Flowers and Plants

Epimedium Leaf

We discovered Epimedium at the National Arboretum quite a few years ago and decided we needed to have some. At our old house we had at least three different varieties, blooming in red, white, and yellow. We brought some of them with us and have them in our garden here but they are all Epimedium x rubrum, a red flowered variety believed to be a cross between E. alpinum and E. grandiflorum. The leaves are interesting even after the flowers have finished. They have a little red in them and they also have pretty edges with little (and soft) spines along the edges. They are quite hardy and can take anything our winters are likely to give them, as well as getting through the summer drought without any trouble. They are semi-evergreen here, basically losing their leaves by the time the new growth starts in the spring. Common names for Epimedium x rubrum include red barrenwort and bishop’s mitre.

Peony ‘Coral Sunset’

In the fall of 2014 I planted three peonies in our back garden. Last year I saw leaves on two of them but they were barely above the top of the pachysandra amongst which they were planted. This spring I was happy to have all three of them send up leaves above the top of the pachysandra. They lived. Better still, one of them had a bud. It’s only one bud out of three plants but peonies are a long-term proposition and it should get better each year, now. They are a variety called ‘Coral Sunset’ and I think the flower is quite lovely. I’m looking forward to more flowers next year.

Spiderwort Leaves In The Rain

It has been a fairly wet May this year. Not necessarily way out of character, as we often have wet weather in May, but April was so dry that in comparison, it seems wetter than normal. I don’t mind rain, in general, unless I have some outdoor activity planned that requires a bit less wetness than we generally get when it’s raining. I love a blue sky and all, but the sound of a gentle rain, the intensified colors of an overcast day, and the water droplets clinging to everything are all pretty wonderful, as well. Today was that sort of day and I took a few pictures of that water droplet thing, right outside my back door on the Tradescantia (spiderwort). This is the same plant whose purple flower I photographed (also in the rain) on Tuesday, May 03.

Rosa rugosa ‘Roseraie De l’Hay’

I wish I could post the fragrance of this rose, a largish rugosa called ‘Roseraie De l’Hay’. It was bred in France in 1901 by Jules Gravereaux and introduced by Charles Pierre Marie Cochet-Cochet in the same year. The flowers are large, about five inches in diameter and when you walk up to the plant when it’s in full bloom you get slammed by the amazingly strong and lovely clove fragrance. The flowers are beautiful, as well, of course. The plant is large and only suitable for a large space in full sun. It doesn’t have the huge thorns of many hybrid roses but the stems are completely covered with hundreds or thousands of fine prickles (some of which are fairly long). I love this rose. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by and then stop and smell the roses.

Azalea Wands

The azaleas are done blooming and we’ve moved on to the next stage of spring bloom. The azaleas are not completely done, though. Although the white flowers have dried and fallen off of the bushes in front of our house, the long, white stigmata are still there, giving the entire bush a slightly airy feel. They aren’t as eye catching as the flowers, of course, but I find them interesting in their own way. Soon they, too, will be gone and the azaleas will be done for the year (and it will be time to do some much needed pruning).

Rhododendron

We’ve never had a lot of success with rhododendrons in our garden. At our old house we had a couple that did reasonably well but they took a long time to get beyond the stage where they grow about as much as they die back every year. In our current yard we don’t have any and I’m not sure where I’d put one, although I have a couple ideas. Our next door neighbors have one, however, on the north end of their house, which is the side that faces us. We get the benefit of it from our back yard and right now it’s in full bloom and quite striking.

Hibiscus Staminal Column

Cathy and I went to both Stadler’s and Johnson’s today because Cathy wanted to pick up a few things. While she shopped I took a few pictures.

This is the staminal column on a hibiscus flower. On the sides are the anthers with yellow pollen and at the top are the five, bright orange stigmata, which receive the pollen and are connected through the style to the ovary. The staminal column is fairly distinctive on hibiscus flowers, with everything on one stalk extending well out in front of the petals.

This photo would have been better if taken with a tripod but when you’re wandering around a garden center, that’s less accepted as it might be in a botanical garden or arboretum. If I had that, I would have been able to slow the shutter down a bit and gotten a bit more depth of field. Then I might be able to make out the insect that’s sitting just below the stigma farthest from the camera.

Ornithogalum umbellatum (Star of Bethlehem)

We were up in Pennsylvania again getting more work done in preparation for the wedding that’s getting nearer and nearer. Mom mentioned that I should go into the ‘back yard’ because there were some little white flowers that I’d like to photograph. So, of course I did. I’m pretty sure that this is star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum), which is native to Europe and western Asia but which is fairly common now our area and is known in all but a handful of states (and in at least 7 Canadian provinces). It is a pretty (but poisonous) little thing and quite happy in the grass behind our cabin.

Chive Flowers

The chives are in bloom. Chives themselves are nice to use as a garnish and seasoning in food but I particularly like using chive blossoms. They have basically the same flavor as the leaves but add a bit of color in addition to the taste. They are only available from my garden during a short period in the spring, though, so I have to use them when I can. For a few years I’ve had a container full of chives but last year I moved some of them to a small herb garden in our yard and that’s where these are growing.

Hello, Dahlia!

We took our annual Mother’s Day trip to the garden center this afternoon, a day before Mother’s Day, and Cathy bought a pretty good load of plants for the garden and her containers. These will be in addition to the hanging baskets she got yesterday, so it’s going to be a banner year for us. While she shopped, I wandered around taking pictures of flowers and especially enjoyed the dahlia plants, many of which were in full bloom. This one was especially nice and I like the symmetry of the petals, as well as the lovely color.

Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii)

Not everyone’s favorite plant, the Amur honeysuckle is a seriously invasive plant. It’s a pretty enough plant in its own right, but you should never have any qualms about pulling it up or cutting it down if it should appear in your yard. These one is growing in the woods next to my office building, where it is quite happy. In addition to the sweet smelling flowers, it will have pretty red berries (which are mildly poisonous) before too long. Still, cut it down.

Columbine (Aquilegia)

We brought some columbine plants with us when we moved here from Gaithersburg, growing them in pots for the year we were in the rental house. They have done pretty well and they are scattered around our yard now. We had some that were bright red with bits of yellow on them that we dug up in what we called “plant rescue.” Most of what’s left, though, is a dusky purple color. This one, a self-seeded plant next to our front walkway, is lighter than most and I took some pictures of it this evening as we were preparing to go out. This is only a bud, of course, but I think even the buds are pretty cool, with their curled spurs.

Forget-Me-Not

The forget-me-nots (Myosotis sp.)are in full bloom in our back and side yards and they are, as always, lovely. I went out to photograph them this afternoon and this picture turned out well, I think. They are very interesting little flowers with their little yellow circle at the center. I love the blue in the open flowers and the shades of violet in the buds. They are so delicate and fine.

Dandelion Flower, Minus Seeds

I took some pictures of flowers in the yard this evening, including more of the Exbury Azalea that I posted a picture of last week. The buds have opened and it’s quite beautiful (if a little smaller than it was because of the deer). I also happened to notice this dandelion flower in the back yard. It caught my eye because it was so stark and white and to me, it doesn’t look like a dandelion. It does, of course, because that’s what it is, but if asked we generally would describe a dandelion flower as yellow or, when gone to seed, as a fluff ball. Once the seeds are gone but before what’s left has a chance to dry up, this is what they look like.

Hosta ‘Tick Tock’

It was still wet today and I only went out a little to take pictures. This hosta is called ‘Tick Tock’ and it’s a miniature that is quite happy in a container outside our front door. We like hosta a lot but the deer enjoy it in a different way (“mmmmm, hasta”from us and that’s a problem in our neighborhood (because we have deer). But right outside our front door seems to be a safe place for them and we have three different mini-hostas in three different containers and they are all doing well. This time of year, in particular, they are very happy. And that makes us happy.

White Azalea In The Rain

I was home from work today but didn’t really feel up to much. It had been raining all day and wasn’t really a good day to go out to take pictures, especially they way I was feeling. In the late afternoon I went out the front door and took a few pictures of the white azalea blossoms on the bushes in front of the house (without even going out from under the front porch). White azaleas are a little hard to photograph well because they are so low in contrast, but the water on them makes them a little more interesting. They are actually quite a bit prettier than this picture shows.

Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis)

The lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) is blooming in our yard. It’s such a happy plant this time of year and I love the delicate, little, white flowers. They have a very pretty fragrance which (of course) is especially noticeable when you are lying on the ground about a foot from them with more flowers all around. The bright green leaves are also quite pretty. They are quite tough once established but they take a while to get settled in. Once they do, I’ve seen them come up through asphalt.