Happy Patch of Daisies

Shasta Daisy

Leucanthemum x superbum

(lew-KANTH-ih-mum) (soo-PER-bum)

Remembering encountering this patch of daisies is easy since it imparted a warm and happy feeling. Some of that was the struggle over several seasons getting them to cooperate. This year I decided to feed them in the early spring while I was literally fertilizing hundreds of different trees and plantings and it worked out well. The flowers seemed more numerous, sturdier and there were no pest problems. I can see the patch is headed for dividing in a season or two.

Broadway Lights Shasta Daisy

 

Shasta Daisy

Leucanthemum x superbum 'Broadway Lights'

(lew-KANTH-ih-mum) (soo-PER-bum)

Synonym: Leumayel

When people ask me what my favorite flower is they often seem disappointed when I say Daisy. I guess they are expecting me to say some exotic orchid or something but Daisies just seem to be an elemental flower whose beauty is in its pure color and geometric simplicity. Besides you can’t play a game like loves me loves me not with an orchid.

This cultivar of Shasta Daisy was introduced in 2006 and was kind of riding the wave of yellow tinted Shastas that were coming out at the time. This one’s flowers start out yellow and then fade to white on a sturdy plant. Shasta Daisies are nice to have in the garden and are easy to grow. I think they like full sun but can grow in partial shade. The more shade the stringier the plants get. If you deadhead your plants they will reply in kind with another round of blooms.

 

Shasta Daisy

Shasta Daisy

Leucanthemum x superbum

(lew-KANTH-ih-mum) (soo-PER-bum)

In honor of splitting up a huge patch of Shasta Daises yesterday here is a photo I grabbed. It isn’t the best time to divide them but the owner had grown a little weary of just having daisies in that area. After making hundreds of smaller ones and planting them there was still a pile left over that went on the scrap heap. We added some nice Strawberry Foxglove (Digitalis x mentorensis) and some Eastern Bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana) and it looked nice and more like a perennial border. We also tore apart a big planting of Gooseneck Loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides), which isn’t really a good plant to have and we added some Garden Phlox and Foxglove to that area. It was nice to do some just plain gardening work and it really kicked up the perennial area.

Shasta Daisy

Shasta Daisy

Leucanthemum 'White Mountain'

(lew-KANTH-ih-mum)

Synonym: Chrysanthemum x superbum, Chrysanthemum maximum

This little daisy was introduced in 2011 and I was happy to have scored a couple in the spring. The plant had a lot of flowers and the foliage stayed relatively clean. Growing to a height of 12 inches tall is a definite plus as far as Shasta Daisies go. I usually don’t stake Shastas but heavy rain/wind can snap the stems if it comes at the right time. The Honeybee was just a bonus and it was nice to see as we don’t seem to get as many Honeybees as we used to.

We had another nuisance snowstorm yesterday. It really couldn’t decide if it was a rain or snowstorm. It did manage to yield about 2-3 inches of wet, heavy snow and a little ice but I definitely put in the category of a missed bullet. Some areas to the north got a lot more snow.

Shasta Daisies in Black and White

Black and White Shasta Daisies
Leucanthemum x superbum 'Becky'
(lew-KANTH-ih-mum)

We woke up to a big puffy blanket of white this morning. It’s still coming down with a final tally of 4 inches. I really can’t complain about the amount of snow we have been getting it has been on the light side. Especially if you compare to last winter freaky accumulations. I have come to the conclusion snow is only romantic when it’s falling after that it is a pain in the butt.


Since we had a black and white yesterday he is another of one of my favorite perennials. Shasta Daisy can have a few insect problems but other than that it is a carefree and beautiful plant. They work in borders, masses and even as accents. A few years after planting you can start dividing and getting free plants to colonize new areas in the garden. They do occasionally seed but I haven’t found that to be a problem and in actuality I have enjoyed and cultivated these seedlings. They can be easily transplanted to more desirable areas if necessary.

“The daisy's for simplicity and unaffected air.” Robert Burns, Scottish (1759 –1796)

Shasta Daisy

Shasta Daisy

Leucanthemum 'White Mountain

(lew-KANTH-ih-mum)

New Introduction for 2011

Shasta Daisy

Shasta Daisy
Leucanthemum x superbum
(lew-KANTH-ih-mum) (soo-PER-bum)

Some simple but elegant Daisies for Today’s Flowers. This patch of Daisies never seems to fail to have a great show in the spring. It has been steadily increasing in size with virtually no maintenance, except the occasional shearing after the first flush of blooms. Usually I just shear the tips and that rewards me with a new round of blooms. After several years I am going to have to go in and do some dividing, which will be nice for the new plants it will create.


Since it is Sunday here is the bonus flower.
Flowering Maple
Abutilon 'Clementine'
(a-BEW-tih-lon)


We grew this Flowering Maple last season. I had never seen one this color before and it performed well. Now I kind of wish that we had saved it in the greenhouse over the winter. They do well inside but not great but after a couple of weeks outside in the spring they are back to looking beautiful. You can see a Scarlet Leadwort (Plumbago indica) poking in from the side. They did well together.

For more flower pictures from around the world check out:
Today’s Flowers .

Compact Shasta Daisy

Compact Shasta Daisy
Leucanthemum x superbum 'Silver Princess'
(lew-KANTH-ih-mum) (soo-PER-bum)
Synonym: Chrysanthemum x superbum

This compact Shasta is prolific bloomer. You could probably call it a dwarf as it only gets to about 12-18 inches tall and just has a smaller and more compact habit than most of the Shasta cultivars. The good news is the flower size is similar to most at about 3 inches across.

Happy Labor Day to the American readers here. The unofficial end of summer hopefully will mean lower temperatures and more even precipitation.

Black and White Shasta Daisies

Black and White Shasta Daisies
Leucanthemum x superbum 'Becky'
(lew-KANTH-ih-mum)


Wordless Wednesday

Banana Cream Shasta Daisy

New Yellow Shasta Daisy
Leucanthemum ‘Banana Cream’
(lew-KANTH-ih-mum)

This is an exciting new plant. Without buying into all the hype about it being new I have to say that it is beautiful and it caught my eye from across the nursery. The yellow is quite subtle and it seemed to be staying even on the flowers that were full blooming although there were some differing hues on them. Now some of the publicity for this perennial is shouting up to 50 flowers per plant and great life as a cut flower (lasting up to 2 weeks). The flowers are considered semi-double and at 4 inches wide nicely sized.

These were growing in the holding area of the nursery so I wasn’t sure if they were for sale. They were priced and I was glad to see it was he regular wholesale price for a one-gallon perennial. Since I have to return tomorrow I am going to see if I can snag a couple for the perennial border. It should make a nice foil to the regular Shasta Daisies that are there now.

Dwarf Shasta Daisy

Dwarf Shasta Daisy
Leucanthemum x superbum 'Darling'
(lew-KANTH-ih-mum) (soo-PER-bum)

This is a petite Shasta Daisy that appears more dwarf than ‘Snowcap’. The flowers are 2 to 3 inches wide and that fits the stature of the plant. They look quite good when there is a carpet of flowers that are only about 8 inches tall. ‘Darling’ is suitable for the front of the border and seemed to bloom most of the summer with deadheading.


This week, with the big American holiday on Thursday, is going to be busy. There are probably going to be a few more Daisy pictures here. Looking back at some of the photos that I took over the summer the daisies seemed to do very well.

Alaska Shasta Daisy

Shasta Daisy
Leucanthemum x superbum 'Alaska'
(lew-KANTH-ih-mum) (soo-PER-bum)

This is one of the oldest Shasta Daisy cultivars and it is still around so that says something about it. There has been a couple out in the garden for long time so it is truly perennial for us. The flowers are up to 4 inches across and make a good cut flower. My only problem with ‘Alaska’ is that it does get quite tall (30 inches) and can be prone to flopping. I have always wanted to try pinching it early in the season to reduce the height but always forget. Maybe next year. It is a self-seeder and the seedlings are easy to transplant. It can succeed in hot and dry soils so it can be a bit of a problem solver. If you remember to dead head the first flush of spent flowers it will often bloom again later.


Sometimes I think this site should be called Daisy flower pictures.com instead of Digital flower pictures. There have been a lot of Daisies posted here. I find it to be a very photogenic group of flowers. Technically it is an easy flower to shoot as the blooms are held relatively upright and the flower itself is flat. That means it doesn’t require a lot of thought about the depth of field. The white color seems to make getting the right exposure easier, too.

Black Eyed Susan and Daisy

Black Eyed Susan and Daisy

You’ll notice both of these flower pictures are shot off center. It is something that I plan on working on next year. My photography teacher would love to hear that. Exposure is the other photography issue I plan on tackling in 2009. Since a lot of my pictures tend to be centered and underexposed it is going to be a little difficult to break out of that style but if you don’t try new things life can quickly become a little stale, for me anyways.


With composition it sometimes can be just taking an extra second before you click the shutter to make sure that the picture is framed in a pleasing way. Exposure is more of a technical issue and therefore a little more complicated issue to resolve. The challenge of doing something that is a little different is what keeps me taking pictures. That and being outside and studying the details of flowers and nature.

That was quite a storm that blew through here yesterday. About 12 inches of snow came down fairly fast and this morning some freezing drizzle is icing the snow pack. I am glad the snow blower is in good condition and I should have probably used it when the snow was a little fluffier. There are so many things that need to be done today that I am going to venture out even though the roads look a mess. Good thing we have a couple of Jeeps and a couple of 4WD trucks. The old Jeep is perfect for days like this, as it really doesn’t matter what happens to it.

I am sure most people know that today’s flowers are a Black eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) and Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum). Two of my favorite perennials due to their dependability as far as hardiness and flowering go.

"Wasn't that a mighty storm
Wasn't that a mighty storm in the morning, well
Wasn't that a mighty storm, that blew all the people all away"

Shasta Daisy - Switzerland

Shasta Daisy
Leucanthemum x superbum 'Switzerland'
(lew-KANTH-ih-mum) (soo-PER-bum)
Synonyms: Chrysanthemum x superbum, Chrysanthemum maximum

This picture was taken when I went to the nursery to pick up a few perennials and annuals. 'Switzerland' was looking good and I bought three without knowing anything about it. Some research has shown that is considered one of the longest blooming Shasta Daisies. That is always a plus. The flowers are quite large and really a nice pure white. I am looking forward to growing it a season or two and giving it a full review.

Shasta Daisies are easy to grow and very rewarding. I have found deadheading the spent blooms can really increase the flowering time. They combine well with other perennials and make a good cut flower. They like full sun and well drained soil.

This next picture is a Shasta that we grow a lot called ‘Becky’. It is nice that the flowers are large and overall the plant is bigger than most of the other cultivars. It sometimes flops over, which is a drag but all in all is a nice plant to have in the garden. I have heard that 'Becky' flowers have an unpleasant scent but not sure about that. I am going to have to smell one at work.


It sure has been a summer full of D’s. Dahlias, Daylilies and Daisies.