Gilded Grape Wishbone Flower

Wishbone Flower

Torenia fournieri 'Catalina Gilded Grape'

(tor-EN-ee-uh) (for-NEER-eye)

Synonyms: Bluewings, Dancat266

This was a new flower for me. Of course I am familiar with Wishbone Flower but this looked so different that didn’t even cross my mind until close inspection. Its not new to the market (introduced in 2008) but Torenia has never been real popular around here. I have very limited experience growing Wishbone Flower and only in containers. The velvety blue and purple are eye catching and fun to have.

This color combination was a little odd to me at first but the more I looked at the several flats sitting together the more I liked it. They have a trailing habit and were trying to exhibit that in the pots. It is a nice flower for shady somewhat moist locations. It is heat tolerant and gives good color throughout the summer.

Since I feel a little guilty about not posting yesterday (out late rehearsing) here is an extra picture. Normally I wouldn’t have taken this picture because the plant is just a wild growing weed but the light was nice and the super washed out color attracted me.

Morning Glory

Ipomoea sp.

(ip-oh-MEE-uh)

New Hybrid Coreopsis

Coreopsis 'Salsa'

(kor-ee-OP-sis)

This flower is new for 2012 and it is stunning. It wouldn’t be summer around here if a couple of new Coreopsis didn’t come out. The color is super rich on this compact hybrid from breeder Darrell Probst. ‘Salsa’ is part of the new Coloropsis series, which is a funny play on words but delivers a colorful punch. The first thing you will notice is the really deep colored burgundy eye. It goes nicely with the yellow fringe on the petals. Previously some of these new hybrids have been rated to Zone 5 for hardiness but it was soon discovered that they were really hardy to Zone 7 (much warmer than 5). This one is rated for Zone 5 but only time will tell if that is true. We don’t have any problem growing the ‘normal’ Coreopsis is in Zone 6 and hopefully this one will follow suit.

Yesterday was a tough day at work. We were working on the big farm when the lone pony decided to try and break out of his stall. It didn’t end well for him and it was sad. I will omit the gory details of what happened but it wasn’t pretty.

White Cattleya Orchid

Cattleya Orchid

Cattleya Sierra Blanca ‘Mount Whitney’

(KAT-lee-yuh)

Introduction: 1985

Golden Lotus Banana

Golden Lotus Banana

Musella lasiocarpa

(mew-SEL-uh) (las-ee-oh-KAR-puh)

Wordless Wednesday

False Sunflower

False Sunflower

Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra 'Summer Nights'

(hee-lee-OP-sis)

Synonyms: Rough Heliopsis, Orange Sunflower

This plant seems to be a very reliable mid and late summer perennial. It has returned for several years and has increased in a way that is manageable. I often forget about it until it bursts out in bloom during a time when almost nothing else is. The deer have pretty much let it alone and that is another big plus. This is a tall perennial that can reach up to 5 feet. I have noticed that the weather can cause it to get a little floppy but it seems to throw it off and just keep blooming in a compressed state. The stems are a nice burgundy color, which is an added bonus.

Bleeding Heart

Bleeding Heart

Dicentra 'Candy Hearts'

(dy-SEN-truh)

This new Dicentra has really been holding up well during the heat waves and we had actually planned for it to go dormant during the summer. This plant is a hybrid of Dicentra peregrina and the old garden stalwart Dicentra eximia, which after series of seedlings gave us ‘Candy Hearts’. It seems a lot of the best traits from both parents were retained with a splash of hybrid vigor. The foliage is just beautiful too. It’ a nice mix of shape and color and is worth growing on its own. This picture is not my most famous moment with a camera and I wish I had taken a couple more shots with a little more setup. Here it is anyway and you can the foliage is nice looking and it is a bit more powdery blue in the garden.

Last night I watched the movie, Marley on the Palladia HD channel.   It was riveting to me and feel a little affected today. It is quite a story cumulating in his 1981 death of cancer at 36 years old. He seemed like a much more complicated character then I remember of his public self. I might even buy the DVD (shocking, I know). I love watching Palladia. They have all sorts of concerts and types of music.

Since it is Sunday here is the traditional Sunday Snapshot, although this rose really deserves a post on its own.

Large Flowered Climbing Rose

Rosa ‘Don Juan’

I like roses that are sure what color they are and this one knows it  is red. A deep, rich red. The color combined with the strong scent and habit make it a truly great rose.

Senorita Rosalita Spider Flower

Spider Flower

Cleome 'Senorita Rosalita'

(klee-OH-me)

Synonyms: Inncleosr, Grandfather's Whiskers, Spider Legs

This flower was featured on this blog on Thursday, July 10, 2008 and at the time it was new to me and everyone else as it was introduced in that year. It performed well as a mid-season container replacement without some of the common problems of Cleome culture. It doesn’t smell that bad (like the species) and is also thornless. They also are more heat tolerant and don’t need deadheading.

'Senorita Rosalita' has really stormed the market as far as I am concerned. You can see it planted now and growing all most anywhere. I really didn’t think it would catch on that big but it has. Plant breeding is so amazing to me. Annuals have come so far since I started my career. It’s kind of like watching history and if you do not keep your eyes open it just assimilates into life. Cleome 'Senorita Rosalita' is a flower that has joined the ranks of being a well-bred good garden citizen and that is something the Species could never (or it would take millions of years) do.

Chicago Apache Daylily

Daylily

Hemerocallis 'Chicago Apache'

(hem-er-oh-KAL-iss)

Introduced 1981 by Marsh-Klehm

This seems to be the last blooming Daylily in the garden. While a couple of the rebloomers are struggling to produce a few ragged flowers 'Chicago Apache' is full bloom. I tried to resist photographing a lot of Daylilies this year having done that to death here over the last few years. This red one was too vivid to ignore and you could see it from various vistas in the garden.  I have included a group shot of one of the whole scapes having taken a step back after doing the close up version. It seemed the Hemerocallis were especially vivid this year and I enjoyed having the private collection of various seedlings and cultivars here at the house. They also grew amazingly and need to be divided now.

Japanese Ladybug

Japanese Ladybug

Harmonia axyridis

  

I was happily clicking away when this fella was spotted walking on a giant Miscanthus grass blade. It was a little funny because at first he ran down the blade away from me. I dutifully shot a picture of his butt and figured that was it but in a couple of seconds he came running back towards the camera, which is unusual when you are photographing insects. The 60mm macro was on the camera and I really wish it were the 105mm. That is a much better lens for bugs.

A little research provided the fact that this is an introduced species in the Americas originally hailing from eastern Asia. It was introduced (in the 1980's) for controlling aphids in Pecan orchards and has been hanging around ever since. It goes by several names. Here is an excellent website for ladybug identification:

Discover Life Ladybugs

I was able to identify “my” bug very easily from the key system they use. It is a beneficial insect in the garden and only becomes a pest when it tries to overwinter in the house.

Just to keep it real here is a flower picture. This miniature rose had grace and style far above its diminutive size. It looked exactly like a large rose shrunk down to a couple inches wide and tall.

Miniature Rose cv.

Rosa

White Daisy

White Daisy

Wordless Wednesday

Rear view

Black-eyed Susan

Rudbeckia hirta 'Sonora'

(rud-BEK-ee-a) (HER-tuh)

Rear view of a Black eyed Susan flower. Double Wordless Wednesday special.

Koi Fish

Cyprinus carpio

Lobster Claws

Lobster Claws

Heliconia x pabstii

(hel-ih-KOH-nee-uh)

These are such cool flowers. The bright orange/red parts are bracts (modified leaves) and the actual flowers come out of the white bits. There really wasn’t a lot of information about this species of Heliconia available. I would love to be able to grow some of these. It is such a broad genus that really brings some spectacular flowers to the world. Since I read that they do pretty well in containers it would be nice to score one for the estate.

Sunday again so bonus snapshot. This is picture of an Acacia tree in bloom.

Sweet Acacia

Acacia minuta

(a-KAY-see-uh) (min-YOO-tuh)

Synonyms: Mimosa Bush, Sweet Wattle, Huisache, Acacia farnesiana

One thing I learned about this tree is that it is native to parts of the Southern United States. Watch out for those thorns!

Stained Glass

Stained Glass

While looking at a gardening job in Westchester County I came upon this piece of stained glass. It was a panel inset along the front door and there were 5 other scenes but none were showing the light and color like this one. I quickly asked the prospective client of she minded my taking a picture of it and she said go ahead.

This picture was shot with the rarely used Sigma 17-70/ 2.8-4.5 lens and the Nikon D70s camera. It sure is weird using a zoom lens after all the prime (fixed focal length) lenses I have been using. I was sometimes forgetting to use the zoom and continued to “zoom with my feet” when I didn’t have to.

Here is a bonus fine art shot for Saturday. From the MOMA’s giant Picasso Collection.

Pablo Picasso, Spanish

Violin and Grapes, spring-summer 1912

Oil on Canvas

This is another Sigma lens shot this time the 28-200mm/3.3-5.6. It is a pretty good lens for the hyper-zoom category. This lens is a film days relic (old) that made a pretty good and smooth transition to digital.

From the Archive: Chihuly Glass at Fairchild

Chihuly Glass at Fairchild

Just to keep the July streak going here are a couple of old pictures. At the time it seemed I was bitchin’ about how much Chihuly glass I was seeing but now I kind of miss it. The big yellow piece was truly amazing and well set in it’s position. After blogging for several years I think this might be the latest daily update ever.

Oranges and Lemons Blanket Flower

Blanket Flower

Gaillardia aristata 'Oranges & Lemons'

(gay-LAR-dee-uh) (a-ris-TAH-tuh)

Synonyms: Common Blanketflower

For the first time in a long time I saw this flower for sale. It was quite popular for awhile and then dropped completely off the radar. People must have realized that it is not really a perennial and that hurt sales. Personally I have planted a lot of these and not once have they made it through the winter and returned. It could be that the Connecticut climate is too harsh I am not really sure but I think winter drainage maybe the key to its cultivation. The color scheme on this flower is beautiful and the plant grows nicely but it irks me that they sell it as a perennial. That makes it a very expensive annual and in my opinion not worth it.

Yesterday I saw the most humongous Dragon Fly at work. Since the house is located near and partially in a swamp they get a lot of strange bugs and I had never seen a Dragon Fly that big before. He was having a little problem flying and a yellow jacket was bothering him. He fought off the yellow jacket and eventually flew away. His head was close to penny sized and the body was about 3.5 inches long. Of course I didn’t have my camera with me so you are going to have to take my word on it.

White Daylily

Daylily

Hemerocallis 'Joan Senior'

(hem-er-oh-KAL-iss)

Introduced 1977

Rare White Daylily

Hardy Blue Aster

Hardy Blue Aster

Symphyotrichum 'Blue Autumn'

(sim-fy-oh-TRY-kum)

Peach Trailing Verbena

Trailing Verbena

Verbena 'Lanai Peach'

(ver-BEE-nuh)

This flower seems to illustrate a growing trend towards coral, peach and apricot flower colors. They are everywhere now and are easy to work into the landscape. This Verbena is growing in the container garden and has done well. A few of the pots were not getting hit with the irrigation water and the Verbena fought it off and is still looking good. When planting ‘dry’ pots we usually use a mixture of Verbena and Lantana and sometimes Moss Rose (Portulaca grandiflora).  

Ugh it is raining here again this morning. We have had over four and a half inches of rain this month, which is unusual. It stopped work on Friday but will not today. It just makes everything harder and less comfortable to do.

Purple Tropical Waterlily

Purple Tropical Waterlily

Nymphaea cv.

(NIM-fee-uh)

  

These are tropical water lilies. They were growing in Southern Florida last winter. The kind of transparent purple color was pretty amazing. This picture was shot with my Coolpix 8400. It is a good compact camera and I remember how excited I was to get an 8MP camera at the time. The pictures it took were huge and nice too. The 8400 has a very good lens on it.

Here is the bonus snapshot for Sunday. I don’t know why but I have been thinking about this building a lot lately. A little digging provided this shot that was never posted here before.

Key West Art and Historical Society

The Custom House, 1891

Key West, Florida

Peace Hybrid Tea Rose

Hybrid Tea Rose 'Peace'

Synonyms: Béke, Fredsrosen, Gioia, Gloria Dei, Madame Antoine Meilland, 3-35-40

Introduced in the U.S.: 1945 by Conard-Pyle (Star Roses)

Size and Petal Count: 6 inch flowers with 43 petals

Fragrant? : Yes, strong

Well something happened to my ‘Peace’ rose and a few other varieties and they grew these enormous sized roses on small bushes. This flower was easily two or three times the size of a regular Peace. It really looked like some abnormal burst of energy had come out. I was a little afraid for the plant since the flowers were almost as big but it has seemed to settle back into its routine of producing normal sized flowers. The roses in general look good and have been holding out despite the heat and humidity. Yesterday was kind of a statistical oddity in the fact we got over an inch of rain and the temperatures were only in the high 60’s. Felt a bit more like September than July.

Here is a bonus snapshot for Saturday. Here is 28 of the 32 cans anyway.

 Campbell's Soup Cans

Andy Warhol, American, 1962

Synthetic polymer paint on canvas

32-20 by 16 inches (51 × 41 cm) canvases

Museum of Modern Art, Manhattan, NY

Patriot Salmon Geranium

 

Zonal Geranium

Pelargonium x hortorum 'Patriot Salmon'

(pe-lar-GO-nee-um) (hor-TOR-um)

The Geraniums have been doing nicely despite the heat and lack of rain. Normally we wouldn’t have made such a big planting of them but the client insisted and it turned out nicely. This salmon colored one has been mixing well with some red, white and a few orange colored flowers. Modern Geraniums seem so much better than the types we used in the beginning of my career. Truly a classic and livening up my summer nicely.

In a certain sign my life has come full circle recently while talking to a client she mentioned her 15 year old son had begun playing the guitar and that he was saving up for a Gibson Les Paul. That of course reminded me of the two summers I had spent saving everything in the early 1980’s to buy my Stratocaster. Still remember all those summer days of pushing my lawn mower all over the neighborhood to get the money and the guitar, which I still have and cherish (turned out to be a pretty good investment too). So I mentioned that she should bring him over to band practice sometime and have the young guy play with us. It was one of those things that I thought in the back of mind that probably wouldn’t happen but it did. He came over and jammed with us. At first I thought it might be a little awkward but it ended up being a lot of fun. He brought a youthful excitement that we had never seen in that band room before. He is a pretty good player and will probably be useful for a few songs live.

White Virginia Spiderwort

White Virginia Spiderwort

Tradescantia x andersoniana

(trad-es-KAN-tee-uh) (an-der-soh-nee-AH-na)

Synonyms: Widow's-Tears

A lot of people consider this plant an invasive weed but I think it can be quite useful under the right conditions. The problems start when it likes its spot and takes off from there. We have found that it can be good under shady moist conditions and sometimes seems to be the only thing that will grow in certain spots. The ‘normal’ Spiderwort has a nice blue flower but this white strain has been a pleasant change from the ordinary. Plant this flower with care,

In a clear case of be careful for what you wish for the thunderstorms roared through our area again yesterday. While not being personally impacted there were quite few trees and wires down. The rain poured down and seem to soak into the ground nicely.

Princess Flower Bud

Princess Flower Bud

Tibouchina urvilleana

(tib-OO-kee-nuh) (ur-VIL-ah-nuh)

(syn. Glory Flower)

Hybrid Camellia

Hybrid Camellia

Camellia lutchuensis ‘Spring Mist’

(kuh-MEE-lee-a) (lu-chu-EN-sis)

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.

African Daisy

Cape Daisy

Osteospermum ‘Crescendo Yellow’

(oss-tee-oh-SPUR-mum)

Synonym: African Daisy

 This post was going to be about Columbine when I realized the photos had been used previously. Instead this fine group of Cape Daisies made it instead. They seem to be blooming well and I am starting to think they are more heat tolerant then they are given credit for. Straw colored flowers are not my favorite but these seem to be able to hold their own. They are making a bright, vivid color display without much work.

Since it is Sunday here is the bonus shot.

Washington Crossing the Delaware

1851, Oil-on-canvas

Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze

This famous painting is only partially rendered here. It was pretty good sized painting (liked 20 by about 12 feet big) and this was as wide as the lens went. There is quite a bit of history behind this painting, It is a replica of the original, which was lost during a World War II air raid.

Here is the Wikipedia Story of the painting.

Hybrid Compact Dahlia

Hybrid Dahlia

Dahlia ‘Midi Malaysia’

(DAHL-ya)

Dahlina Series

When I went to look information on this flower there wasn’t much. The main quest for knowledge was the Dalina series and again not much luck. We have been growing them for a few years now both in containers and the cutting garden. The compact plants are free flowering and easy to grow. We deadhead ours but that is probably not even necessary. There is a really nice mix of colors and they start blooming weeks ahead of the other types of Dahlias.

The band show went pretty well with only a few technical glitches. I remembered to relax and have fun. There were a few old friends that made the trek out to the venue and it was nice to see them.

Purple Coneflower

Eastern Purple Coneflower

Echinacea purpurea

(ek-in-AY-shee-a)

I will never understand why this flower is called ‘purple’ coneflower and not ‘pink’ coneflower. The Echinaceas have been doing well this year and we actually planted some new ones. The perennial part of the population seemed to have been decimated by a few of the previous winters but last winter was warm and dry and those are the conditions they like. We planted a big group of my personal favorite ‘Ruby Star’ and a couple of Echinacea 'Hot Papaya', which is kind of a ghastly bright orange. The 'Hot Papaya' is a big hit and the client loved them.

Funny how things work out like that sometimes. Like today, I have been waiting to perform for about a month and finally it is show day but when I woke up this morning there was some sort of sting on my left wrist. It is kind of swollen and extremely itchy. Luckily I still have full range of motion and hopefully it will not effect my playing.

Pastel Water Lilies

Water Lilies

Nymphaea

(NIM-fee-uh)

This is an unusual shot just for the fact that the Nikon D70s and Nikon 80-200mm/2.8 lens was used. I still love that old camera and it still works great. There is really no comparison to my newer, bigger camera but it works and under the right circumstances will turn in a great picture. It is amazing how much digital photography technology has come since the D70 was issued.

As a member of a really big photography forum people are always asking abut the D70 because it is one of the cheaper used DSLRs available. I usually post the same thing in response. “It is a great camera with a few shortfalls including low light performance, small file size and a small LCD screen.” The lens that came with it, a Nikon 18-70mm/ f/3.5-4.5 AF-S DX is also quite serviceable and still finds its way into my camera bag sometimes. Even though the lens is not full frame it occasionally finds it way into my camera bag and onto the D700, which automatically senses it and shoots a smaller photo. In my opinion one of the better kit lenses ever issued by Nikon. It did well down in Florida last winter and took some nice shots.

Everything has been kind of leading up to our band show on Friday night this week. I had to setup my stuff at the band room last night and then tear down and unload it at home last night only to throw it all back in the car tomorrow and set up and tear down at the venue. Lucky I love to play and don’t mind the work. I really do need to find a way to slim down my keyboard rig. It can be a nightmare to setup/tear down but I am the one that wanted a Hammond Organ.

Fuchsia

Fuchsia

Fuchsia

(FEW-she-uh)

Ice Plant

Ice Plant

Delosperma sp.

(del-oh-SPUR-muh)

Paphiopedilum Orchid

Paphiopedilum Orchid

Paphiopedilum venustum var. album

(paf-ee-oh-PED-ih-lum) (ven-NUSS-tum)

The name of this Orchid is sure a mouthful. It was wonderfully exotic in appearance and lucky a picture of its tag was shot for later reference. The color scheme was different but certainly eye catching. This species is native to India and the Himalayan mountains. It is easy to cultivate at home but expensive to procure. The heavily mottled foliage is an added bonus.