Sunday, May 30, 2010

Flowers from Today Nonstop Begonia


Nonstop Begonia
Begonia tuberhybrida Nonstop ‘Yellow’
(be-GON-yuh) (too-ber-HY-brid-uh)

This yellow flower is one of my favorite annuals, although it can be brought inside and kept year round if you want. They grow quite well in containers. It is called a nonstop Begonia because it continuously blooms. The amount of flower forms and colors available seems to continue to grow and even the foliage has gotten into the act with more and more types available. A personal favorite of mine is the Mocha series by Park Seed. The coffee colored foliage really sets off the flowers nicely. These flowers are easy to grow in the moist shade. This type of Begonia doesn’t like to dry out so the moisture is a key part of their cultivation.

It seems hard to believe but the nonstop Begonia has only been gracing our gardens for about 30 years now after being developed in the 1980’s.

Since it is Memorial Day Weekend here in the United States this next picture seems appropriate. It is a picture of local Police officer Robert DiNardo who passed away last June. He was truly a hero here in our local community. This impromptu memorial is painted on a large wall of graffiti that I pass on my way to work every morning and yesterday I decided to stop and grab a picture. The roses are a nice touch and they give a good tie in to Today’s Flowers. The rest of the wall of graffiti is quite interesting and some of the best I have seen around here.


See more flowers from all over the world at Today’s Flowers .

Since it is Sunday and that means a few extra flower lovers visiting here is a bonus picture of some nice blue flowers.


Cineraria
Pericallis cruenta
(per-ee-KAL-liss) (kroo-EN-tuh)

Incidentally I broke out the D70s with the Sigma 17-70mm macro lens for the first two shots. I hadn’t used the camera in a long time but it felt good right away. It still works great. The shot of the Cineraria was taken with the Nikon Coolpix P6000.

14 comments:

SandyCarlson said...

I received one of these begonias for Mother's Day, and it's a real wonder. The blossoms last a good while, too. The yellow is so rich.

I like that memorial. It's a nicely done piece. The police and graffiti writers in our corner of the world have an interesting relationship, and it's nice to see it come through in such an appropriate, touching way.

eileeninmd said...

Your begonia is just beautiful and I love the cineraria too. Lovely photos!

Regina said...

How pretty! Thank you for sharing.
Have a great day.

EG CameraGirl said...

Love the begonias and the cineraria is such a lovely shade of deep blue.

Chubskulit Rose said...

Nice tribute to a hero..

jabblog said...

Begonias are such good-tempered, long-flowering plants - a great favourite in tubs and baskets in UK.
I thought the graffiti memorial was a great tribute.

Pat said...

I am going to look for the Nonstop Begonia for inside my house. What a great idea to have a plant that blossoms all year round. Your flower shots are lovely.

That is a wonderful memorial on the wall for Robert DiNardo...a great way to honor him.

Have a blessed Sunday.

Arija said...

Tuberous Begonias are stunning as mass park plantations or in window boxes. They are perennial plants, but need lifting in cold climates.

It amazes me that they were introduced to America so recently, in Europe they have graced gardens and conservatories for as long as I remember.

Lovely bright shots.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

DFP: Very interesting blue flower, great color.

Stephany said...

A wonderful tribute and such beautiful captures. Love that yellow begonia!

Jama said...

Love that blue color flowers, so beautiful!

Maris said...

Chris, begonias are one of my all time favorite flowers. Beautiful pics as usual!

Maris

Kala said...

The colors of the Cineraria are just lovely!

cell phone said...

I am very happy to read your articles, more useful for me especially
I have the same thing with you. I am so very petrified of this in my lectures.