Forget-Me-Nots
Getting close again today after a few days of not. The forget-me-nots are starting to bloom so I’m posting one now before I forget.
Tagged With: Blooms
Forget-Me-Nots
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bloom, Blooms, Blue, Flower, Flowers, Forget-me-not, Myosotis
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Dogwood Blossoms
Dogwood Blossoms
I know I’ve already done dogwood flowers but a) I never said I wouldn’t repeat and b) I like this picture. In the Extras gallery there’s a pink dogwood flower, as well.
Flowering Almond
Flowering Almond
We planted this flowering almond when we first moved into the house. It was given to Cathy by a friend. It never gets more than about three feet tall and dies back almost to the ground every other year. Still, when it’s in bloom, it’s pretty nice. And it doesn’t need any pruning.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Almond, Bloom, Blooms, Flower, Flowering Almond, Flowering Shrubs, Flowers, Pink, Shrub
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Lily of the Valley
Lily of the Valley
I love these little bells. We brought lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) with us from George Street only to buy a house where there was a significant amount already planted. I’ve seen it forcing its way up through pavement, so it’s quite tenacious once it gets established. I could only wish the flowers lasted longer.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bloom, Blooms, Convallaria, Convallaria majalis, Flower, Flowers, Lily of the Valley, Perennial, White
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Spiderwort
Spiderwort
This is the first bloom on our Tradescantia (spiderwort) out front in the shade garden. This one is lighter purple than most but still quite pretty. I especially like the deep purple stamen hairs and the yellow anthers. Apparently, when the stamen hairs are exposed to ionizing radiation they turn pink. Looks like were safe, for now.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bloom, Blooms, Flower, Flowers, Hardy Perennial, Perennial, Purple, Spiderwort, Tradescantia, Yellow
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Rose ‘Roseraie De l’Hay’
Rose ‘Roseraie De l’Hay’
This is a nice rugosa hybrid that booms all summer long. The flowers have an intense clove scent that I really love. The only downside is that the shrub is so tall and most of the roses are on the top so you usually see them from below. Still, it will have a lot of blooms shortly and will be something to see.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bloom, Blooms, Flower, Flowers, Pink, Rose, Rose ‘Roseraie De l’Hay’, ‘Roseraie De l’Hay’
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Bearded Iris
Bearded Iris
The irises are starting to bloom all over. This is a purple and yellow variety outside our dining room window. I think yellow and purple are a terrific color combination.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bearded Iris, Bloom, Blooms, Flower, Flowers, Iris, Perennial, Purple, Yellow
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Fireworks
Fireworks
You know when the really big fireworks explosions go off, they produce lines of light radiating out from the center with smaller explosions at the end of each ray? That’s what this reminds me of. It’s one of the large Alliums (gigantium or cristophii, I’d guess) growing in Ralph and Tsai-Hong’s garden.
‘Jaune Desprez’
‘Jaune Desprez’
I wish you could smell this rose. This is a Noisette rose called ‘Jaune Desprez’ (Desprez, France, 1835). The individual blooms are not the most beautifully shaped in all creation but it blooms reliably and grows pretty vigorously.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bloom, Blooms, Flower, Flowers, Noisette, Rose, Rose ‘Jaune Desprez’, ‘Jaune Desprez’
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Rose Trellis
Rose Trellis
Last summer Kevin helped me build this rose trellis. The roses haven’t had a chance to fill in completely but it’s starting to look pretty good.
On the right is ‘Champneys’ Pink Cluster’ (Champneys, U.S., 1811). Although it isn’t really a climbing rose the support is helpful, anyway. On the left is ‘Crépuscule’ (Francis Dubreuil, France, 1904). Both of them are Noisette roses and bloom pretty well off and on all summer. ‘Crépuscule’ has the stronger scent but both are nice in that regard.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bloom, Blooms, Flower, Flowers, Noisette, Rose, Rose Trellis, Rose ‘Champneys’ Pink Cluster’, Rose ‘Crépuscule’, ‘Champneys’ Pink Cluster’, ‘Crépuscule’
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A Pink Multiflora Rose
A Pink Multiflora Rose
Normally I’d be the last person to suggest that anyone grow a multiflora rose. About them the great plantsman Michael Dirr says, “use this species with the knowledge that none of your gardening friends in the immediate vicinity will ever speak to you again.”
Still, when I came across a bright pink multiflora — it is almost certainly a natural hybrid but it is a multiflora in every way except petal color — I decided I had to have it. I dug up a small piece and it’s thriving on my back fence. The parent plant was destroyed, so I got it just in time.
It’s really a lovely shrub and it is absolutely covered with hundreds of flowers and thousands of buds. Just don’t tell Spencer.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bloom, Blooms, Flower, Flowers, Multiflora Rose, Pink, Rosa multiflora, Rose
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Allium caeruleum
Allium caeruleum
This is a sweet little blue allium. I think I’ll get a few more of these this fall.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Allium, Allium caeruleum, Bloom, Blooms, Blue, Bulbs, Flower, Flowers, Onion
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Butterfly Weed
Butterfly Weed
We have this orange Asclepias tuberosa as well as a pure-yellow-flowered variety.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Asclepias, Asclepias tuberosa, Bloom, Blooms, Butterfly Weed, Flower, Flowers, Hardy Perennial, Native Plants, Perennial
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Turk’s Cap Lily
Turk’s Cap Lily
My dad had these growing in his garden and was spreading them by planting the bulbils that form in the axils of the leaves. After we moved in 2006 Cathy started collecting bulbils and planting them here, as well. They are doing nicely and add a nice splash of color this time of year.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bloom, Blooms, Flower, Flowers, Lily, Orange, Turk's Cap Lily
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Be Glad
Be Glad
Gladiolus, that is.
Morning Glory
Morning Glory
I rarely give this plant any name but bindweed and I spend a lot of time pulling it out of my garden. I do have to say, though, that for colors in the deepest registers, this is just about as good as it gets. The morning glory (along with the lowly petunia) has some of the most beautiful, deep, rich, colors in the world of flowers.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bloom, Blooms, Flower, Flowers, Morning Glory, Purple
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Black-eyed Susans
Black-eyed Susans
The black-eyed Susans are the predominant source of color (except for the color green, of course) in the garden right now. They are holding up their end marvelously, I might add.
Oh, and I passed the 20,000 mark on my camera today. This is photo number 20,004 (since Christmas).
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Black-eyed Susans, Blooms, Flowers, Hardy Perennial, Native Plants, Perennial, Yellow
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Zinnia
Zinnia
Exbury Azalea
Exbury Azalea
Cathy called me today from Home Depot asking if I wanted her to buy this Exbury azalea. I’ve been meaning to get a few of these for the yard and this one was reasonably priced and it good shape, so I said yes. What is an Exbury azalea, you might ask? They have a fairly complicated makeup and many of the early records don’t exist. But in the late 18th century, hybrids were made between North American azalea species Rhododendron calendulaceum, nudiflorum, arborescens, and viscosum, and the bright yellow flowered, European R. luteum, producing what are generally referred to as Ghent azaleas. The addition of R. molle and japonicum took the azaleas to the next stage, the Mollis and then R. occidentale was added, giving us the Knaphill azaleas. Starting in the 1920s Lionel de Rothschild made hundreds of thousands of hybrids and brought us the Exbury azalea. Well, that’s a rather simplified history. You can read more here: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JARS/v40n1/v40n1-cash1.htm.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Azalea, Bloom, Blooms, Exbury Azalea, Flowering Shrub, Flowers, Orange, Rhododendron
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Exbury Azalea Buds
Exbury Azalea Buds
The Exbury azalea that Cathy bought for me last year is getting ready to bloom. I planted it near the top of our driveway, to the right where there used to be an awful holly shrub. The deer did some damage to it late last summer but what’s left of it is beginning to come to life. The flower and leaf buds are swelling and there should be some blooms in a few days. The Exbury azaleas are among the deciduous azaleas. In fact, most azalea species are deciduous but since most of us are familiar with azaleas through the proliferation of the Glenn Dale cultivars (developed by Benjamin Morrison from 1935 through 1952), which are evergreen. The Exbury hybrids were made in the 1920s by Lionel de Rothschild and their genetic makeup contains some or all of the following: R. arborescens, R. calendulaceum, R. japonicum, R. luteum, R. molle, R. nudiflorum, R. occidentale, and R. viscosum.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Azalea, Bloom, Blooms, Exbury Azalea, Flowering Shrub, Flowers, Orange, Rhododendron
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Columbine (Aquilegia)
Columbine (Aquilegia)
We have quite a bit of columbine (Aquilegia) growing in our yard. Many of the plants are seedlings and most look something like this. There are lots of quite fancy and brightly colored columbines among the 60 or 70 species (and many more varieties) but we’re happy enough with the slightly more staid, darker colors. Backlit by the sun the red comes alive and is quite bright. Growing mostly in the shade, however, it rarely gets this treatment. Still, it’s a good plant to have and isn’t generally bothered by rabbits or deer.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Aquilegia, Blooms, Columbine, Flowers, Native Plants
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Rosa rugosa ‘Roseraie De l’Hay’
Rosa rugosa ‘Roseraie De l’Hay’
This is a large and very easily grown rugosa rose that I’ve had in the yard since we first moved here. It’s about 9 feet tall and that’s the only real problem with it. It’s too tall to really be able to appreciate most of the blooms, which are all up at the top. If given more room the branches would arch over and more flowers would be accessible but it’s not sited well enough for that. I may need to move it but it is very happy where it is. Also, the blooms are quite visible from the kitchen, which is certainly a plus. The fragrance, as with most rugosa roses, it wonderful and strong.
Asiatic Lily ‘Tiny Sensation’
Asiatic Lily ‘Tiny Sensation’
Cathy and I went to Stadler Nursery this afternoon and while Cathy picked out a few perennials, I took a bunch of pictures. Actually, I bought something, as well, a Camellia japonica ‘Kumasaka’. I’m not sure where I’ll plant it but I’m thinking that it might go in front of the house to replace the dogwood that’s much too close to the house and really needs to come out. This photo is of an Asiatic lily called ‘Tiny Sensation’ and it’s a stunner. We have a few Asiatics in the yard and in containers. They mostly have solid colored blooms but all are quite hot.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Blooms, Flowers, Lily, Orange
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Siberian Iris ‘Eric The Red’
Siberian Iris ‘Eric The Red’
This little Siberian iris was originally planted in our garden in Gaithersburg. When we were getting ready to move I dug up a portion of it and brought it with us. It’s been doing pretty well in our yard here for ten years. Like most Siberian irises and despite being named ‘Eric The Red’, this flower is purple rather than anything you could describe as red. Some Siberian irises are much bluer, of course, so it has more red in it than those. But it’s purple, not red. Still, it’s a happy little flower and quite content without needing much of any care to do well. In a bit more sun we’d probably get more flowers but it’s happy where it is.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Blooms, Iris, Purple, Siberian Iris
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Tradescantia virginiana (Spiderwort)
Tradescantia virginiana (Spiderwort)
Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana) is one of my favorite perennials. It’s easy to grow, it does well in sun or shade, it can take fairly dry conditions, and it blooms for a nice, long while. We have one with leaves that are very pale green, almost yellow. We have one with flowers that are much more pink and some that are nearly pure, deep blue. Each bloom lasts for a day only but there are a lot of them, following one after the other.
From the Missouri Botanical Garden page:
Genus name honors John Tradescant (1570-1638) and his son John Tradescant (1608-1662), botanists and successive gardeners to Charles I of England.
Specific epithet means of Virginia.
When the stems of spiderworts are cut, a viscous stem secretion is released which becomes threadlike and silky upon hardening (like a spider’s web), hence the common name.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Blooms, Purple, Spiderwort, Tradescantia
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Coreopsis
Coreopsis
This is a very nice Coreopsis (tickseed) growing in a container on our back patio. I like these larger-petaled Coreopsis flowers more than the fine-petaled varieties. I suppose they both have their uses but these are so much bolder and brighter. They certainly make a good show and outside the kitchen door is a nice place for a big splash of yellow. These are reliable blooms and come ahead of the sea of black-eyed Susans that fill our backyard later in the summer. For now, these are the sole source of this color in our garden (there are a few yellow irises but they are a much paler yellow).
Rose ‘Cutie Pie’
Rose ‘Cutie Pie’
I’ve mentioned this rose a couple times so I decided that I’d finally get around to posting a picture. This is a miniature rose called ‘Cutie Pie’ and it is, really. I’ve found two roses named ‘Cutie Pie’ listed in commerce. This is WEKruruwel, Bred by Tom Carruth and introduced by Weeks in 2016. So, it’s a new rose. I’ve planted it in the large bed in the middle of our back yard where there used to be two trees. That bed needs a bit more variety and this was my start at that. I plan to add a few more roses, two at least and maybe as many as four. I’m looking at a few of David Austin’s English roses. We’ll see.
Dracunculus vulgaris (Dragon Arum)
Dracunculus vulgaris (Dragon Arum)
Ralph told me that the other day he noticed a vulture perched on the kids old jungle gym in his back yard. Later he noticed more had gathered. At first he wondered if some animal had died and attracted them. But no, that’s not what it was. It was this plant, a dragon arum, (Dracunculus vulgaris, formerly called Arum dracunculus), a native of the central and eastern Mediterranean. This plant attracts pollinators by mimicking the smell of rotting meat. It does a good job and fooled the turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) which find dead animals primarily with their highly developed sense of smell. Black vultures (Coragyps atratus) find food primarily by sight and by following turkey vultures.
On the Missouri Botanical Garden’s page about Dracunculus vulgaris it says,
Avoid planting this perennial near windows, doors, sidewalks or other frequently populated areas where the brief but overpowering odor from the spadices will be found objectionable.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Arum, Blooms, Drancunculus, Flowers, Stinky
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Tanacetum parthenium (Feverfew)
Tanacetum parthenium (Feverfew)
This comes up all around our yard. It isn’t so invasive that it cannot be kept under control by judicious pulling and it certainly adds a bit of interest during a time when there isn’t a huge amount in bloom. The early spring flowers are done and the summer flowers haven’t really gotten going yet. There are Asiatic lilies blooming and the day lilies will be starting pretty soon. The Verbena bonariensis has started but the black-eyed Susans are still a good way off. Feverfew doesn’t have the most striking flowers around but they are certainly pretty enough. And there are plenty of them.
Lobularia maritima (Sweet Alyssum)
Lobularia maritima (Sweet Alyssum)
As I’ve mentioned, Cathy bought a bunch of annuals to go in containers and in a few locations around the house. One that she often gets is sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima), a pretty little thing with masses of small (7 or 8mm) flowers. This variety has a purple tint and it really lovely. I think they are particularly nice up close. On the other hand, I think a lot of things are interesting up close, which is why a significant proportion of my photography is of small things, viewed up close. Anyway, I hope you enjoy these little flowers.