A Few Fall FlowersThese are a few more pictures I took in late summer and fall this year. I am still feeling kind of washed out from the events of Friday but the reality has sunk in. This first picture is a pretty little species of Aster that I found growing at the edge of the woods. I have identified it as Aster linariifolius or Stiff Aster. It grows as a wildflower in the Eastern United States from Maine to Florida and Eastern Canada. This one seems to have a washed out color compared to some of the photos I have seen but did have the characteristics of the very thin hemlock type of leaves and the single flower per stem.
Synonyms: Lonactus linariifolia, Flax-leaved Aster
Blue Anise Sage
Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'
(SAL-vee-uh) (gwar-uh-NYE-tik-uh)
Synonyms: Brazilian Sage
This second picture was just a lucky snap of a plant I have seen on a lot of other people’s garden blogs. I have read nothing but rave reviews of its culture. It is grown as an annual in Connecticut and maybe hardy in USDA Zone 7 with a heavy mulching. It gets quite large (up to 6 feet tall) especially in areas where it overwinters. There it can turn into a woody perennial or subshrub. I found the color to be beautiful and the darker color calyx just adds to the overall color scheme. I hope to get some more photos of this one next year and maybe grow a few myself. There are other cultivars available including 'Argentina Skies' and the dark purple 'Purple Splendour'. Every time I look there seems to be more Salvias coming to market, which is okay with me. They are tough plants that seem to bloom no matter what.
This was a funky plant I saw at Wave Hill Gardens in the Bronx. Since there was no sign I am guessing it is some kind of Eucomis or Pineapple Lily. I couldn’t really track it down on the Interent. I did find out that there are a lot of cultivars and species available to gardeners. I have been growing one in Connecticut but it has never bloomed. I think it maybe in too much shade. The foliage is always nice and it isn’t supposed to be hardy as Eucomis seems rated for USDA Zone 7. This was a stunning flower and this picture doesn’t really do it justice. If anyone has any more information on it please post a comment.
This last picture is:
Mountain Fleece Flower
Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Firetail'
(per-sih-KAR-ee-uh) (am-pleks-ih-KAW-liss)
it is a perennial that has some bad relatives but this Persicaria is a nice perennial that is very reliable. I did a post back in October of 2006 if you want some more information.
Old Post on Persicaria
It is starting to snow here pretty heavily and a mixed bag of snow, sleet and rain is predicted. This is the first snow other than a few flurries. I hope the old tale of the amount of snowstorms you will have will be the same as the date you get the first snow. Since it is December 2nd, having two major storms all winter would be great. I am not holding my breath on that though.
12 comments:
Nice shots. I really like that pineapple lily thing, it looks kind of like a succulent.
~Oswegan
that third flower
Nice pics (as always!). I really like the photo with the bee in it - It's a perfect capture of the bee moving with it's wings.
Cheers,
David
p.s. where do you get the info for these flowers from? I get lot's of flower shots, but I don't know what any of them are!
I like the look of the "funky plant". I've never seen anything like that before.
oswegan and mike, it really is an unusual flower. I am going to email it to my friend that works at Wave Hill and see if he can ID it.
David, that was just a lucky capture. The bee just flew into the picture. As far as the plant knowledge goes I have been working with plants since I was 5 years old so i have absorbed a lot that way. The rest comes from the Internet and my large collection of Botanical books.
I dream of the day I can get a cool bee heading the flower photo! I tried hard for a fly and I just couldn't get it!
Pineapple lilies are a fun little asset in the garden. I got some on a whim from a trade on GW and love them!
That certainly was a lucky capture! The best bee photo of mine was mostly chance as well - I just noticed a bee flying around a flower, snapped a few quick shots not expecting that I would actually get the bee, and they turned out wonderfully. Nothing I have taken since compares with that first lucky shot.
Looks like I've got a bit of work to do if I want to know about all these flowers I'm seeing. :)
Cheers,
David
WOW! I love your photos here... Great captures!
Oh it's dangerous to come here! I can and do grow 'Black and Blue' salvia, but that Pineapple lily is too gorgeous.
Have you seen this place?
The African Garden [right click to open in new window]
Look at the one called Eucomis bicolor JCA 3230200. The flowers are not completely open, but they do have that purple edging which makes me covet it.
As always, the photos are great!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
These are all Exceedingly great especially the bee one and so timely
I had to look at that Pineapple lily/Eucomis bicolor again but don't think it would like Austin - it would probably prefer someplace like Connecticut or England.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
That pineapple lily is beautiful and so is the fleece flower. I find so many interesting plants that I need from reading your blog. And of course I get a load of wonderful photography to oogle at.
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