downstream. We only saw a few other people and it was a very pleasant walk. It’s relatively flat, with only a few ups and downs to deal with. The birds were out in force and we heard them all around, although we weren’t stopping to see them so much and didn’t really get very close to any. I did stop to take a few photos, including of this fig buttercup, also known as lesser celandine. It was formerly classified as Ranunculus ficaria but is now Ficaria verna. It’s an invasive, non-native species that grows in many of our wetlands.

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Witchhazel (Hamamelis x intermedia)

Witchhazel (Hamamelis x intermedia)

Witchhazel (Hamamelis x intermedia)

Dorothy has planned a work day for Saturday at our property in Pennsylvania. The two of us went up today to look things over and to make sure we were ready for all the volunteers. It was a beautiful day, although cool. There was still a little snow on the ground in sheltered areas but that should be gone shortly.

The witchhazel (Hamamelis x intermedia) is in bloom, which I really like. There were also a few small irises coming up and getting ready to bloom and in the woods there were a few large patches of snow drops that were in full bloom. So, while most plants are still in winter mode, there are a few that get an early start on the year. But I particularly like witchhazel, with its somewhat unusual orange, red, or yellow flowers. I think it should be grown more than it is. A foretaste of spring.

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Amaryllis

Amaryllis

Amaryllis

When I was helping Dorothy take pictures of the farm’s produce a week ago, Janis gave me this amaryllis to bring home for us to enjoy until it is finished blooming. It has huge, double flowers and it’s really amazing. This is the third bloom and it’s going strong. When it’s done, Janis asked that we bring it back so she can tend it for next year. What a treat. We grown them fairly regularly but don’t generally get a better flower the second year. This one has clearly been treated right.

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Beech Leaves

Beech Leaves

Beech Leaves

Cathy, Dorothy, and I went for a walk in the local park this afternoon. In the winter I have to look a bit more for things to photograph but there’s generally something if you take the time. There was a time I didn’t care for the fact that some trees keep their dried leaves on until spring but I’ve come to enjoy beech trees, especially when the winter light is shining through them. That’s not the case here, but with the smooth bark of the tree and their nice texture, I still like them. It’s one of our best native trees and they’re very common in the woods. I large beech tree is an impressive sight.

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Tulips

Tulips

Tulips

We’ve had a vase of tulips on our dining room table for a few days. Obviously they are a little past their prime, but I find them quite pretty even in this state. It’s more about color and form than about them as flowers qua flowers. I think I could have done a bit better to eliminate the background from this. Perhaps taking it with a black background would have been better. But, it’s what it’s, as we like to say.

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Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus)

Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus)

Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus)

We walked on a section of Muddy Branch trail today that we hadn’t been on before. We went roughly 1.8 miles each way and enjoyed being outdoors. We saw a few belted kingfishers (Megaceryle alcyon) and there were lots of small songbirds in any thicket we passed. There were a few places with standing water and a few of them had a skunk cabbage plants (Symplocarpus foetidus) growing in them. It’s one a small number of thermogenic plants, which produce heat by chemical reaction and raise their temperature above that of the surrounding environment. Pretty cool.

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Juniper Leaves and Berries

Juniper Leaves and Berries

Juniper Leaves and Berries

One of my favorite color combinations is the blue of juniper berries and the green of their leaves. I especially like it on an overcast day, when the colors are more vivid. Either color on its own is attractive and in the running for a favorite color, but the combination is especially nice.

Cathy, Dorothy, and I went for a walk on the Blue Mash Trail this afternoon and that’s where this photo was taken. As usual, it was nice to be out in the woods and meadows for a while and we always have plenty to talk about.

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Winter

Black-eyed Susan Seeds

Black-eyed Susan Seeds

As we pass through the darkest days of the year, it’s good to remember the brighter times that are coming. In the summer, the yard was filled with colors, green, yellow, pink, red, and purple. In the winter most things are brown or grey. But the cycle repeats. The brown seeds grown into green plants that bloom in all the colors of the rainbow. But even the browns can be pretty. I wondered around the yard this afternoon and took a handful of photos, including this of black-eyed Susan seed heads. In a surprisingly short time, the yard will be in bloom again.

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Frost on Fern Fronds

Frost on Fern Fronds

Frost on Fern Fronds

It hasn’t realle been that cold yet this winter. We did have snow last week but it was only down into the upper 20s at night. It was chilly this morning and the forecast is for continued cold for a while, with lows around 20°F. Still not frigid, but colder. I took some mail out to the box this morning and noticed the frost on these fern fronds so I got my camera and went out a second time to take a few photos. The frost didn’t last long, melting shortly after the sun hit it. But I wasn’t going to stay out too long, anyway. I was in a t-shirt and barefoot. Bracing.

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Poinsettia

Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima)

Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima)

We got this poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) from our next door neighbor and it’s really nice. We have it on our dining room table, except when we take it to the kitchen to be watered. In the past we’ve tried to keep them going from one year to the next and while they aren’t that hard to keep alive, we’ve never had them perform that well in future years. It’s really not worth the trouble, when new plants look so good. As most people know, the red parts are leaves rather than flowers. The actual flowers are quite small and not particularly significant in terms of the ornamental value of the plant. But the leaves really are spectacular.

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Dried Leaves

Dried Leaves

Dried Leaves

Winter is a time of stillness and quiet. In the city, of course, things don’t stop in the winter and the hustle and bustle continues. Even there, however, there are fewer people out and those who are generally keep moving. Even in the country, life goes on, of course. The birds (and every thing that creepeth upon the earth) still have to eat and those that don’t fly south (or those for whom this is south) can be seen in the woods and open areas. But the plants are quiet and still. They are still beautiful, though, especially when seen in silhouette, I think.

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Farm Skyline in Winter

Farm Skyline in Winter

Farm Skyline in Winter

We didn’t have time for a long walk today but wanted to get out for a while. There’s a loop at the Montgomery County Farm Park the goes around this good-sized corn field and we walked around that. It can be entered from a few different places but we came in on the Upper Rock Creek Trail. We saw quite a few birds, including eastern bluebirds, a blue jay, and lots of crows. We also passed a group on horseback (people, not birds). It was cool and pleasant and good to be outdoors.

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Schlumbergera truncata (Thanksgiving Cactus)

Schlumbergera truncata (Thanksgiving Cactus)

Schlumbergera truncata (Thanksgiving Cactus)

This is the second of our Thanksgiving cacti (Schlumbergera truncata) to bloom. The first was mostly white (see Monday, November 23, 2020) and this one, as you can see, is mostly magenta. The third, also magenta, is blooming now, as well. Their flowers are really attractive and I think especially so when shown against a dark background. In this case, the background is the outdoors at night (our kitchen door) with the flower lit by my camera’s flash. S. truncata can be differentiated from the Christmas cactus (S. russelliana) by the pointy ‘teeth’ along the edges of the segments and the fact that the flowers are not symmetrical (the top half is different to the bottom half).

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Mum

Mum

Mum

This mum was part of a bunch of cut flowers that we had on the table at Thanksgiving (you can see it in the photo from Thursday, November 26, 2020). It’s lasted pretty well and is still brightening up the dining room table. I’ve never really been into cut flowers but I have to admit they are a relatively inexpensive way to add a splash of color and cheer to a room. They don’t have to be particularly exotic, either. Mums, after all, are easily grown and not very expensive. So, next time you have a celebratory meal planned (or even on more mundane occasions), buy a small bouquet of flowers, stick them in a vase (or a pitcher, as these are) and put them on the table.

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Camellia japonica ‘Hokkaido Red’

Camellia japonica 'Hokkaido Red'

Camellia japonica ‘Hokkaido Red’

This spring I planted three camellias. One was a fall blooming hybrid between C. oleifera and C. hiemalis ‘Showa-no-sakae’ called ‘Winter’s Star’ (see Thursday, October 15, 2020). The other two are spring blooming Camellia japonica varieties. One of them, however, has a bloom that’s opened a bit early. It’s called ‘Hokkaido Red’. My understanding is that it was selected from plants grown from seed collected on the northernmost parts Hokkaido, Japan and grown at the National Arboretum. It’s supposed to be one of the most cold tolerant C. japonica and also blooms prolifically over a long period in the early spring. It’s a relatively slow growing shrub and of course mine was only planted this year, so it will be a while before it’s of any stature. But it looks very promising.

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Sycamore Tree

Sycamore Tree

Sycamore Tree (Platanus occidentalis)

This American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) is in our neighbor’s yard. It’s a bit, healthy tree and in the summer it is often lovely at dusk with the evening sun turning the bright green leaves a wonderful orange-green that’s very hard to describe. In the winter, without its leaves, the beauty of the sycamore is in their bark, which is a lovely white, especially against the blue of a winter sky. They are large trees and generally better suited to parks and open areas but they also make a fine city tree, being quite tolerant in their habits.

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Euonymus Berries

Euonymus Berries

Euonymus Berries

I know I posted a photo of these berries in November but that’s all I got today so I’ll have to repeat myself. They’re pretty and always come later in the year than I remember. I really need to prune these bushes heavily and will try to remember to do it early in the spring so that they will still bloom freely. The bees really love the little, sweet smelling flowers and the whole hedge buzzes for a few weeks. Of course these hedges are pretty popular with the birds, as well, both for the berries this time of year and as simple cover. Evergreens are particularly nice for that purpose.

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Dried Flowers

Dried Flowers

Dried Flowers

Dorothy brought these dried flowers over a while back and they are lying on top of the large fish tank in the breakfast room. I believe they were her bouquet when she was a bridesmaid in a wedding. There’s something magical about dried flowers. Flowers are, generally speaking, transitory in nature. Their beauty is fleeting, something like a sunset. But a dried flower is a snapshot that lasts, not the same as the flower in all its glory any more than the snapshot is the scene it captures. But they both can evoke a memory or even an emotion. What a wonderful thing.

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Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii)

Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii)

Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii)

Today’s walk was in Redgate Park, formerly Redgate Golf Course. We walked the back nine today and enjoyed the cool weather and saw quite a few birds, including some blue birds and a hawk that I got a pretty decent photo of as it took off from a branch. This is Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), a widely naturalized alien plant that’s found throughout our woods. I know we aren’t suppose to like invasive, non-native plants but you have to admit, its fall colors are quite spectacular.

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Juniper Berries

Juniper Berries

Juniper Berries

Cathy and I went for a walk late today at the Blue Mash Trail behind the Laytonsville land fill. It’s a nice, easy walk and we enjoyed the fall color still showing on a few trees. There is a fair amount of oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), which is pretty, even if it is a bit invasive. There’s a small group of American persimmon trees (Diospyros virginiana) but not much fruit was left at this point. This photo is of juniper berries and leaves. I particularly like this color combination. It’s especially rich on an overcast day like we had this afternoon.

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Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis)

Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis)

Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis)

At the north end of our front garden is a relatively shady spot with some ferns growing in it. There are wood ferns of some unknown variety, a few ostrich ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris), a Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum), and quite a bit of sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis). This is a fertile frond of the last of those and it’s quite elegant, to my way of thinking. This and the ostrich fern have their sporangia on separate, fertile fronds. Both are often found in particularly wet locations and this allows them to keep the spores safe and dry over the winter and then drop them in the spring. At least that’s my assumption. They make a nice winter interest in the garden, as well, although I don’t think they care about that, particularly. I did plant a royal fern (Osmunda regalis) in this part of the garden last year but I’m afraid it got eaten by something. If it doesn’t come up on the spring, I may try again, giving it a little protection until it gets big enough to fend for itself. I’ve said it before but it bears repeating, I’m frond of ferns.

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Schlumbergera truncata (Thanksgiving Cactus)

Schlumbergera truncata (Thanksgiving Cactus)

Schlumbergera truncata (Thanksgiving Cactus)

This Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) is somewhat neglected though most of the year. That’s actually a good thing as they really don’t want to much attention. It sits on a shelf in our kitchen (breakfast room, really) and gets watered only occasionally. Then, one day around this time of year, you look over and it’s covered with these beautiful blooms. Naturally we move it to a more prominent position while it blooms and then it will go back into relative obscurity for the rest of the year.

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Trees at Dusk

Trees at Dusk

Trees at Dusk

I love the colors at dusk. Even when the sky is clear and there’s no clouds for sunset colors to light up, the trees, particularly the trees in autumn, can be just as good a show. It’s hard to catch and I’m not sure I’ve caught it here as well as I’d like, but I think you get the idea. With leaves already turning orange and red, the addition of sunset colors only intensifies them. Even the grey and brown trunks of these oaks turn an autumn hue.

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Rose ‘Perle d’Or’

Rose ‘Perle d’Or’

Rose ‘Perle d’Or’

The forecast said we’d have a freeze overnight tonight so I took some photos of this rose, outside our front door, figuring that they would be the last of the year. As it turns out (I know because I’m posting this two weeks after the fact) it didn’t get down below about 38°F, so I was a bit premature. Nevertheless, we’re likely to have a real freeze before too long, so I’m not upset. As you can see, although it’s the middle of November, this plant is still going strong. I have to say, it was definitely a good buy.

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Pussy Willow (Salix)

Pussy Willow (Salix)

Pussy Willow (Salix)

Back in January, Dorothy brought some Ranunculus asiaticus for our dining room table. I posted a photo of one on Friday, January 17. They were lovely while they lasted. At the same time, Dorothy brought some pussy willow stems and I posted a photo of them the next day, Saturday, January 18. These, amazingly, have been on the sideboard in our dining room since then and are still looking pretty good.

Pussy willow is the a common name for various Salix species and Salix discolor in particular. The common name references their furry catkins, as seen in this photo. They are dioecious plants, meaning the male and female catkins are on separate plants. In general, it’s the male catkins that are used ornamentally as they are generally the more attractive of the two. They are very soft, like a kitten’s paw.

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Euonymus Berries

Euonymus Berries

Euonymus Berries

Along the fence at the north end of our back garden is a tall hedge of Euonymus. It blooms early in the summer and then the fruit ripens about now. The birds are constantly in these bushes, eating the berries but also just hanging out. They provide good protection from preditors and from the elements. When in bloom various bees, wasps, and flies are all over them and the whole thing buzzes. The deer like them, too, and that keeps them from encroaching too much on the yard. They don’t get the tops, though, which are way out of reach, and the hedge continues to thrive.

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Morning Light

Morning Light

Morning Light

I’ve been doing my weekly grocery shopping early on Sunday mornings or occasionally on Monday. The stores are not quite empty but there are more employees there than customers. This morning, when I got back from the store, the light on the trees up the street was really nice so I grabbed my camera (it’s rarely far from me) and took a few pictures. Later in the day, Cathy and I walked on a trail behind the old Rockville landfill and it was really nice to be outdoors. It was warmer than I expected but an occasional breeze cooled us off. It’s a pretty time of year.

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Zelkova Alley

Zelkova serrata

Zelkova serrata

We worked in the garage this morning, getting quite a bit done (although if you saw it, you might not believe that). We took a trip to the transfer station (a.k.a. the dump) to get rid of a few things and as we got back, the Zelkova serrata were being lit by the late afternoon sun. I dropped Cathy and her mom off at home and then went back out to take a few pictures. This seems to be an annual photo for me, with versions taken from 2011 through 2019, except 2012, apparently. It’s worth it, though. This is really a nice tunnel of trees all year, but especially now and as the sun is setting.

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Iris domestica and Marigolds

Iris domestica and Marigolds

Iris domestica and Marigolds

I was out front and noticed that from the right angle, the marigolds behind this blackberry lily (Iris domestica) look a bit like they’re part of the same plant and that it’s blooming. The picture didn’t actually come out as good as I would have liked, since the marigolds are a little out of focus, but you can sort of git the idea. We have quite a few of these blackberry lilies growing around the yard. Cathy scatters the seeds from them and of course the birds do the same thing. There’s one growing up the street in our neighbor’s garden and we suspect it came from here, too.

As you can see, the leaves turn yellow in the autumn and soon it will die back. The stems with their blackberry-like berries will remain until we pull the seeds to distribute and then cut the stems. The marigolds will most likely last until the first frost.

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Torenia ‘Summer Wave’

Torenia ‘Summer Wave’

Torenia ‘Summer Wave’

We’ve grown Torenia fournieri before but I don’t think it has ever done as well as it did this year. We have a couple of them in containers on the back patio and they have been in constant bloom all summer and will probably not stop until we get a killing frost. They are also known a wishbone flower because the stamens join to form a shape similar to the wishbone of a chicken. This one is a variety called ‘Summer Wave’. Ours got a bit of sun but they are also really good for shade. You better believe we’re going to get this again next year.

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Pink Hydrangea

Pink Hydrangea

Pink Hydrangea

When fresh, the flowers on this hydrangea are mostly white with a touch of pink on the edges. As they dry out, however, some of the petals deep in color to a dark pink, bordering on red. It’s not as showy as some flowers and overall, the plant is moving into winter mode. Nevertheless, the color of the petals is quite nice, especially when the late afternoon or early evening sun is shining on them. The deer have done considerable damage to this plant over the years but it keeps fighting back and had a good run this year. Hopefully that will continue.

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Japanese Maples

Japanese Maples

Japanese Maples

Cathy and I took a walk in the neighborhood early this afternoon. I wanted to see the Japanese maples in a yard at the far end of our neighborhood. They generally put on a really good show. While I’m not sure they are quite as good this year as they have been some other years, they’re still worth a look. These are fairly old trees, probably planted about the time the neighborhood was established. This house was built in 1971, so the trees are probably something like 50 years old, which seems about right. They are different, with one having quite dark leaves while the other (shown here) has a very bright red. There are actually a few more trees, one on either end of the house and another in the back yard. Really nice.

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Trees by Lake Frank

Trees by Lake Frank

Trees by Lake Frank

Cathy and I took a walk by Lake Frank this afternoon. With the weather turning cooler and of course with work during almost all the daylight hours, it’s really important to make a point to get outside when we can. On our walk, I took pictures of quite a few fruits on shrubs and vines. There were rose hips, oriental bittersweet, and I think some sort of privet. The water in the lake is a little low, at least by comparison to the last few times we’ve been here, when it was particularly high. The fall color was about at it’s peak or maybe just a little past. Pretty soon, the trees will be mostly bare and winter will be upon us.

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Yellow Asclepias

Yellow Asclepias

Yellow Asclepias

This yellow Asclepias has been blooming pretty must constantly all summer. It’s really quite amazing. Others bloomed for a while and then went to seed, which is what you sort of expect, but this one just keeps putting out new buds, which open into these lovely, pure, yellow flowers. As you can see, it also has seeds. This in on our back patio and it won’t make it through the winter (unless it’s exceptionally mild, of course). It’s only really hardy to USDA Zone 9. But growing it as an annual is really worth it. Highly recommended.

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Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)

<em>Berberis thunbergii</em> (Japanese barberry)

Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)

Cathy and I drove up to pick up our car from the shop this evening and then I stopped at the nature center on the way home to see if I could find anything worth photographing. I took a few nice pictures including a few of the berries of a Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii, also known as Thunberg’s barberry). This is an invasive species and I generally don’t recommend it. It’s somewhat too late to worry about, though, because it’s already everywhere. And of course there are hundreds of them at the garden center. They do may nice plantings, so I understand why people use them. Note that the fruit is edible and I have used it in a few Persian dishes. They have a great, tart flavor, similar to cranberries.

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Holly Berries

Holly Berries

Holly Berries

We have a really nice crop of holly berries on the tree in front of our house this fall. The squirrels are constantly in this tree and the ground underneath it, including the front walk, is constantly littered with pieces of berry and the occasional leaf. The robins also like them and generally, at some point in the winter, we’ll look out and they will be systematically devouring them. There is another holly at the corner of the house and the robins have found that one and were up in it the other day. So far this one has just been the squirrels, though.

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Foggy Morning

Foggy Morning

Foggy Morning

I really like fog. I mean, I wouldn’t want to live in a place that was always foggy, I suppose, but we have fog rarely enough that it’s a treat. It makes an ordinary morning scene more atmospheric, I think. This is just an old black cherry tree and some azaleas in the yard next door but the fog makes it look more exotic. I remember particularly foggy mornings in Cambridge. We lived near the river so we got them a bit more often than parts of the town and generally there was less fog by the time we got to school, but I remember days when Ralph and I had to make our way to the bus stop with one hand on the fence to stay on the pavement.

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Autumn Leaves

Autumn Leaves

Autumn Leaves

Autumn is here and the trees are turning their autumn colors. The leaves are falling and covering the ground with shades of red, yellow, orange, and eventually brown. This is under the red maple (Acer rubrum) in out back yard. Maples are among some of the best large trees for fall color. I need to walk to the other end of the neighborhood where there is a yard with a nice collection of Japanese maples (Acer palmatum). Those are some of the prettiest trees in our neighborhood, handsome throughout the year but especially nice in the fall.

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Smartweed and Mosquito

Pennsylvania smartweed (Persicaria pensylvanica) and Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus)

Pennsylvania smartweed (Persicaria pensylvanica) and Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus)

Cathy and I walked to the park today and I took a few pictures. This is a very common weed in our area, called Pennsylvania smartweed (Persicaria pensylvanica). I got a bonus in this photograph, of an Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus). I’m not really a big fan of either, I’ afraid. Weeds are a common problem in our garden and this one shows up without fail. And I don’t know many fans of mosquitoes of any kind. Nevertheless, they both have a sort of beauty that cannot be denied.

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Camellia x ‘Winter’s Star’

Camellia x ‘Winter's Star’

Camellia x ‘Winter’s Star’

I bought this camellia, called ‘Winter’s Star’, from Camellia Forest and planted it along the fence at the north end of our back garden. It’s doing well and is coming into bloom. This is a cross between Camellia oleifera and Camellia hiemalis ‘Showa-no-sakae’ and as you can see, it has single, pink flowers and is a fall bloomer. It’s only three or so feet tall at this point, but it should get large enough to be a really striking fall feature in that part of the yard. I bought and planted two other camellias at the same time. These others are both C. japonica and are called ‘Hokkaido Red’ and ‘April Rose’, both spring bloomers.

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Fleabane (Erigeron)

Fleabane (Erigeron)

Fleabane (Erigeron)

Cathy and I took a short walk in the park this afternoon. It’s been cool and damp and it was very pleasant in the woods. I took a few photos, as usual, but nothing particularly spectacular (also as usual). This is a fleabane (Erigeron) of some sort, and pretty common around here. It’s one of the few things still blooming. There were berries on the Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) as well as on the ornamental pears. When the Bradford pear was first introduced, it didn’t bear fruit because it had no other variety to pollinate its flowers. Over time, there was either enough variation in the genetic makeup or some trees were sold as Bradford that were not. Now they all bear small, round pears.

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Hawthorn Berries

<em>Crataegus viridis</em> ‘Winter King’

Crataegus viridis ‘Winter King’

Twice in the last couple weeks I’ve gone out to take pictures of these hawthorn berries only to be distracted by a butterfly on the nearby Verbena. Today there were no butterflies, so today’s berry photo will make it onto the blog. This is a variety green hawthorn, Crataegus viridis ‘Winter King’. The green hawthorn is native to the southeastern United States. Although ‘Winter King’ is a more disease-resistant cultivar it still has issues with rust and some of the berries were ruined by that. I have some fungicide that I use on my two dwarf apple trees and next year I’ll probably spray this tree, as well.

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Red Maple

Red Maple

Red Maple

This red maple in our back yard is turning its spectacular scarlet. It was a wet and cool day and I just went outside to take a few pictures from the back steps. This one is a bit dark but it was a dark, dreary day. The red is certainly nice and the color on this tree is considerably better than some. This hasn’t been the most spectacular fall in terms of color. The bulk of the woods are yellow or a slightly orange or reddish brown but that’s normal. There are, of course, some trees that really stand out with brilliant color but it feels like there are fewer this year than normal. But that’s not a scientific measurement, just a gut feeling.

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Anemone hupehensis var. japonica ‘Pamina’

Anemone hupehensis var. japonica ‘Pamina’

Anemone hupehensis var. japonica ‘Pamina’

We bought this Japanese anemone last year and it was in a pot over the winter. I planted it this spring and for a while it looked like the rabbits were not going to let it grow or bloom. Eventually I put a fence of hardware cloth around it, which they quickly knocked over. Now it’s staked to the ground with tent pegs and isn’t going anywhere. I’m a little bothered by the background in this, where the hardware cloth gives a regular, if out-of-focus pattern. Anyway, the anemone is quite lovely and I’m pretty happy with it. Hopefully it will get well enough established that we can take down the fence.

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Blue Passion Flower and Variegated Yucca

Blue Passion Flower and Variegated Yucca

Blue Passion Flower and Variegated Yucca

The blue passion flower (Passiflora caerulea) in this photo is the same plant that I photographed in June (see Monday, June 15, 2020). The vine is still blooming very nicely and I particularly like the flower in with the straight, sharp, leaves of this variegated yucca (Yucca gloriosa ‘Variegata’), sometimes known as Spanish dagger. It’s an east coast native although from further south, rather than from here. Nevertheless, it’s hardy as far north as USDA Zone 6. This is a few blocks from our house, with the passion flower happily growing on a mailbox with the yucca at its base.

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Persicaria virginiana ‘Painter’s Palette’

Persicaria virginiana ‘Painter’s Palette’

Persicaria virginiana ‘Painter’s Palette’

I don’t really recommend growing painter’s palette (Persicaria virginiana) unless you have a lot of space and want a natural garden. It has a tendency to spread and is a bit of work to control. We have more than we need and most of the year I’m just about ready to pull it up. This is the time of year I don’t mind it quite so much. There isn’t a lot else in bloom and it provides some color in the border with it’s tiny, red flowers on wispy stalks. We have a lot of it mixed with Verbena bonariensis in the large, central bed in our front garden and the two of them together are pretty nice. The foliage is also interesting, with green alternating with a very pale green and with a reddish, V shape stripe.

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Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

The late afternoon sun was shining on the hawthorn berries and I took some pictures of them before spotting this monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) flitting around the tall verbena (Verbena bonariensis). She flew off for a while but I waited and she came back and I was able to get some pretty nice photos. I figured I can get pictures of the hawthorn again tomorrow. The butterflies are getting to be fewer and fewer, so I want to capture them while I can. We’ve had a pretty steady presence of monarchs this summer, although rarely more than one at a time. This one is in particularly fine shape.

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Sneezeweed (Helenium ‘Mardi Gras’)

Sneezeweed (Helenium ‘Mardi Gras’)

Sneezeweed (Helenium ‘Mardi Gras’)

I posted a picture of this sneezeweed (Helenium ‘Mardi Gras’) back in mid-July, when we first planted it. Almost immediately, the stems were bitten off by some animal. It was high enough that we suspected the deer but it could have been rabbits. We have a lot of rabbits. Anyway, there have been no flowers since then until just recently, when one stem was left along long enough to bloom. I may need to put some protection around this next year or at least have some deer repelling stuff near by. It’s really nice when it blooms, but if they’re going to eat it, there’s not a lot we can do.

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Verbena bonariensis

Verbena bonariensis

Verbena bonariensis

The Verbena bonariensis (tall verbena) is really at its peak right now. That, along with the painter’s palete (Persicaria virginiana) are providing most of the color in our front bed. The daisies shown in yesterday’s post are there, as well as a good collection of merigolds, but these two cover the bulk of the area. The butterflies seem to like them and I’ll have a few photos of them there in the next few days. The painter’s palette is a bit weedy and I wouldn’t mind getting rid of a little of that, but the tiny red buds and flowers are nice this time of year, I have to admit.

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Daisy

Daisy

Daisy

Cathy bought this plant a while back, either from a woman who was selling plants from her garden or from a nursery and it went into the front bed. We used to call it the spruce bed but now it’s the hawthorn bed (because the spruce is gone and there’s a hawthorn there, now). I think this may be a shasta daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum) called ‘Alaska’ but don’t know for sure. It’s a daisy, anyway, and doing very well. It’s a little hidden and we need to do some more work on that bed, but this has been it’s first real year planted out and in general we’re pretty pleased with it.

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Ipomoea alba (Moonflower)

Ipomoea alba (Moonflower)

Ipomoea alba (Moonflower)

Cathy got a pot of seedlings from our friend Janis. The mice got into them and they were therefore all mixed up, so Cathy called it the Mouse Mix. This is one of the plants from that, a moonflower (Ipomoea alba). The related I. batatas is the sweet potato and is also grown as an ornamental, because of its unusually shaped leaves. This, clearly, is grown for the large, white flower. In tropical climates it can grow to 70 feet or more, but here, grown as an annual, it won’t get anywhere near that. This one is tiny, growing in a pot on our driveway. Starting them early and putting them out as soon as the danger of frost is past can give you ten or fifteen feet of growth, though, and is worth trying.

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Yellow and Orange Purslane

Yellow and Orange Purslane

Yellow and Orange Purslane

Common purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is a noxious weed where it is warm enough for it to survive through the winter. Here it is grown as an annual and it’s the large-flowered cultivars that are grown here, specifically for their flowers, which are present pretty much all summer. The flowers are generally open in the morning and then close up when the day gets hot, but on an overcast day they might stay open all day. Their colors are really something and we’ve loved having them outside our kitchen door this year. In case you’re wondering (I was, so I asked Cathy), the purple flower is Torenia fournieri, commonly known as wishbone flower, an annual that has also done exceptionally well this year.

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Laciniated, Bi-color Dahlia

Laciniated, Bi-color Dahlia

Laciniated, Bi-color Dahlia

Cathy and I went to the Dahlia garden at the county’s Agricultural Farm Park this afternoon. I think I’ve found my absolute favorite dahlia of all time. I love dahlias in all their forms and wouldn’t really disparage any of them. That being said, I’ve always been more drawn to the single and mignon classes of dahlias more than the huge dinner plate or cactus classes. This one, however, I really, really like. It’s a laciniated or fimbriated dahlia, characterized by having petals that are split at the end into two or more divisions. Added to that, this one has petals that are a different shade on the front from the back. I particularly like the color combination of orange on the front and almost red on the back. It’s a pretty large bloom, as well and the flowers are absolutely lovely. So, for now, it’s my favorite.

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Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus)

Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus)

Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus)

As a landscape plant, burning bush (Euonymus alatus) can be quite striking. I hesitate to ever recommend it. It is an invasive and its use is actively discouraged in many areas (and even banned in Massachusetts, I believe). It’s a native of northeastern Asia and is naturalized over much of eastern North America. The plant we have is in a pot, which helps keep it small, although I’m not really sure I want even that much in my yard. Not that getting rid of ours is going to make much difference, as this is grown all over our area and the cat is already out of the bag.

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Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum

This is an unnamed chrysanthemum that Cathy bought last year for her mom’s birthday. We basically did nothing with it since then but it’s come back wonderfully this fall. It’s not quite pure yellow, with a bit of orange in its petals, and a very nice bunch of flowers it really is. We’ve often grown mums and asters but never really more than one or two. This year, in addition to this chrysanthemum in a hanging basket, we have an aster called ‘October Skies’ that we planted in our large, central bed in the back yard. I suspect I’ll post a photo of that before too long, as it’s coming into bloom, as well.

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Rudbekia

Rudbekia

Rudbekia

The black-eyed Susans in our yard are mostly done. There is a bit of yellow left in spots but for the most part, the petals (technically they are ‘ray flowers’) are brown or at least a deeper, burnt orange color, or have fallen off completely. We generally leave the seed heads for the birds. The gold finches, in particular, seem to like them. I personally like the colors of the fading blooms. Naturally the bright, orange or mid-summer is really impressive, especially with them in such numbers. But the more subdued colors of fall are, to me, more appealing.

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Ageratina altissima (White Snakeroot)

Ageratina altissima (White Snakeroot)

Ageratina altissima (White Snakeroot)

This is a weed and we pull it up but it’s actually fairly attractive. It’s called white snakeroot (Ageratina altissima) and it’s a fairly common native plant in our area. It’s similar to the blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum) that we have in some of our borders but quite a bit taller (it’s three or four feet tall, compared to about about a foot and a half). This one is behind some shrubs so managed to get pretty much full grown before I noticed it. It will be gone shortly but I thought I’d take some pictures, anyway.

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Honey Bee on Aster

Honey Bee on Aster

Honey Bee on Aster

Cathy and I took a walk along Croyden Creek early this afternoon. It has turned cool, although with the humidity in the woods and the steep nature of the trail, I was fairly warm. It was nice to get out, of course, and we only saw a few other people. We walked from the Croyden Creek Nature Center down stream almost to where it joins Rock Creek. Coming back, we turned up a side valley and came out between the two main parts of Rockville Cemetery. Back and the nature center, I took this photo of a western honey bee (Apis mellifera) on an aster of some sort.

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Iris domestica (Blackberry Lily)

Iris domestica (Blackberry Lily)

Iris domestica (Blackberry Lily)

Native to the Himalayas and the Russian far east, the blackberry lily (Iris domestica, formerly known as Belamcanda chinensis), is a lovely and well behaved herbaceous perennial. It self-seeds pretty well and we promote that by distributing the seeds fairly widely. We’re getting to the point where we might actually pull a few up if they aren’t where we want them, but generally we let them go wherever they come up. They have wonderful, bright orange flowers in succession during the early summer and then the fruit ripens in pods that open up to reveal the “blackberries” that give the plant its common name.

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Physostegia virginiana

Physostegia virginiana

Physostegia virginiana

We have a patch of Physostegia virginiana (obedient plant) in the back border. This area of the garden was one of the worst in terms of being out of control and we did a lot of digging there this year. Cathy did most of it, although I did help a bit with some of the deeper digging. It was overrun with goldenrod (Solidago) and mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), which we wanted to get rid of completely, but even the things we grew on purpose, like the Monarda and this Physostegia, were out of control and needed to be thinned out. So, we still have this, but less than we did. It’s a fairly aggressive perennial, spreading by both rhizomes and by self-seeding. So, grow with caution.

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Passiflora alata ‘Ruby Glow’

Passiflora alata ‘Ruby Glow’

Passiflora alata ‘Ruby Glow’

Cathy and I went to Brookside Gardens this afternoon. It was really nice to be out in such a lovely place. There were quite a few people there but it wasn’t as crowded as I sort of expected it to be. We generally go in late winter and then early spring and I don’t remember when we’ve been at this time of year (if we even have). There was a lot to see and we enjoyed it very much. I got a few rose names that I’m going to look for, as well. This is a passion flower (Passiflora alata) called ‘Ruby Glow’

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Rose ‘Munstead Wood’

Rose ‘Munstead Wood’

Rose ‘Munstead Wood’

It rained today and I didn’t really get to go out until pretty late. The water on this rose, (the David Austin rose ‘Munstead Wood’) was pretty so I took a few pictures of that. This rose was only planted this spring and it’s doing quite well. The flowers are now up above the top of the hardware cloth fence that I put around it to keep the rabbits off. The flowers are now blooming just below the level of the black-eyed Susans and soon they will be above them. I’m really looking forward to the display we get from this next year.

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Fall Flowers

Fall Flowers

Fall Flowers

I suppose you could say these are late summer flowers, rather than fall flowers, but there’s no hard line between summer and fall. The black-eyed Susans are summer flowers and are just finishing up. There are still quite a few of them blooming but not nearly so many as there were. The autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora) is just about in full bloom, as is the blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum). The blackberry lily (Iris domestica), which blooms in early summer, is nearly in seed. All together, it makes a pretty nice combination of colors and textures.

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Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)

Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)

Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)

Cathy and I took a walk on the west side of Lake Frank after work today. The heavy rain we had yesterday meant that the water level was high, but the trail wasn’t too muddy. We enjoyed being in the woods, hearing the birds, frogs, and insects, and being away from traffic and people. We saw large patches of partridge berry (Mitchella repens), which we hadn’t notice there before. Today’s photo, though, is of the ubiquitous Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), a common perennial in our woods.

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Begonia grandis (Hardy Begonia)

Begonia grandis (Hardy Begonia)

Begonia grandis (Hardy Begonia)

I had a picture of the leaves of this Hardy Begonia (Begonia grandis) earlier this month. Now it’s in bloom and adding a little brightness to the shady spot outside our front door. It’s a great plant to have and looks like it shouldn’t be sturdy enough to survive our winters but it does and it actually does quite well. It won’t grow well too far to our south because of the heat of summer or too far to the north because of the cold winters, but here it’s quite reliable. Highly recommended.

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Rose ‘Perle d’Or’

Rose ‘Perle d’Or’

Rose ‘Perle d’Or’

I’ve posted photos of this rose before but it deserves to be shown a few times each year. It’s a small China rose called ‘Perle d’Or’, bred by Joseph Rambaux in 1884. It has a wonderful, fairly strong fragrance that sits in the air outside our front door (where the rose is) and we are often treated to is as we go out or come in. I don’t think it’s been without at least a few blooms since it started in May. Some years it’s hurt by a particularly cold spell but we’ve had relatively mild winters the last couple years so it’s doing particularly well now.

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Early Autumn

Autumn Clematis and Black-eyed Susan

Autumn Clematis and Black-eyed Susan

The autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora) is coming into bloom. This is a fairly aggressive vine native to Japan. It can be a little invasive but if you have a largish area to cover, it’s not a terrible choice. It’s flowers are a lovely white and come late in the summer and continue well into the fall. One of it’s common names is sweet autumn virginsbower. We have it growing on the falling down fence at the southwest corner of our house (the southeast corner of our back yard). Cathy is especially fond of it and as long as I’m allowed to keep if confined to that area, I’m happy to let her have some.

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The Back Garden

The Back Garden

The Back Garden

This is a portion of our back garden, which, as you can see, is somewhat dominated by black-eyed Susan flowers at this time of year. They are probably just past their peak but will provide color for a bit longer as they fade from their bright orange to a more rusty, autumnal ochre. You can just make out the hardware cloth ‘fence’ around one of my roses a little to the left of center. By the end of the summer, the three roses should be tall enough that they are safe from rabbits, although there’s not really anything we can do about deer.

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Pollinator

Pollinator on Helenium

Pollinator on Helenium

This little bee is absolutely loaded with pollen. (Side question: if pollen is spelled with an ‘e’, why does pollinator have an ‘i’ in its place?) Anyway, Cathy and I went to Meadowside Nature Center this afternoon and walked around a pond and through the woods. In addition to this little bee, I got a pretty good photo of a common whitetail (Plathemis lydia), a fairly common dragonfly. But I thought I’d go with the bright yellow of this photo instead. I’m also partial to bees, of course.

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Chelone lyonii (Pink Turtlehead)

Chelone lyonii (Pink Turtlehead)

Chelone lyonii (Pink Turtlehead)

We’ve only had this native perennial a few years and this is by far the best it’s done in our garden. We have it in a somewhat shady area. Over time it should spread and form a clump, although not so much that it could be considered invasive (like much of what we have). The snapdragon-like flowers are fairly large and as you can see, they are borne in tight, spike-like terminal racemes. They are actually native to a bit further south than we are but have become naturalized over much of the east coast.

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Conoclinium coelestinum (Blue Mistflower)

Conoclinium coelestinum (Blue Mistflower)

Conoclinium coelestinum (Blue Mistflower)

We picked up some blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum) along with some other plants that were being given to us. It’s spread around the yard and now we have both the normal pale blue, as seen here (it’s more blue than this photo makes it look) and a white sport (or perhaps the blue is the sport). It blooms late in the summer, just starting now, and will be around into the fall. I don’t know that I’d run out an buy any, but it’s not bad to have a late summer bloomer in the garden. The skippers tend to be the most common pollinators on it, but the bees go to it some, too.

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Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

There’s a lot in bloom right now, but there’s actually less variety than there was earlier in the year. The garden is full of black-eyed Susan and there are other, less showy flowers, like the mountain mint, which attracts so many pollinators. Around on the side of the house, in the shadier part of the garden, we have this cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), which is absolutely stunning. The red is so pure and bright, especially when the sun is on it. Cathy saw a hummingbird come to this, as well, which is exciting. I suppose I should have posted a photo of the two of us, for our anniversary, but flowers are where it’s at.

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Cosmos

Cosmos

Cosmos

I took more photos of the Scudderia (a genus of katydid) nymph today. It’s still in the canna lily flower and still eating the petals. I suspect it will move on pretty soon. That or it will be eaten, of course. This cosmos is growing in a small pot on our patio. We’ve never really grown them much, but they sure do add a lot of color to a garden in summer. We could do worse than have lots of them.

I also took a few photos of a dinner we had with a dear (and winsome!) friend, who has been living with her recently widowed mother-in-law. But they don’t really do justice to the great time we had.

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Scudderia Nymph

Scudderia Nymph

Scudderia Nymph

I noticed this bright green katydid nymph on the canna lily this morning. It is one of the Scudderia species. It let me get pretty close, as you can see and it actually stayed there for a few days and ate a good amount of the petals on this flower. Generally I’m not a fan of flower-eating insects but this one was pretty enough and eating slowly enough that I let it be. I like the green against the orange of the petals and even though it’s a small thing, I could see it clearly from our kitchen door, which was nice.

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Begonia grandis (Hardy Begonia)

Begonia grandis (Hardy Begonia)

Begonia grandis (Hardy Begonia)

Cathy has this hardy begonia (Begonia grandis) growing a few places around the house. It really seems to like the relatively shady area around our front door, which gets a little morning sun but that’s it. And even that is filtered through the foundation planting. It seems particularly happy this year, with the amount of rain we’ve had. It’s just coming into bloom, with its delicate and interestingly shaped, pink flowers. But I think it’s worth having just the leaves. We have a few little seedlings that Cathy has collected and she will try to get a few established in new places.

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Arctium minus (Common Burdock)

Arctium minus (Common Burdock)

Arctium minus (Common Burdock)

Cathy and I went for a walk this evening. After yesterday’s rain it was cooler. Not quite cool enough to be really pleasant and still quite humid, but so much better than it’s been that we had to get out. There’s one place we walk by where the park comes right up to the road and I took this photo of common burdock (Arctium minus) along the edge of the woods. It’s a biennial native to Europe but pretty well established as a common weed here now. It has burrs that stick to fur and clothing, which helps it to spread.

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Canna Lily

Canna Lily

Canna Lily

Cathy planted two canna lilies this spring in a container on the back patio. Our patio is generally nice in the summer, with a collection of plants in containers as well as the black-eyed Susans that surround it. This year is, I think, the best it’s ever been. This canna lily is part of the reason. It’s so bright and especially when back-lit, the dark leaves add an additional contrast. The patio is a riot of colors, with the Pelargonium right behind the canna and with all sorts of other flowers of a wide variety of colors. Definitely nice to have. We’re so fortunate.

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Megachile sculpturalis (Sculptured Resin Bee)

Megachile sculpturalis (Sculptured Resin Bee)

Megachile sculpturalis (Sculptured Resin Bee)

I’m pretty sure this is a sculptured resin bee (Megachile sculpturalis), a fairly common, solitary bee in the Megachilidae family (the leafcutter, mason, and resin bees, and allies). We see them on a variety of flowers in our yard. This one is on the Verbena bonariensis (tall verbena or Brazilian vervain) and that seems to be a favorite for these bees. Like most bees, they are not at all agresive and much more likely to fly away from you than bother you in any way. I think they’re quite pretty, with their furry thorax and sculptured abdomen.

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Cichorium intybus (Chicory)

Cichorium intybus (Chicory)

Cichorium intybus (Chicory)

It wasn’t so hot today, although relative humidity was near 100%. Cathy and I went out for a walk at the former Redgate Golf Course, now Redgate Park. We saw a pair of white-tailed deer (a mother and fawn) as well as a few different wildflowers. This is a pretty common one, an import from the old world, but still a pretty flower. The others that I photographed were also non-natives. There was the Asiatic dayflower (Commelia communis), which has two white petal-like structures above the flower, and moth mullein (Verbascum blattaria), a pretty, little, white flower with a magenta throat and stamens. We also went to Rockville Cemetery, where we saw another fawn, and then Croydon Nature Center before returning home.

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Black-eyed Susan

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)

Our yard is pretty heavy on the Rudbeckias, (black-eyed Susan) although we’ve actually gotten rid of a few. You probably wouldn’t notice and it’s going to take a bit more work if we’re actually going to cut back on them noticeably. On the other hand, this time of year, they really are wonderful in their great numbers. The insects like them, although perhaps they aren’t the favorite flower. The skippers in particular are to be found on them and that’s where I usually see transverse flower flies (Eristalis transversa).

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Backlit Coneflower

Backlit Coneflower

Backlit Coneflower

The coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is in our back garden near the back fence. In the late afternoon, backlit by the sun it’s quite lovely. The bees, particularly carpenter and bumble bees, seem to really like the coneflowers. We (and by we I mostly mean Cathy) did a lot of work in this part of the garden this summer. It had become quite overgrown with mugwort and goldenrod among the monarda, asclepias, and irises. It’s basically ready for new plants now, so it isn’t finished, but it’s so much better than it was.

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Fleabane (Erigeron)

Fleabane (Erigeron)

Fleabane (Erigeron)

We walked another section of the upper Rock Creek trail today. We parked at Redland Middle School and went from there to Lake Needwood. This section of trail is mostly level with just a little up and down. It follows the creek and included crossing Muncaster Mill Road. Although there is a crosswalk, you pretty much have to wait for someone actually paying attention who stops, as they are supposed to do. The path and creek also go under the Intercounty Connector (MD 200). Our walk was about 2.5 miles round trip, although it didn’t actually feel like we went that far. I was nice to be in the woods, although the humidity was very high and we were pretty well drenched by the time we got back to the car.

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Canna Leaves

Canna Leaves

Canna Leaves

I took Dorothy to the airport this morning. It was raining so the traffic was a bit slow but other wise no problem. It continued to rain the rest of the day and I only got out for a little while to take pictures. These are canna leaves with water droplets on them. The canna is (her the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Plant Finder):

a genus of around 10 species of rhizomatous, tropical and subtropical, herbaceous perennials that produce flower spikes in summer atop erect stems sheathed in large paddle-shaped leaves. Cultivars are available with colorful foliage and flowers in a range of warm colors including red, orange, yellow, pink, and creamy white.

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Rose ‘Boscobel’

Rose ‘Boscobel’

Rose ‘Boscobel’

This is the third of my three new roses planted this year. This isn’t its first bloom although it did take longer than the other two did to bloom. That has more to do with the rabbits nipping off the buds than anything else. It now has a hardware cloth fence around it and it’s doing much better. This one is planted near the back fence and should be visible from the house once it gets a bit taller. I have high hopes for all three of these roses and was glad to get them planted back in mid-May.

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Monarch on Butterfly Weed

Monarch on Butterfly Weed

Monarch on Butterfly Weed

The monarch (Danaus plexippus) is one of the prettiest butterflies we get. They don’t show up in nearly as great numbers as do the tiger swallowtails (Papilio glaucus) and maybe that’s what makes their appearance more exciting. This one was on a tender butterfly weed (Asclepias curassavica) that it in a container on our back patio. I took this one photo from the lawn side of the patio before trying to get around to the other side. Just as well because it flew off after that and I got no more. I did take some more photos of the tiger swallowtails but I’m sure I’ll get more of them this summer.

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Sunflowers

Sunflowers

Sunflowers

It was very hot today, and quite muggy, but Cathy and I have been trying to get out on the weekend, at least for a little while, regardless. We went tot he Mont. County Agricultural Farm Park today and walked on one of the trails for a while. Parts were in the shade but even then it was so humid that we were pretty well drenched with sweat. Nevertheless, it was good to be out. We also walked through their demonstration garden again. It wasn’t a lot different to the last time we went but I got a few more pictures, including a few of these sunflowers against the sky.

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Cathy’s Patio Garden

Cathy's Patio Garden

Cathy’s Patio Garden

It’s summer here in Maryland and with it come the summer colors. Cathy often plants containers with a mixture of annual and perennials plants for the patio but this year I think she’s outdone herself. The patio is surrounded by black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia) and that adds quite a nice backdrop to all the containers. To Cathy’s left, above the red tea pot, are cana lilies and a beautiful, bright red Pelargonium (a.k.a. geranium). The yellow and orange in the lower middle are purslane and there’s more of that in the bottom right, hear the elephant’s trunk. The hanging basket in the upper left is Lantana camara. As you can see, there’s a fair amount going on in the large, central bed. The garden against the fence has been dug out and almost completely restarted. It should be nice in a year or two, though.

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Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

I probably should have waited a little longer to take a picture of this, since it isn’t really in full bloom yet. But I only got outside for a little while late this afternoon and this is all I took photos of. Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), is an American native and well worth growing. It really adds a splash of bright color to the garden. The only thing here is that you need to watch it in our dry summer heat that it doesn’t dry out too much. It likes moist soil and can even tolerate a little brief flooding. If you’re in a place that’s not quite so hot in the summer, you could plant it in full sun but for us, it does better with a bit of shade. This one is growing under a largish cherry tree and it a bit protected from the hot, afternoon sun. If you have a stream or pond, this would be great on the banks of that. Ours will have more flowers in a matter of days but you can already see how red the blooms are and why it’s such a nice thing in the border. We should have more than we do.

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Cathy and Tiger Lilies

Cathy and Tiger Lilies

Cathy and Tiger Lilies

When I posted the close up of the tiger lily a couple days ago, I knew it wouldn’t be the only tiger lily photo I’d post this summer. They’re simply too nice to get just one mention. Dad had these growing in the garden along the driveway. Quite a few years ago we took some of the bulbils that form in the leaf axils on young stems. I find it interesting that they seem to form on young stems and not on the more mature stems. Generally you think of a more mature plant yielding more of this sort of thing. But I suppose the more mature stems produce a lot more seeds, so they don’t need to do this.

Anyway, we have them well established in a few places in the yard and they are magnificent. This is the biggest and most successful bunch, growing in a bed where a dead oak tree was removed a while back, out near the road. As you can see, they’re about eight feet tall and really happy in this sunny location. I recommend them pretty highly. The tiger swallowtails seem to like them, as well.

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Summertime

Summertime Flowers

Summertime Flowers

We’re in the heart of summer. We’ve had over three weeks of daytime high’s over 90&#b0;F and it approached 100°F today with even higher temperature forecast for tomorrow. In spite of the heat, Cathy and I felt like we really needed to get out. The Montgomery County Farm Park seemed like a good destination. Their demonstration garden was very nice. It’s a bit overgrown with weeds but since it’s not our responsibility, that bothered us less than weeds do at home. I think these are some sort of wild sunflower but there are quite a few plants with this basic look and I didn’t see a label on them. Regardless, this is summer. Big, bright, bold, yellow flowers against a beautiful, clear, blue sky.

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Tiger Lily (Lilium Lancifolium)

Tiger Lily (Lilium Lancifolium)

Tiger Lily (Lilium Lancifolium)

This won’t be the only photo I post of these, I suspect. They are starting to bloom and are already quite spectacular but when they really get into full bloom, with 20 or more flowers per stem, they are amazing. The seem to deal pretty well with the sweltering heat we’ve had and the occasional downpour. The biggest threat to them, actually, is deer, which will come in and eat them. We’ve been fortunate this year and only a few stems have been cut off (and that may be rabbits). We have them in a few places around the yard but the most conspicuous are in the front, right out near the road, where there used to be a large oak tree (until it died and the county cut it down).

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Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Sonata’

Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Sonata’

Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Sonata’

I’ve seen some really impressive plantings of cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) but we’ve never had enough to really make a huge impression. Some years I think about getting a few packets of seeds but never seem to get around to it at the right time. This is from the ‘Sonata’ series and it a lovely color. They will self seed, if you’re lucky, and you’ll get repeat bloom from year to year, but we’ve only had an occasional plant from seed. Maybe next spring I’ll actually get my act together and put some seeds down. This and Nigella damascena (love-in-a-mist) are two that I think I could stand a lot more of.

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Cathy and Some Flowers

Cathy and Some Flowers

Cathy and Some Flowers

It was a work day today but as usual, a few times during the day we took a break from work and went outside briefly. It’s been hot, with about three weeks with high temperatures above 90° That’s not really our favorite thing, but the flowers blooming in the yard get us out, at least a little. Here’s Cathy at the south end of the house with some bee balm (Monarda didyma, the magenta flowers behind her), orange tiger lilies (Lilium lancifolium, off her right shoulder), Blackberry Lilies (Iris domestica, the slightly paler orange lower down and further to her right), and some purple butterfly bush (Buddleia). There are two roses on the frame against the wall but they are mostly without blooms right now.

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Sneezeweed (Helenium ‘Mardi Gras’)

Sneezeweed (Helenium ‘Mardi Gras’)

Sneezeweed (Helenium ‘Mardi Gras’)

Cathy bought a few perennials over the weekend and I planted this one yesterday. It’s a sneezeweed called ‘Mardi Gras’ and it’s really nice. The flowers have a similar look to black-eyed Susans but it’s a different genus (Helenium). I happened to catch it with a little, green-sweat bee on it, which is a bonus. It prefers somewhat barren ground and isn’t supposed to do well in heavy clay, which is probably why I haven’t seen it around here. That’s really all we have. But hopefully it will survive, even if it doesn’t thrive too well.

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Verbascum thapsus (Common Mullein)

Verbascum thapsus (Common Mullein)

Verbascum thapsus (Common Mullein)

This is the tip of a mullein stalk growing up close to the front of our house. It’s not really in a place I’d choose to plant it, but I left it there for Cathy. She really likes it and we have a fair amount in the hawthorn bed that has become something of a Mediterranean garden this year. It’s funny to hear so many people praise this plant as something the native Americans used medicinally. It may be true, but that only happened after it was introduced from Europe, as it isn’t a native American itself. It’s quite hardy (USDA Zones 3 to 9) and is quite happy in dry, otherwise barren places. This part of our yard really dries out in the summer and is currently rock hard. But along with the Verbascum we have Verbena bonariensis (tall verbena), Lavandula stoechas (Spanish lavender), and Salvia rosmarinus (rosemary), which all do well in rather severe conditions and in fact don’t like being waterlogged.

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Iris domestica (Blackberry Lily)

Iris domestica (Blackberry Lily)

Iris domestica (Blackberry Lily)

The blackberry lily (Iris domestica, formerly known as Belamcanda chinensis, has beautiful, bright orange flowers above an attractive fan of sword-shaped leaves. It spreads slowly into clumps but mostly spreads by seed, which are distributed both by birds and by wives who really like it in our garden. I first collected seeds in South Carolina many, many years ago and we’ve had it around ever since. We have quite a few at this point and we may be reaching the time when a few of them need to be pulled up (but I’m not sure Cathy’s ready for that yet). They are native from the Himalayas to the Russian far east but do very well here. I like the lighting in this. The bloom is in full sun and the background is the pavement of our street in shadow.

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Resin Bee on Coneflower

Resin Bee on Coneflower

Resin Bee on Coneflower

I wasn’t happy with most of the pictures I took today, but this one isn’t too bad. I’m pretty sure this is a sculptured resin bee (Megachile sculpturalis), although there are a few other Megachile species it could be (e.g. the flat-tailed leaf-cutter bee, Megachile mendica, which is more common). Regardless, it’s a nice, quiet little bee and it was moving among the coneflowers, along with a few other solitary bees and an occasional honey bee (Apis mellifera). I know that some folks are not fond of bees and don’t like to have them around. With the exception of a few aggressive hornets and wasps, I like having them around. They really rarely sting unless provoked and they are quite pretty to watch on flowers.

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Rose ‘Munstead Wood’

Rose ‘Munstead Wood’

Rose ‘Munstead Wood’

The second of my three new David Austin roses has started to bloom. It’s called ‘Munstead Wood’ and as you can see, it’s a very double, old fashioned bloom. What you cannot get from the photo is the fragrance, which is very strong. I had to put some hardware cloth around this and one other because the rabbits were biting off the buds and eating them. Now that it’s protected, it’s going to town, with quite a few buds getting ready to open. Of course it’s still a relatively small plant, less than two feet tall, but I’m expecting it to be large enough that it provides a nice point of color in the middle of the garden.

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Stock Photo

Stock (Matthiola incana)

Stock (Matthiola incana)

Over the years I’ve thought about selling photos as stock but I never really got into it. I’m not really sure if I’d actually make any money at it. I sort of doubt it, honestly. I know that now and then I get a reasonably good photo and I certainly enjoy both taking and looking at them. But whether they are actually suitable for stock is another matter. And of course it isn’t just that. They would have to be found among the hundreds of thousands of other stock photos. I’m sure there are ways to increase your chances but I’m not sure I care enough. So, I’ll just stick to what I do and occasionally post a photo with an attempt at a clever title. This is stock, Matthiola incana.

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Fiery Day Lily

Day Lily

Day Lily

I love this day lily. It’s growing by our front walk in the shad of a pink dogwood. It seem really happy there and the colors are more intense in the afternoon, when they house casts its shadow over them. I love these colors, they’re so hot. It’s nice that they are along our walk, so I see them every time I go out the front door. Most of our day lilies are the more standard orange, which is nice, of course. We could do with more like this. Maybe I’ll divide these and spread them around a bit. Maybe I’ll even dig up some of the more aggressive perennials and replace them with these.

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Back Patio

Patio Blants

Patio Blants

These are the containers in the south corner of our back patio, outside our kitchen door. They’re doing pretty well right now and really brighten up the back yard. There’s a lot of green in the yard, which isn’t all that unusual. Having some intense colors is really nice and annuals are so easy. There are some day lilies in the foreground on the left, which are in a container that fell over a few years ago and has been lying on its site for a few years. They don’t seem to mind in the least. There is also a hanging basket with Lantana in the upper left corner. Technically it is a broadleaf evergreen shrub but it isn’t hardy here and is generally grown as an annual.

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Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens)

Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens)

Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens)

Pretty much all the flowers in our garden are attractive to insects. I suppose that makes sense, because that’s what flowers are supposed to do, in order to get the insects to (inadvertently) pollinate the flowers. It’s interesting to me, though, that some flowers are attractive to many different insects but some seem to attract a specific subset. Yesterday, I was looking at the Monarda (bee balm) and noticed that the large bees were almost exclusively carpenter bees (Xylocopa virginica). Today I was looking at the gooseneck loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides) shown here and the large bees were exclusively common eastern bumble bees (Bombus impatiens). Just interesting, that’s all.

On a mostly unrelated note, I really, really don’t recommend you plant any Lysimachia species in your garden. The bees love it, but there are other things they like that aren’t so overwhelming.

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Coneflower

Coneflower

Coneflower

I love patterns in nature. Some are seemingly random but others, like the swirls in this coneflower, are strikingly organized. Even the random patterns have a rhythm to them, like the meandering of a river or the branching of an oak. Patterns are all around us and it’s worth looking for them and being reminded that it isn’t all a matter of chance. I’m a firm believer is a creator who designed all that is. I don’t understand some (or even most) aspects of the design but I appreciate them, nonetheless. This is a relatively simple pattern but very satisfying, at least to me.

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‘Fiery Meadow Mama’ Coneflower

‘Fiery Meadow Mama’ Coneflower

‘Fiery Meadow Mama’ Coneflower

I could see a fairly large garden with nothing but varieties of coneflower (Echinacea species and varieties). One problem we have with them is that the rabbits and deer seem to like them and many that come up have their flowering stem bitten off so we don’t get flowers on them. The few that do bloom are great, of course, but then th bugs get to them and the petals get holes in them. They’re still nice, but not as photogenic. Because of that, we hesitate to buy more coneflowers. This one, called ‘Fiery Meadow Mama’, nearly made me make an exception. Wow, what a flower. There was another called ‘Cone-fections Hot Papaya’ that was mostly red and with a larger center that was nice, too. But we restrained ourselves.

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Rose ‘The Poet’s Wife’

Rose ‘The Poet’s Wife’

Rose ‘The Poet’s Wife’

In April I ordered three David Austin Roses. They arrived on May 3 and because they were bare root, I put them in a pot until I could get around to planting them in the ground. I planted them two weeks later on May 17. This is the first of them to bloom. It’s called ‘The Poet’s Wife’ and it’s not clear for whom it is named. As you can see, it’s a yellow rose and along with the other two, I’m hoping it will do well in our garden. It’s supposed to grow to about four feet tall, although measurements like that are generally very specific but in practice fall within a very broad range. We’ll see.

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Asclepias incarnata ‘Ice Ballet’

Asclepias incarnata ‘Ice Ballet’

Asclepias incarnata ‘Ice Ballet’

We’re big fans of Asclepias and have three species growing in our garden. We have a few varieties of Asclepias curassavica, a tender perennial native to the Caribbean and Central and South America often referred to as blood flower. We have several Asclepias tuberosa, butterfly weed, a hardy perennial native to our region. We just bought a few plants of a variety of Asclepias incarnata called ‘Ice Ballet’. The species is generally pale pink but this variety is a creamy white. It’s also a native to the area and is known as swamp milkweed. These will go in a spot that gets very wet when it rains, as these don’t mind that and there are a lot of things that won’t grow there.

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Ripe Gooseberries

Ripe Gooseberries

Ripe Gooseberries

The gooseberries (Ribes uva-crispa) are just about ripe. The squerrals are eating them as they ripen up and I don’t think we’re actually going to get much of a harvest. That’s our own fault, because we haven’t protected them and aren’t going out each morning to pick them as they ripen up. I don’t mind, terribly, although I have been picking and eating them when I do go out. They are just the right combination of sweet and tart. If I had a bit of land and used some of it for vegetable gardening, I think I’d plant a row of these and put a net over them. I might put a net over this one next year, although it’s against the fence and that might make it tricky.

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Euphorbia amygdaloides subsp. robbiae (Wood Spurge)

Euphorbia amygdaloides</em> subsp. <em>robbiae (Wood Spurge)

Euphorbia amygdaloides subsp. robbiae (Wood Spurge)

I took a few more pictures of plants on Cathy’s work table today. This one is a spurge called Euphorbia amygdaloides subsp. robbiae, also known as Robb’s wood spurge. It’s a nice combination of greens and yellows and something nice for the herbaceous border. The Euphorbia genus has something like 2,000 species and they range from small annual plants to trees and there are species from many parts of the world This one isn’t native to North America, but I’m not bothered by that. One thing you want to be careful of with these plants is their milky sap, which is poisonous if ingested and a skin irritant.

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Syrphid Fly on Marigold

Syrphid Fly on Marigold

Syrphid Fly on Marigold

I went out to take some pictures of flowers today. There are a few sitting on a table that I set up for Cathy to work on and that seemed like a nice place to sit and take pictures. I took some of a coral bells plant (Heuchera x ‘Blondie’) and then I noticed this syrphid file (Family Syrphidae) on a marigold blossom. There’s only so close I can get with my 100mm macro and I’d like some way to get closer. I’ve thought about buying a Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 lens that gives magnifications of 1 to 5 times, basically picking up where my current lens leaves off. It’s manual focus, but at that close range, focus is as much a matter of moving the camera closer or further away from the subject.

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Day Lily

Orange Day Lily (Hemerocallis fulva)

Orange Day Lily (Hemerocallis fulva)

The day lilies are starting to bloom. These are descendants from some we dug up in the woods of Pennsylvania, near our property. They are growing around what used to be a homestead, many years ago. There is a hole in the ground with the remains of stone walls and the base of a chimney. Around that are orange day lilies (Hemerocallis fulva) and periwinkle (Vinca minor) growing in great profusion. It’s in the shade as trees have grown up over it and in consequence the day lilies don’t bloom as well as they might, but we took a few home and planted them in the sun, where they bloomed quite happily. That was at our old house and we dug up and brought some of those with us here, where they continue to give a great show every year.

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Blue Passion Flower (Passiflora caerulea)

Blue Passion Flower (Passiflora caerulea)

Blue Passion Flower (Passiflora caerulea)

This may actually be a hybrid of the blue passion flower (Passiflora caerulea) with something else, as that plant is generally only marginally hardy here and this one is clearly doing well. But I’m not sure. It is growing a few blocks from our house and we saw the buds on in a while back so I wanted to come get some photos of the blooms. We pass it on our walks sometimes, depending on the route we take. It’s growing in a nice, sunny location on a mailbox and is covered with blooms.

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Campanula latifolia

Campanula latifolia

Campanula latifolia

This bellflower (Campanula latifolia) has been coming up in our back garden for quite a few years. It’s on the edge of the central bed that we’ve been trying to rejuvenate and it seems to be doing well enough. I think we should encourage it because it’s a really lovely flower. As it is, we get four or five stems and I certainly wouldn’t mind a couple dozen. The Missouri Botanical Garden says it “spreads freely and agressively by both rhizomes and self-seeding under optimum growing conditions.” I’d say our growing conditions are not optimum, then, because it’s keeping itself to itself.

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Bumble Bee on Lavender

Bumble Bee on Lavender

Bumble Bee on Lavender

I sat in the middle of the front garden this afternoon and took a few pictures. There were some bumble bees (Bombus impatiens, the common eastern bumble bee) moving from flower to flower and I waited for one to land on the lavender (this is a variety of Spanish lavender, Lavandula stoechas called ‘Anouk Supreme’). I only got four photos and none of them are quite what I was hoping for but this one isn’t too bad. When I’m in the yard, especially when it’s hot, I generally favor the shade but if I’m looking for photos, especially insect photos, the sun is the place to be.

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Plant Bug on Feverfew

Plant Bug on Feverfew

Plant Bug on Feverfew

I was taking pictures of the feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) growing in the back of our garden when I happened to notice this little plant bug. I don’t know what type it is and I’m not sure the photos I got are good enough for more than a general identification, so I’ll just leave it as a plant bug (Family Miridae). We’re in the in-between phase when there are fewer things in bloom. The flush of spring ephemerals is well past and most of them have already lost their leaves for the summer. The roses have finished their first flush but those that repeat will be with us off an on all summer. The Asiatic lilies and a few smaller things are the only sources of blooms right now. I’m not complaining, mind you, just saying.

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Rose ‘Crépuscule’

Rose ‘Crépuscule’

Rose ‘Crépuscule’

Crépuscule is a word we don’t see very often and in fact, when I bought this rose (a Noisette rose bred by Francis Dubreuil in France in 1904), I had to look up its meaning. Recently, reading The Tale of Genji, I actually came across the adjectival form of the word in English, crepuscular. I admit that I had to remind myself of its meaning, which is ‘twilight’. I had thought this rose dead a few years ago after a particularly cold spell killed it back to the ground. As it started growing up again, I didn’t know if it was on a different root stock or not, but now that it’s blooming again, I know that it’s on its own roots. It still hasn’t fully recovered and it’s nowhere near as big as it was. It’s growing on a frame on the end of the house that’s about 12 feet high and was up to the top of it before dying back.

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Purslane

Purslane ‘Pizzaz Nano Fuchsia’

Purslane ‘Pizzaz Nano Fuchsia’

Purslane, otherwise known as Portulaca oleracea subsp. sativa, is a pretty, flowering annual plant native to India. It is hardy and will self-seed if conditions are right although we generally need to buy more each year. This one is called ‘Pizzaz Nano Fuchsia’ and it’s pretty hot pink. It is an edible plant, used as a salad green or even cooked in stews in some places, although we’ve never tried it ourselves. I might give it a try, but I generally enjoy it well enough in the garden that I think I’ll leave most, if not all, of it there.

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Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) on Asiatic Lily

Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) on Asiatic Lily

We had our first sighting of a tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) today and it was nice enough to perch on the Asiatic lilies growing in our front garden. I’ve actually seen a few butterflies around but haven’t had a chance to get any photos. Soon we’ll have them in abundance, especially when the Buddleia starts to bloom. These Asiatic lilies are surrounded by tiger lily plants (Lilium lancifolium), which are considerably taller and I’m not sure these can get the attention they deserve. On the other hand, this makes them harder for the deer to get to, which is a plus.

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Mountain Bluet (Centaurea montana)

Mountain Bluet (Centaurea montana)

Mountain Bluet (Centaurea montana)

The mountain bluet (Centaurea montana), also known as perennial cornflower or perennial bachelor’s button, has a pretty, blue flower and does well in the perennial border. Dorothy and three of her housemates drove down late yesterday and today we took a drive out to Rocklands Farm Winery. They have just reopened and it was really nice to be out. Actually, we spent most of our time there visiting with Greg and Janis, which I really enjoyed. This flower is in Janis’ garden and I took it as we ate our lunches and got caught up with what everyone is doing. For information on Rocklands, see https://www.rocklandsfarmmd.com/.

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Red Strawflower

Red Strawflower (Xerochrysum bracteatum)

Red Strawflower (Xerochrysum bracteatum)

We’ve had strawflower (Xerochrysum bracteatum) each of the last few years and I really like it quite a lot. Also known as everlasting flower, it provides color over a really long period. The central part of the flower turns dark but the almost woody bracts keep their color. This year, we happened to come across this bright red variety. I have to say, it’s really a stunner. The yellow one is nice, but this one is just amazing. I think maybe next year I’ll get more than one. I don’t know that I could get tired of this color.

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Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis)

Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis)

Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis)

I took some photos of some yellow flowering sedum this afternoon but they didn’t turn out very well. You’d be stuck with them except I happened to see this Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis) on a stem and got down on the ground to get a few photos of it. This plant has a flower cluster similar to Queen Anne’s lace but that’s not what it is. It’s a very aggressive weed that we picked up somewhere along the way and we really need to do something about it. But it made for a nice photograph, in this case. It may be Chaerophyllum aromaticum but I really don’t know. Whatever it is, you really don’t want any.