Little Lemon Goldenrod

Little Lemon Goldenrod

Solidago ‘Dansolitlem’

(so-li-DAY-go)

I don’t often find myself in a position to be recommending Goldenrod for garden cultivation, as the nonhorticultural types are an invasive coarse weed. This little fella as proven to be an interesting and useful cultivar of the native wildflower. It grows somewhat compactly and blooms late and for a long time. Introduced in 2005 it seems to be getting some traction in the market but is probably still suffering from its cousin’s bad reputation. The pollen from Goldenrod does not cause hay fever as it is not windborne (too heavy) although it is often blamed for it.

Saturday while attending the Oyster Bay Festival I slipped into a rough area near the shore and found this wild Aster blooming. It’s pure white flowers and short stature added to its appeal.

Hairy Wild Petunia

Hairy Wild Petunia

Ruellia humilis

(roo-EL-ee-uh) (HEW-mil-is)

This little flower began showing up in a rock garden I take care of and it took awhile for me to identify it. There are several species of this flower that grow in this area but I think it is identified correctly here. It has become a happy “accident” in the garden growing in the cracks of the rock borders and brick walks. It has also provided some color under the dwarf evergreen population. It’s short stature makes skirts around the plants. Since it is a wildflower that often grows in fields and rough areas it has found a home and been a good garden citizen with only the occasional misplaced seedling needing to be pulled out. This plant can grow in dry conditions and part shade, which is good since the rock garden has it’s own irrigation cycle that is much less than the rest of the gardens at the house.

Not really related closely to the petunias (Petunia) that we grow as annuals they do share some of the same botanical characteristics and ancestors. They are just not as long or showy blooming.

California Poppy

California Poppy

Eschscholzia californica

(es-SHOLT-zee-uh) (kal-ih-FOR-nik-uh)

This is a favorite little flower of mine. You don’t see them too often in these parts so when I see their sunny little faces it is always a treat. It would have to be considered an annual here but it reseeds with abandon and can winter over in milder climates. There are several cultivars in different colors available but I have found the orange are the easiest to grow.

After much rumination we have decided to cut down the English Hawthorn (Crataegus laevigata) tree at work. It has sustained multiple damage in recent storms and just isn’t pretty anymore. Since it only had a narrow shady area to grow in the tree has not been attractive for many years now. It predates my 26 year tenure at the estate and while I feel bad about cutting it down I won’t feel bad about not having to pick up the sticks from it after the storms. It is armed with some of the most vicious thorns of any plant in this area. That will make cutting it down a little interesting as will its proximity to the house.

Dwarf Chinese Delphinium

Dwarf Chinese Delphinium
Delphinium grandiflorum 'Blue Butterfly'
(del-FIN-ee-um) (gran-dih-FLOR-um)

The color of this flower caught my eye immediately. It is a super striking blue. Although I love Delphinium flowers it is a plant I would rather not grow. It is biennial at best and needs to be constantly refreshed and the plants are sometimes difficult to get. I am sure this table of “Butterfly Blue’ was sold out fast.

This is dwarf Delphinium and that makes it easier to manage. It only grows to about 18 inches and doesn’t need staking. It looks like the classic Delphinium in shape, form and foliage. It has average water needs and isn’t too fussy about soil type. The flower color alone justifies trying this one out.


Since it is Sunday come join us at Today’s Flowers .

Bonus Photo!


Yesterday I went up to rural Kent, Connecticut to play at the Hollowstock Festival. It was located on a rustic farm that was totally charming. After living out my dream of playing a Hammond Organ at a gig I was wandering around when I saw this wild Poppy. The color was fantastic and this picture was taken in the very late after noon. It was nice to see poking it’s head up along the fence line.

Hairy False Goldenaster

Hairy False Goldenaster
Heterotheca villosa var. scabra
(het-er-oh-THEEK-uh) (vil-OH-suh)

It’s not too often I come across a flower around here that I have no idea what it is. This was one I spotted last week and was happy it had a tag for identification purposes. The bright, clear yellow was nice to see on a somewhat cloudy day. The plants were about 2.5 feet tall and the foliage had kind of a velvety down on them. I want to be sure to announce that this free seeder is considered invasive and is also considered a weed in some places. We could all use a few more weeds like this! This plant is good for xeriscaping as it is drought tolerant. If you don’t want any seedlings just deadhead the flowers to control it. This flower is mostly native to the Western United States and Canada.

Since it is Sunday come join us at Today’s Flowers .

Bonus Picture!


False Sunflower
Heliopsis
(hee-lee-OP-sis)

Not sure exactly what this flower is but it seemed like Heliopsis is a good guess. It was also lighting up the cloudy landscape.

Daylily

Daylily
Hemerocallis
(hem-er-oh-KAL-iss)

Last year we bought a box of 100 Daylily seedlings and planted them around the yard. Everyone lived and thrived and this double peach colored one is one of my favorites. The Daylilies fit perfectly into what I call Chris’s Garden of Castaways. It is primarily made up from over orders, rehabilitation projects, cast offs and other rejects. The cast of characters are starting to come together nicely but always with the idea of what I can dig up and sell later.

This Daylily, which I thought might be 'Siloam Double Classic' but doesn’t have enough pink, has been blooming for a week now. I decided to step back and take a picture of the whole flower scape now that it has 4 flowers out. The plant is sufficiently large enough now to be divided after it finishes flowering.


I was calling this a ‘double’ Daylily because of the extra petal but the more correct term is “polymerous” (def.: having or consisting of many parts). Under either name the extra petals add a lot to the beauty. The flowers also have a pretty strong scent, which is refreshing and heady.

Daylilies are considered one of the most hybridized plants. With 60,000 registered cultivars and 100’s more being added every year there is a mind-boggling amount to choose from except no blue flowers but I am sure they are working on that. They are hardy from USDA Zone 1 (which goes down to -60 deg. F) up to Zone 11. Hey are very adaptable in the garden and the only problem that crops up is the deer like to eat them. The flowers are edible and often used in Asian cuisine.

Come join us at Today’s Flowers . The links open at 1400 GMT. It is a great bunch of people and you get flowers from all over the world.

On Sundays we have a bonus flower and today its is a Wild Daisy from work. It is basically a weed that has resisted every campaign to eradicate it from the garden. It looks all innocent in this picture but is a heavy seeder that can be a little frustrating to deal with.


After having the 60mm macro lens glued to the end of my camera for what seems weeks I broke out the 105mm/2.8 Nikon lens and used it on these photos. It is a great beast of a lens but is also great on capturing light and shadows.

Dutchman's Breeches

Dutchman's Breeches
Dicentra cucullaria
(dy-SEN-truh) (kuk-yoo-LAIR-ee-uh)

It had been a long time since I had seen this little wildflower blooming. At first it looked like some kind of modified Bleeding Heart until I remembered its name. That initial impression wasn’t far off as I had the genus right but not the species. The foliage is luxuriant and has a nice detail to it. The little flowers are also nice looking with their hint of yellow. This flower has a lot of interesting things associated with it including being spread by ants ( Myrmecochory ) and being used to treat various medical problems over the years. It was fun to see blooming in the garden on Friday.

For more flower pictures from around the world check out:
Today’s Flowers . The links open at 1400 GMT.


Here is a bonus picture since it is Sunday. Happy Easter to all that are celebrating today. This is a picture of an amazing Tiffany Stained Glass panel called Hibiscus and Parrots from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. Karen and I visited last Sunday and it was her first time (I have been there at least 10 times before). She was amazed at all the old master paintings and antiquities we saw. They also have a very cool guitar exhibit right now, which was interesting to me.

Wild Irish Daisy

Wild Irish Daisy

Taken on our 2006 trip to Ireland.

Pink Oxalis

Pink Oxalis
(oks-AL-iss)

Musk Mallow

Musk Mallow
Abelmoschus moschatus
(a-bel-MOS-kus) (MOSS-kuh-tus)
Synonyms: Hibiscus abelmoschus

Not 100% sure on the identification on this flower. It was growing in a field last summer.

Boneset

Boneset
Eupatorium atrorubens
(yoo-puh-TOR-ee-um) (at-roh-ROO-benz)

This plant was growing in an overgrown perennial area of a new customers garden. They didn’t seem to know anything about it. So I couldn’t tell if it is a perennial or just some seedlings. I will have to be on the lookout for it next year. It has a nice flower that was still blooming up to about two weeks ago and had managed to make a nice show despite all the other growth in the area. Just about any blue flower is okay with me.

Rhapsody in Blue Shrub Rose

Rhapsody in Blue Shrub Rose
Rosa
Synonyms: FRAntasia

This is one of the ‘new’ roses we got for the garden this year and it has been a steady and reliable performer. Despite the warnings that it is susceptible to black spot and doesn’t like blooming in the heat ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ was covered with flowers when we were tending to the big rose garden on Friday. I like how there are several different shades of purple on the plant at once (this was one of the darker flowers).

‘Rhapsody in Blue’ is the first rose featured on this site bred by British amateur rose breeder Frank R. Cowlishaw. It was introduced in the UK in 2000 but took seven years to make it to the United States when it was introduced by Weeks Roses. It has a nice scent and a petal count of 16, although some of our flowers seem to have less than that.

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

Bonus flower for today is:


Indian Pink
Spigelia marilandica
(spy-GEEL-ee-ah) (mar-i-LAND-ih-ka)
Synonyms: Woodland Pinkroot

It took me years to identify this plant. It had been growing in a semi-shady border that I have been taking care of. It is a true perennial in Connecticut’s climate and has always generated “what is that flower?” type of comments when in bloom. It usually blooms in early summer and sometimes gets a few flowers late in the season. It is a native wildflower in the Mid-Atlantic and southern regions of the US. It really has been a joy to have in the garden.

Little Penny Hybrid Tickseed

Hybrid Tickseed
Coreopsis 'Little Penny'
(kor-ee-OP-sis)
Synonyms: Threadleaf Coreopsis

Yesterday I was at the New York Botanical Garden to se the Daylily collection. It was, as usual, dazzling and just about in full bloom. It was quite a spectacle the only problem being it was so hot out. After viewing the Daylilies I decided to take a walk through the Home Gardening Garden. This area of the garden has come a long way in the last few years and I was happy to see today’s featured flower.

Coreopsis ‘Little Penny’ appeared to be a cushion mum from far away. It was a mound completely covered with flowers. The color, as you can see, was quite unusual for a Coreopsis. This variety was introduced by Terra Nova Nurseries in 2010. The link shows some of the interesting varieties they have been breeding (the click through on that page seemed to be disabled, sorry). I would love to grow some ‘Little Penny’ but all the references I saw say it is tender in all but Zone 9 and 10, which are the warmest in the United States. It still would be a worthy annual especially if it blooms, as advertised, continuously through the season. I don’t think you could have fit another flower on the specimens I saw.


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

Here is a bonus flower for Sunday.



Upright Prairie Coneflower
Ratibida columnifera
(ruh-TIB-ih-duh) (kol-um-NEE-fer-uh)
Synonyms: Mexican Hats, Grey Headed Coneflower, Yellow Coneflower, Red Hats

This is a fun flower. I call it ‘Mexican Hat’ but its true name is Upright Prairie Coneflower. It is a bit of a wispy plant that doesn’t require a lot of attention. It is probably something I am doing but I can’t get it to last more than a couple of years at a time. Like most prairie wildflowers it is drought resistant and adaptable.

Red Trillium

Sweet Wakerobin
Trillium vaseyi
(TRIL-ee-um) (VAS-ee-eye)
Synonym: Red Trillium, Vasey's Trillium, Stinking Benjamin
Click Here for a Larger Version


This is one of the most distinguished plants in our woodland garden. It is perennial having returned for about 25 years now. There are all sorts of things that make the Trillium special. The way they reproduce is kind of interesting having their seed spread by ants and mice from the Wikipedia article the process is explained like this:

“At maturity, the base and core of the Trillium ovary turns soft and spongy. Trillium seeds have a fleshy organ called an elaiosome that attracts ants. The ants extract the seeds from the decaying ovary and take them to their nest, where they eat the elaiosomes and put the seeds in their garbage, where they can be protected until they germinate. They also get the added bonus of growing in a medium made richer by the ant garbage.” This process is called myrmecochory and is a good example of mutualism, with both species deriving benefit from the action.

These were shot with a Nikon P6000

Our plant has not popped up anywhere else but we do discourage both ants and mice. You should never pick a Tillium flower as the plant can take a long time to recover. As a matter of fact it is protected against picking and collection in many US states and parts of Canada. The white Trillium, which is a little easier to see than the red, is the official flower of the Canadian province of Ontario and the state flower of Ohio.

I am glad this flower had its head turned up for easy photographing. They are often, as were the others in the group, nod downward because of the weight.

Pink Wood Sorrel

Pink Wood Sorrel
Oxalis debilis var. corymbosa
(oks-AL-iss)
Click Here for a Larger Version

This pretty little pink Hawaiian Wildflower was blooming at Iao Valley State Park on Maui. It was growing in the crack in some paving stones and was delight to find blooming. The family Oxalidaceae is a large one (over 900 species) with about 800 species belonging to one of the eight genera in Oxalidaceae, Oxalis.

This flower was about 2 inches tall and required what I call a down and dirty shot of getting on my knees and steadying the camera on the ground. It was shot with my point and shoot camera (Nikon P6000) because that camera provides the best minimum focusing distance of 1.6" or 4cm of any camera/lens that I have. Luckily I didn’t have to embarrass the people with me and lay down completely on the ground to get this picture.

Click Here for a Larger Version

The Iao Valley State Park is home to much Hawaiian heritage and of course the dramatic Iao Needle (Kuka`emoku), which is only vaguely represented in this picture. Having been to the island of Maui four times now I was determined to see the Needle this last time. I was glad we made the trip. As both the park and surrounding area had great scenery and a good trail system that was easily accessed. The views were pretty amazing and the p&s camera didn’t quite capture them the best but you can get a small idea of what it looked like. The needle itself rises 2,250-feet from the surrounding Pu'u Kukui Crater, which you can see the edge of on the right side of the needle. We were lucky the Needle was out in full view because clouds often obscure it. It was nice and sunny and even a bit hot when we visited. I would recommend the trip up the valley for a short diversion if you have time while visiting Maui.

Two Wildflowers

Two Wildflowers

The first picture is some sort of Hypericum that was growing as a kind of a rangy large shrub. It was nice to see the yellow flowers against the blue green foliage. The second flower is from Torrey Pines State Reserve and was blooming on the side of a cliff. Not sure why the rest of the photo come out almost monochrome but it works well to show off the flower color, which was intense.


We are leaving San Diego today for the drive to Connecticut. That month sure went fast. I hope to make it home by Monday night. The forecast for CT is cold so we probably won’t be rushing. I think both of us are looking forward to going home, even though our time here has been wonderful.

I will try and update this site as we go as there are still a lot of flowers and plants that I photographed here that I want to talk about.

Black and White Daisy

Wild Daisy
Wordless Wednesday

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.

Scarlet Flax on Ruby Tuesday

Scarlet Flax
Linum grandiflorum
(LIN-um) (gran-dih-FLOR-um)
Synonyms: Red Flax, Flowering Flax, Adenolinum grandiflorum, Linum coccineum

It’s Ruby Tuesday again and I shot a picture of this flower on Sunday for this post. I am trying to take a few nice red flower pictures and Ruby Tuesday has challenged me to try it. One thing I have tried with a little better results is to turn the color setting on my camera from Vivid to Normal.

Flax is an interesting plant. I have been growing two little patches of Blue Flax (Linum perenne) it seems to be a true perennial. I haven’t gotten many seedlings from them. This Scarlet Flax was growing in a seed tray outside of the Bartlett Arboretum Greenhouse and really captivated me.

For the home of Ruby Tuesday visit the teach .