Flowers and Plants

Hardy Begonia

A few years ago, Cathy bought a hardy begonia and had it in a planter outside our front door. For a while now, it’s been growing in the ground along the front of the front steps. This year, they are growing like gangbusters and look really good.

The leaves have red veins when looked at from behind, which is what we see in the morning as we come out the door. Also, in the morning, the sun is shining on the leaves, which really lights them up. This picture was taken in the evening, though. The leaves are still pretty, although perhaps not quite so much as in the morning.

Of course, the flowers add considerably and it’s been in bloom pretty much all summer. The pale pink flowers are not particularly spectacular on their own but they are lovely hovering above the green of the leaves.

Pokeweed Berries

American Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) is a pretty common weed in our garden. It’s very large leaves are unmistakable even when the plants are very small. We try to pull it up as soon as we see it but sometimes, we miss one or two. Back in the middle of our hedge, which is about eight feet tall, three pokeweed plants were growing. We didn’t notice them until the started to show out of the top of the hedge and of course, by that time they were pretty well established. I managed to get most of the roots of one of them but the other two were too close to the fence to dig properly and I’m afraid they will come up again next year. But I’ll be watching, this time.

Our Back Yard On a Beautiful Fall Morning

I know it’s still summer but it seemed like fall this morning. Outside it was cooler than inside for the first time in a while. They sky was a beautiful blue, with puffy clouds scattered about. The black-eyed Susans and other flowers are feeling the dryness and heat of summer but that doesn’t mean they have all disappeared. It’s actually quite nice in our back yard right now. Not it’s best, perhaps, but still, pretty nice.

Fading Black-eyed Susan

It’s been fairly dry lately. Not as dry, certainly, as in some years when we’ve had an actual drought. But the ‘normal’ dryness that we usually get in late August. The black-eyed Susans are starting to be affected, which is the sign that we could really use some rain. I actually think they are quite pretty when they start to wilt, so I took some pictures this evening after work.

Dipsacus (Teasel)

I know I’ve already posted a picture for today, the spider that some of my visitors won’t like, but I have this picture to share, as well. This is the spent flower head of a teasel (Dipsacus species). I love the lines and the apparent softness of it. In actual fact, it’s a bit prickly, but I think they are quite pretty. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.

Cathy’s Patio

In addition to the profusion of black-eyed Susans around our patio, Cathy has potted plants along much of the edge. Some of these are perennials that she doesn’t have to do much with, but others are changed each year, planted with annuals. This year, Cathy took a lot of sedum out of a large pot, because that pot could be better utilized by something a little more striking. She planted these purple flowers (a variety of Angelonia), a sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas), and some orange zinnias. The purple flowers and the dark leaves of the Ipomoea, in particular, are really set off by the bright orange/yellow of the black-eyed Susans.

Black-eyed Susan

The black-eyed Susan is by far the most prominent flower in our back garden throughout most of the summer. There is a large patch of them in the central garden, where there used to be two large maple trees. There are more around the patio and outside the dining room window. They are scattered in other places, as well. While there is still a lot more green than any other color, the orange-yellow of the black-eyed Susan is clearly in second place.

Lotus Plants, Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

As I mentioned in my previous post, Cathy and I went to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens today. We especially enjoyed the Lotus, which were blooming quite profusely. We also enjoyed the greens. Lotus, growing in shallow ponds, have such beautiful, green leaves and I wanted to capture the various shades produced by the shadows. I think this picture does a pretty good job of it, although you’ll have to imagine the swaying of the leaves.

Nelumbo nucifera (Indian Lotus)

We took Dorothy to the airport today and she flew up to Boston. From the airport, we decided to pay a visit to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens on the Anacostia River in northeast Washington. The lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) was past peak, according to the ranger on duty, but they were still blooming pretty freely. The water lilies were a little more past, but there were quite a few even of them. We also got a good view of a great blue heron (Ardea herodias) wading in one of the ponds. It was a beautiful day, not too hot and with a wonderful breeze.

Queen Anne’s Lace Seeds

I had a close-up of Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota) flowers a few weeks ago (Wednesday, July 08, 2015). The flowers are mostly finished now, with a few late blooms still doing well. The earlier flowers have started to go to seed. The flat flower-heads curl up on themselves and, where each tiny, individual flower was in the compound flower there is now a seed.

Lilium lancifolium (Tiger Lily)

The tiger lilies are in full bloom. They bloom much later than the Asiatic lilies, which are also on much shorter stems. Actually, Lilium lancifolium is an Asiatic species, but are different to the plants usually called Asiatic, which have upward facing flowers. The tiger lily, as you can see here, has downward facing flowers. There are quite a few flowers on each plant, which stands a good seven or eight feet in height.

The similar species, Lilium superbum, is a native to the eastern United States and its common names include Turk’s cap lily and American tiger lily. It generally has fewer flowers per plant and isn’t quite so tall, but the petals of the flowers are similar in being orange with black spots and which recurve forming a very festive, Turk’s cap shape. L. lancifolium also has little bulbils in the leaf axils that can be planted and which are the easiest way to spread the plant around the yard.