Hardy Sunflower

 

Hardy Sunflower

Helianthus sp.

(hee-lee-AN-thus) (AN-yoo-us)

This beauty is already blooming along with some Asters and mums. Fall is upon us. No, just kidding, but some flowers seem to be pushing the envelope a little. Helianthus is a reliable plant that can brighten up the fall border.

We finally got some rain yesterday and even though it was a thunderstorm its copious amounts of rain were welcome. Everything seems much refreshed outside this morning and our little dry spell seems over for now.

Central Park Sunflower

Central Park Sunflower
Helianthus annuus
(hee-lee-AN-thus) (AN-yoo-us)

This bold fellow was blooming in Central Park a few weeks ago. The Sunflowers did really well considering that we didn’t really get that much sun around here this summer. They add so much to the summer and fall garden. This flower, which I am assuming was a cultivar, really had nice grayish blue green foliage. The size of the flower was large but not really over powering. It was just about the size.

Wow, was it windy here yesterday. We also got a half inch of rain before the winds arrived. I heard of a peak gust of 46 mph (around 75 kph) but think it was more like in the 30 mph range where I was. There were several roads closed on the way home and numerous power outages that made driving a little difficult. We will be picking sticks for a long while.

This shot was a try at recreating the black and white Sunflower that was posted here in September. In some ways it worked and in other ways it didn’t.


Work has been pretty busy and today we are making the big Chrysanthemum planting (150). The other thing we have been doing is a transplanting rampage. Since a lot of our gardens are starting to mature there are plants that I have resisted moving in the past that have simply gotten too big. They have to move now. Once we started it has gotten to be interesting. Having a lot of space to try some new things and some mature plants to plug some holes has been great. This probably should have been done years ago but I tend to hang on to the way things are in the garden. A bold stroke is sometimes needed and can bring about a nice feeling of change.

Monochrome Sunflower

Black and White Sunflower
Helianthus annuus
(hee-lee-AN-thus) (AN-yoo-us)

Jerusalem Artichoke

Jerusalem Artichoke
Helianthus tuberosus

This plant can be a potential weed in the garden. I happened onto a huge stand in full bloom at the NYBG last weekend. The insects were loving the flowers and I was able to get pretty close. Jerusalem Artichoke has no ties to the city of Jerusalem and is not an artichoke (good name for the plant, huh?). It is a species of Sunflower native to the Eastern United States that Native Americans cultivated for food. I have never eaten it except for some pasta made from the tuber but it is widely cultivated and sold.

This Honeybee was busy and didn’t mind me sneaking in for a close shot with the 60mm.


People have been clamoring :lol: for pictures of Juno the new puppy. She has been a wonderful addition to the family and has fit right in. Here are a few snaps of her.


This is a goofy shot of her when she decided she wanted to play with my camera strap.


Ruby Tuesday has taken a maternal interest in Juno. She watches over her when they are not playing together. They have really hit it off. It is funny because Ruby is a 75 pounder and her head is as big as Juno's whole body.

Sawtooth Sunflower (Helianthus grosseserratus)

Sawtooth Sunflower
Helianthus grosseserratus
(hee-lee-AN-thus) (gros-ser-AY-tus)


This is one of those plants that I have seen before but really didn’t know the name or much about it. This flower was growing in the Rock Garden at the New York Botanical garden. Well it was newly planted in the area next to the Rock Garden. This plant is tall! With this specimen reaching about 10 feet. It is a little rangy looking but the flowers are beautiful. If I had a small garden I probably wouldn’t consider this one as it is just too big but it would make a nice back of the border or mass planting in the larger garden. The Willow-leaved Sunflower (Helianthus salicifolius) is a better choice for smaller gardens.

The Sawtooth Sunflower is distinct from some of other Sunflowers with its glaucous, glabrous stems and thin serrated and slightly folded leaves. While native to the Midwestern US it has spread through the Eastern Us and was introduced to Canada. Here is a link to a distribution map:

efloras.org


It likes to grow in slightly moist rich soils but can tolerate even dry gravelly soil. Plants that grow in dense thickets are usually shorter and more compact. Single plants can reach 12 feet tall and are hardy to USDA Zone 3.


Like the post I made the other day with the Elm leaves here are some Guava (Psidium guajava) leaves from the same ‘roll’ as the Sunflower. This picture was shot inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory at the NYBG. As much as I try to take pictures inside there they hardly ever come out especially in the section the Guava was growing which is cool and very moist. Here is some more information about Guava:

Perdue.edu

Finally, in response to Ki’s post about hot sauces of October 11th here is the rack of them I saw in Santa Fe, NM. This was about half of the rack.