'White Bomb' Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum weyrichii 'White Bomb'
(kris-AN-the-mum) (wey-RIK-ee-eye)
Synonyms: Dendranthema weyrichii, Leucanthemum weyrichii

In the category of you learn something new every I thought I discovered a new (new to me) plant called Dendrathema. After a little a research I found out that it is a botanical synonym for Chrysanthemum. These were two named cultivars I saw at the Vanderbilt Estate. I decided to try and find out about botanical synonyms and without getting too scientific found that it is a term used when plants have more than one Botanical name. The study of taxonomy can get a little complicated but generally the basionym is the first name ever given to a plant and all others are considered botanical synonyms. The basionym will accompany the plant even if it is reclassified in a new genus. Apparently the Dendrathemas started out as Chrysanthemums and were moved to the new name and back again, so now officially they are Chrysanthemums.

Chrysanthemum weyrichii 'White Bomb' is a perennial Chrysanthemum that is a little different than the Hardy Mums you buy at the grocery store. More like the Sheffield and Korean types of Chrysanthemum. It is hardy to Zone 4 and has a more refined daisy like flower than the other type of mums. ‘White Bomb’ is dwarf variety that only gets up to 10-12 inches. I found that it made a beautiful little clump that looked good along the edge of the perennial area.

Chrysanthemum x rubellum 'Clara Curtis'

This second photo is Chrysanthemum x rubellum 'Clara Curtis'. I read that it will tolerate a little more shade than most Chrysanthemums. It was almost double the height of ‘White Bomb’ and very free flowering. The color was beautiful and the plants were almost acting like a groundcover. This plant apparently needs pinching back or shearing a couple of times during the year to keep it from being floppy.

Both of these would be worth having in the border. Add in a few Asters and Japanese Anemones and you will have a good display for this time of year.

I have wanted to do a post on the houses I saw in Hyde Park last weekend. I just haven’t found the time to put it together yet. If you want information on the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site click here .

The Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, New York. View from the South Lawn.

There is a good history of the family on the history link.

Column detail from the West Portico.

Yesterday was my 400th post and I didn't even realize it, though I am not big on that sort of thing. Sure has been a great experience.

Japanese Anemone ~ ABC Wednesday

Japanese Anemone ~ ABC Wednesday
Anemone X hybrida
(uh-NEM-oh-nee)
Synonyms: Japanese Windflower, Japanese Thimbleflower

If you are hear for WW skip down to the post below. Please consider joining us for ABC Wednesday, it is open to all.

This plant is always a treat in this time of year. It is an easy to cultivate perennial that tolerates partial shade. I have read reports that this plant can spread too much but that hasn’t been the case with mine. Sure it widens out but it is easily managed. I also read with some surprise that it likes alkaline soil. It has seemed to grow in just about any soil that I have planted it in. They do like a bit of moisture and so far have been free of insects and diseases. They are hardy to USDA Zone 4. I like to plant mine in the back of the border or by themselves because they can get quite tall. There are a number of different cultivars to choose from. Unfortunately this one wasn’t marked when I photographed it at the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, New York.

I am happy to post my ‘J’ as Japanese. It is such a big part of American Gardening. While I have been to several Japanese Gardens I actually prefer the kind of American hybrid that has some Japanese elements in it but a broader mix of plants. Someday I would like to visit Japan. We have so many of their garden elements and plant species that I am sure I would recognize a few things.



A couple more ‘J’s. The first one is the Floribunda rose ‘Jasper’. I have never heard of this one before seeing it. I would have sworn that it was an ‘old’ rose. However upon looking it up I found that it is from 1996. It has a long list of synonyms:
Berleburg Berleburg Castle Bewitched (floribunda, Poulsen, 1996) Cuyahoga Herzlichen Glückwunsch Memory Lane POUlbella

It is a double rose with a petal count of 18 to 25 and a nice strong fragrance. I think I am posting far too many pink roses lately. As I said before they are starting grow on me. I guess they are somewhat fitting, as pink roses usually are a symbol of friendship, appreciation and gratitude. So I extend this pink rose to all the people that come here and read this humble space. Your visits and comments mean a lot to me and I hope in a small way I have helped learn something about flowers and shared some of the awe that I still feel when I am out growing or photographing flowers. I have been able to share some of my favorite plants and flowers and some of the unusual things I have seen in my gardens and others I have discovered in the great gardens I have visited. It has been a tremendous learning experience for me. The botanical world is so big I don’t think I will ever stop being a student of it. I hope that all made sense. To sum it up in a word, thanks.



Now ‘J’ is for joke, also, and I couldn’t resist taking this picture of our mentor, ABC inventor and guru’s restaurant in Hyde Park. That is Hyde Park in Dutchess County New York not in London. How she has time to be a teacher, gardener and someone who entertains us, makes us sad, lifts us up and thrills us with her photographic tours of England from the back of a motorbike and run a transatlantic restaurant I will never know.



Just like her blog Mrs. Nesbitt’s Fireside Café serves up hearty fare at a reasonable price. The food is satisfying and there is enough to make you feel good without walking away bloated. There are a good variety of offerings for everyone to find something they like. I guess the ‘joke’ was that I would post a picture of this café and compare it to Denise’s blog. The other stuff I wrote is true and written with the utmost respect, hat’s off to you, Mrs. Nesbitt and I will have another Ham and Brie Sandwich with chips (oops, I mean crisps) and a sparkling water.



Here are some of the other blogs that are participating in ABC Wednesday. If you want to join let me know and I will add your link.

mrs nesbitts place
hin's photoblog
tech the man
a bit of this a dash of that
Little Rock Daily Photo
photoxication
Kissing the Dogwood
strolling through Georgia
Ruth's Garden Blog
dwq online
kate isis
bidadlah.com
photography by kml
AVCR8TEUR'S Blog
Salty Dogs
The Modern Goddess
Simply Sage
HeART of the Nest
Gemmas House
author blog
kai
Mollitudes

New York Aster (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii)

New York Aster
Symphyotrichum novi-belgii
(sim-fy-oh-TRY-kum) (NO-vee BEL-jee-eye)

I saw this Aster at the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park. It was marked ‘Professor Kippenburg’, however, after a little research I found out that is a blue cultivar and not a deep pink one. So I don’t know the name of this one but it was a colorful little plant that was full of bees. If you ever want to take a couple of photographs of bees just hang around some Asters for a few seconds.



I will always have a sweet spot for Asters. They come on strong in a time of year when just about everything else looks tired. They are easy to grow with the key cultivation factor of watching for Powdery Mildew and other fungus during the year. Good air circulation is a must. I usually pinch all my Asters a couple of times during the season, even the dwarf ones. That allows for a bushy and compact plant, which beats a floppy, stringy plant any day. Asters in general are reliable blasts of color right when you need them. They can tolerate almost wet soil and also grow well in dry soil. They are quite hardy and can take some light frost. Division is an easy way to get new plants and keep the existing clumps healthy. One thing I found out is they are considered a good cut flower.

Symphyotrichum seems to be the ‘new’ genus name for Aster. There are also quite a few botanical synonyms.

My first experiment with the Blogger time stamp was a miserable failure when the post published right away. Sorry about that. For those of you that tuned in to see my Wordless Wednesday post you will have to come back tonight to see it.


This is a weird abstract photo of the Aster. It was a little bit of an accident. I would like to take some more pictures like this that were just a little but clearer. That is something to work on.

Floribunda Rose ‘Betty Prior’

Floribunda Rose ‘Betty Prior’

Another one from the FDR Rose Garden in Hyde Park, NY. I must admit I have seen this rose before and didn’t think much of it. However is really struck me as a pretty rose on Saturday. It was one of the most prolific blooming roses in the garden, it was also one of the tallest. It’s funny I have been posting so many pink roses. I thought that they were my least favorite but I guess I have been enjoying them while growing them, photographing and posting them. Also the fact that this rose has only 5 petals and a solid color is something I normally would say is ‘plain’. Those attributes are becoming more attractive to me. Beauty in simplicity. The first picture benefited from a quick rain shower.



“Betty Prior’ was bred in the UK by D. Prior & Son in 1935. Jackson and Perkins introduced the rose to the United States in 1938. So it is a rose of FDR’s era. It was considered, at one time, to be one of the most popular roses in the United States and judging from the amount of times I have seen it, ‘Betty Prior’ is still very popular. Among its good traits are a nice fragrance and hardiness to USDA Zone 4.



Parentage: Kirsten Poulsen x Seedling
Petal Count: 5, true single rose
Height: 4 feet

Also available as a Tree Rose and a Climber. The climbing version was developed in 1995 by Donell Cooper in 1995 and is a sport of the original ‘Betty Prior’. In case you don’t know what a botanical ‘sport’ is the definition is:
“An abrupt, naturally occurring genetic change resulting in a branch that differs in appearance from the rest of the plant, or, a plant derived by propagation from such a genetically changed branch.”

Hybrid Tea Rose ‘Sweet Surrender’

Hybrid Tea Rose ‘Sweet Surrender’

This site seems to be loading real slowly over the last couple of days. My apologies for that. I took off some of the widgets and don’t know if I found the problem. I see quite a few people signed up for subscriptions to this blog through feedburner and for that thanks. Yesterday was the first day I figured out how to get it working. I am not sure if anybody else is like me in the fact that some areas of technology I can master easily but other areas less so. I tend to avoid those areas but when I tried feedburner again it seemed easy to set up, maybe since I am using Firefox now.

Yesterday after a few work appointments I decided to drive up to Hyde Park, New York. I have been working one day a week up there at a large horse farm. It really is a beautiful area and not too far from my house. I had seen a couple of pictures that I wanted to take on the way to work and also seen the signs for the FDR Presidential Library. After a little research I found there were a couple of other big Estates in the area and decided to visit the FDR house and the Vanderbilt Mansion. I got quite a few good pictures even though the light was difficult. I plan on making a couple of posts over the next few days on the trip. I don’t want to post too many pictures at once until I am sure the site loading problem is fixed.

Bud and Bloom of Hybrid Tea Rose 'Sweet Surrender'


One of the highlights of the trip was the Rose Garden at the FDR house. I didn’t pay to go into the house, which looked a little run down to me. The grounds were in good condition and the Rose Garden was exceptional. Not that big but plenty of varieties and flowers. It is the late president’s and Eleanor’s final resting place. There is a nice flower border and the grave is flanked by a large row of Peonies. It seemed like a nice, peaceful resting place. By all accounts the President loved the area and the house.

Here are few notes on today’s rose. It is a very fragrant Hybrid Tea that has large flowers. It won the AARS award in 1983 (for more information on the awards click here ).

In case you feel like stopping to smell the roses I found this tidbit on the AARS website: “The best time to smell roses is midmorning when the sun has just reached the garden. The fragrance will be most intense when the bloom is 1/4 to 2/3 open.”

Bred by: Weeks Roses, US, 1983
Petal Count: 40-45
Parentage: Seedling × Tiffany (hybrid tea, Lindquist, 1954)

Black and White 'Peace' rose from the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Rose Garden in Hyde Park, New York

This black and white portrait of the ‘Peace’ rose seems fitting for a post about FDR. Although we all know that peace is seldom a black and white issue. My wife was laughing at me saying I should call this site Digital Rose Pictures.com. I told her I don’t discriminate all flowers are welcome here!

These two quotes are from the speech FDR was to give on April 13, 1945 at the Jefferson Day Dinner, he died the day before.

"The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be
our doubts of today, so let us move forward with strong
and active faith."

"If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science
of human relationships--the ability of all people of all kinds,
to live together and work together in the same world, at peace."