Giant Chincherinchee Flower

Giant Chincherinchee
Ornithogalum saundersiae
(or-ni-THOG-al-um)

This is a bulb from South Africa that you don’t see too often growing in the garden but is sometimes available as a cut flower. I have never grown it myself but would like to someday. Since it tender it would have to be lifted out of the ground here every winter and stored in a cool dry place.

Ornithogalums are mostly native to South Africa and Europe. Here is a good reference page of the different species with pictures. Bulb Society dot org. It should be noted that this plant is considered poisonous to both farm amd domestic animals.

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

For a bonus picture here is a Black and White Bee on Butterfly weed.

Harvest Moon Coneflower and Bees

Hybrid Coneflower
Echinacea ‘Harvest Moon’
(ek-in-AY-shee-a)
Synonym: 'Matthew Saul'

This ‘Harvest Moon’ looks a little darker than usual. It is a great color but as I have said before it doesn’t seem too hardy in Connecticut. It keeps chugging along in the garden with a few flowers but it has never seemed to look as good as when it was purchased. I realize it could fully be my fault for not providing the correct conditions.

This flower was posted here on August 17, 2006. It is funny how excited I was to see it. The Coneflower test garden never happened and it would have been a flop if it had, as most of the cultivars are not that strong growing. The test garden probably would have cost a lot of money and been a little frustrating.

Bees are easy to photograph around Coneflower. Just wait a minute and your subject will be at hand. The best time is in the morning when it is cool out. The bees seem a little less active and more willing to sit still for a couple of pics. These were shot with my trusty backup and probably all time favorite photography duo of the Nikon D70s and the 60mm Micro-Nikkor lens.

We have an eye to the southeast on tropical storm Danny. It looks like it is going to, thankfully, stay off shore. The forecast went from 2-4 inches of rain with up to 50 mile per hour winds to 1 to 2 inches of rain and 20 to 40 mph winds for Saturday.

Honeybees and Red Flowers

Honeybee (Apis mellifera)
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea ‘Tomato Soup’)

Sneezeweed
Helenium ‘Red Army'
Synonyms: Helen's Flower, Dogtooth Daisy