Crimson Flame Striped Rose

Striped Floribunda Rose
Rosa ‘Crimson Flame’

Since people seemed to enjoy the picture of the striped rose posted here last Sunday here is another one. It is strange that there were just a few references to this variety of rose on the net when usually virtually any rose you Google returns tons of information. This was spotted at a commercial office in Westchester, lucky they had left the tag on the plant or I would have never been able to figure out which rose it was. From the limited information I was able to garner ‘Crimson Flame’ is a Floribunda rose that was introduced in 2007. It did smell good and this particular specimen had been trained into a tree.

This year I have been doing a lot of foliage pictures and want to post some soon. This combination was growing in the shady area of White Flower Farms display garden. The Begonia is ‘Fireworks’ and it is a Rex Begonia. It is also know by the name Painted Leaf Begonia. Here is a link to a catalog page of Rex Begonias and you can see that they are extremely showy and colorful. They need to grow in full shade and ‘Fireworks’ only produces sporadic flowers kind of smallish pink flowers, although with foliage like that who needs flowers? The other plant is a cultivar of Golden Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold') called ‘All Gold’. If it is happy then it makes a nice shady ground cover.

Dwarf Fountain Grass

Fountain Grass
Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hamelin'
(pen-ih-SEE-tum) (al-oh-pek-yur-OH-id-eez)
Synonym: 'Hameln'

Pennisetum is a ‘go-to’ genus for our gardens. One or more of the cultivars usually finds a way into the design. 'Hamelin' is nice since it stays somewhat smaller than species. If you want a Fountain Grass that is really small try ‘Little Bunny’ but I have found they can get a little lost amongst the other plants. We tried a new Oriental Fountain Grass from Sunny Border Nurseries called 'Karley Rose' (Pennisetum orientale 'Karley Rose') and that did well but I want to see what it does after the winter and next season. ‘Moudry’ is also another nice cultivar of alopecuroides, it gets black seed heads which are interesting. The fact that Fountain Grass is deer resistant is also another big plus for growing it.


One thing I have noticed about 'Hamelin' is that it is sometimes mismarked at the nursery. This maybe a local phenomena but it has happened to me a couple of times.

Here is a flower picture. It is another of the NYBG Series of Korean Chrysanthemums. The color is perfect for fall, I think.

Hummingbird Sage

Hummingbird Sage
Salvia coccinea ‘Cherry Blossom’
Synonyms: Texas Sage, Scarlet Sage, 'Coral Nymph'

This plant looked familiar to me and when I found out it is the same plant as ‘Coral Nymph’ I knew why. Under either name this plant is a beauty that gives an unusual color with an upright but dwarf habit. It grows to 15 inches tall and is an annual in Connecticut’s climate. I grew some last year and didn’t get any seedlings but it does supposedly reseed itself, maybe that is just in warm climates where it is a tender perennial.

The delicate color makes a nice contrast with darker colored plants but it can also stand by itself in a mass. I have found it grows well in containers, too. Sometimes when the real heat starts it needs the tops sheared off to get it started blooming again.

At The New York Botanical Garden the Salvia coccinea ‘Cherry Blossom’ was planted with Hare's Tail Grass (Lagurus ovatus ‘Bunny Tails’). It is a cute little annual grass that I hadn’t seen before. Reading up it appears to be easy to grow from seed and in the garden. I will have to try some next year.

Some Maine Wildflowers

Some Maine Wildflowers

There were thousands of wildflowers lining most roads in the Caribou area when we were there last week. This first one is an Ox-eye Daisy. One field I saw as we drove by must have been several acres of flowers.

This grass was stunning and even though I kept my eyes open for more I only saw this one little patch. Actually it was just one plant. No idea what it is and asking around didn’t reveal the answer.


This is a Wild Maine Rose that was growing in a drainage ditch along side the road a couple of hundred yards from the Canadian border in Fort Fairfield. It was smothered in blooms.


No trip to Maine would be complete without a couple of pictures of some farm equipment. This old tractor was for sale.




The Lupines were fantastic. Once over the Maine border there were patches all the way up to Caribou. I found them difficult to photograph and really only got this meager picture. All of these shots were using the new 24mm/1.8 Sigma EX lens. I like the fact that I can take a macro picture and then turn around and get a wide picture like this.

Black Leaf Millet (Pennisetum glaucum 'Purple Majesty')

Black Leaf Millet
Pennisetum glaucum 'Purple Majesty'
(pen-ih-SEE-tum) (GLAW-kum)
Synonyms: Ornamental Millet, Pearl Millet

This is an interesting accent plant that I am seeing more of. I have grown it before from seed and purchased it in small pots in the spring. This year I cheated and bought some in August for planting with my mums. One thing I liked about getting it later in the season, the plants were a lot shorter. It grows to about 4 to 5 feet in the garden. As I said it is an interesting accent both for it’s color and vertical shape. I never knew the scientific name until I went to write this post. I see it is actually a grass and related to couple of my favorite Ornamental Grasses, Fountain Grass. I especially love Purple Fountain Grass even though it is closer to red. Since this plant is hardy to USDA Zone 8 I grow this as an annual. It last pretty late into the season.



I just planted mine in the garden without looking up the cultural requirements and had good luck. For best results this plant likes a sunny spot (which intensifies the leaf color) and good drainage. It doesn’t need a lot of water, which doesn’t really matter to me, but I know is a concern and a good trait for some gardeners. It can tolerate heat. This plant won the All-America Selections Gold Medal Flower award, which is rarely awarded and only to plants that represent a breeding breakthrough. They have been testing new varieties of flowers and vegetables since 1933. Here is a link to more history on the awards.
All-America Selections/History



In the outtake department this plant was my backup ‘I’ subject for ABC Wednesday. I am not sure what species (I wish I had written it down) of Ironweed this is. Ironweed (Vernonia) is a large perennial that some people consider a little weedy. I like it for its height, purple blooms and ability to grow in moist areas; it also blooms pretty late in the season. It is fine for the back of a mixed border or woodland garden. There are some medicinal uses and supposedly you can use the stems to build a kite.