Over wintered Pansies

Over wintered Pansies

These are few of the Pansies that over wintered for us. They have just gone crazy and have grown twice as big as the new Pansies. The weather has been conducive to Pansy culture. When something unexpected but good happens in the garden it is wonderful. More times than not we would have ripped these out at the end of the season last year.


It’s raining again. We need the rain but it doesn’t make work any easier. I am after a lot of different plants for different gardens so I will be visiting a lot of nurseries today.

Darwin Hybrid Tulips

Darwin Hybrid Tulips
Tulipa 'Apeldoorn'
Tulipa 'Golden Apeldoorn'
(TOO-li-pa)
Division 4 - Darwin Hybrids

These are a couple of the 3,500 bulbs we planted last fall. I almost didn’t get to see them since I haven’t been working at that garden lately. There are still a lot of Tulips and a few Daffs to come out. I was real happy with the two types of Apeldoorn that bloomed. We made our own mixture that had two times as much red and that worked out pretty well. Posting “home grown” flowers on this blog always makes me happy.


Darwin Tulips seem, in my experience, to be one of the best perennial types. They are quite hardy and do well even when the spring weather isn’t that great. They are named after the city in the Netherlands.

Work is kind of booming right now. It has taken me totally by surprise. 6:30am to 6:30pm has been my daily schedule. Not sure what summer will bring but right now it is time to live the moment.

“In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful.”

Bog Rosemary

Bog Rosemary
Andromeda polifolia var. glaucophylla ‘Breton Blue’

This is probably one of the most frustrating plants to grow in the garden (for me at least). If the conditions are the least bit not to their liking they are not going to grow. They like peat bog conditions and those are to come by in Connecticut. This particular cultivar was discovered on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia and was named by Summer Hill Nursery of Madison, Connecticut.

It is a beautiful groundcover that flowers in May. This type has really blue foliage and pink bell like flowers. It only grows to 8 inches tall and is very, very hardy. Maybe I should just treat it like a biennial. That would ease the pain a little when the plants die out for no apparent reason.

Princess Diana Apple Serviceberry

Apple Serviceberry
Amelanchier x grandiflora 'Princess Diana'
(am-uh-LAN-kee-er) (gran-dih-FLOR-uh)

Last of the Pussy Willows

American Pussy-willow
Salix discolor
(SAL-iks) (DIS-kol-or)

Showy Townsend Daisy

Showy Townsend Daisy
Townsendia florifer
(town-SEN-dee-uh)

This is one of the Townsend Daises. They are wildflowers native mostly to the Western United States. This one was for sale as an alpine plant. It grows to about 6 inches and often only lasts a couple of years in the garden. It can seed it itself to keep a patch going.

After weeks of cold weather we have had a bit of a heat wave. Hopefully things will go back to ‘normal’. Normal for New England that is.

Magic Bells Kalanchoe

Kalanchoe
Kalanchoe 'Magic Bells'
(kal-un-KOH-ee)

These are the buds of 'Magic Bells'

There didn’t seem to be too much information on this plant, unless you speak Dutch. It is a strange plant but attractive and certainly has a novelty aspect to it. The people at the nursery said that it is an easy plant to grow and the flowers last a long time. Don’t over water was the one cultural tip that was offered.

Here is a Begonia flower that I saw recently.


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Three Pansies

Three Pansies

The Pansies have been the only thing keeping the spring going here. The weather has been a little rough on them but they have kept their heads up and look good. A little weird thing was that virtually all of the Pansies we planted last fall survived the winter and look amazing. Usually just a couple here and there make it through the winter. It must have been the snow cover because the winter was pretty harsh.

Autumn Cherry

Autumn Cherry
Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis'
(PROO-nus) (sub-HIR-tel-uh)

This tree was blooming at work and for once the sun was out and there was some blue sky. The Cherry has turned into quite a handsome specimen. The people planted a tree for each of their children and the Cherry was for the first born. He has to be about fifteen now. We were all standing there looking at the tree saying that we hadn’t seen it have a more beautiful year.

Autumn Cherry can grow to 35 feet tall and have an equal spread. It is hardy to Zone 4, which makes it the most cold hardy of the Cherry Trees. It is also considered to be the most stress tolerant and heat resistant Cherry. It does flower sporadically during the fall, which is where it gets its name.

Happy Skywatching.
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Hosta 'Cathedral Windows'

Hosta 'Cathedral Windows'
(HOSS-tuh)


They had some wonderful Variegated Hosta at the nursery. They were in 5 gallon pots (huge!) and while expensive the quality was super. This cultivar caught my eye and had me racking my brains to think of a place to use it. It is according to the PDN catalog “intentional tetraploid mutation” of ‘Stained Glass’. It is from the famous Hosta breeder Hans Hansen. It has 40 inch flower stalks and the flowers are fragrant.

They had ‘Stained Glass’ at the nursery. It looked nice, too. This Hosta is ‘Sea Thunder’. It was developed by the “Queen of the Hostas”, Mildred Seaver. The green and gold variegated Hosta are some of my personal favorites.

Group of White Tulips

White Tulips blooming in Manhattan

Bull's Eye Bud

Bull's Eye
Euryops chrysanthemoides
(yoor-RY-ops) (kris-anth-eh-MOY-deez)
Synonyms: Daisy Bush, African Bush-daisy, Paris Daisy, Golden Daisy Bush, Gamolepis chrysanthemoides

Garden Stock

Garden Stock
Matthiola incana 'Vintage Mix’
(ma-the-OH-luh) (in-KAN-nuh)
Synonyms: Ten-week Stock, Gillyflower

For the first time in a long time we planted some Stocks this year. I hadn’t seen them in awhile and we decided to try 6 plants in with one of our Pansies pots. So far they have been nice. They seemed to be able to take some pretty cold nights. The mix has produced dark pink, white, peach and lavender colored flowers.

Stocks are a wonderfully fragrant cool season annual. ‘Vintage Mix’ grows to about 18 inches tall. They are easy to grow from seeds although mine were bought in 4 inch pots. It is an excellent cut flower.

Today’s Flower – Half a Dozen Orchids

Today’s Flower – Half a Dozen Orchids
For more flower pictures from around the world check out:
Today’s Flowers . It starts at 18:00 GMT on Sunday.

Wilsonara Tiger Brew ‘Pacific Holiday’
Parentage: Oda. Memoria Rudolf Pabst x Odcdm. Tiger Hambuhr

This Orchid had incredibly vivid colors. The shape of the flower was pleasant too. This picture came out as more of an abstract of the flower but at least you get to the color.



Beallara Marfitch ‘Howard’s Dream’
Parentage: Miltassia Charles M. Fitch x Odontioda Fremar
Pretty big flowers in a really good spray. The colors are a bit muted but it was still charming.

Burrageara Stefan Isler 'Dos Pinhos'
Vuylstekeara Edna x Oncidium leucochilum

Very nice shade of orangey-red. Easy to grow.

Pretty sure this is Colmanara Wildcat 'Green Valley'

Dendrobium x delicatum

Quite a strange spike of flowers. Most of the flowers were only partially open and that is maybe why it looked odd. This Orchid was once it’s own species but now is considered to be a wild hybrid. It lives on cliffs and rocks and occasionally trees. Native to Australia it grows up to altitudes of 3,000 feet.

Boat Orchid

Boat Orchid
Cymbidium ‘Crescent Tears’
(sim-BID-ee-um)
Orchidaceae (or-kid-AY-see-ee)

This Orchid was introduced in 1997. It is a cross between Cym. ‘Lady Mini’ and Cym. ‘Lucky Flower’. The color was an interesting yellow and the red on the tongue added just the right amount of punch to the color scheme.

Here is a Wikipedia link to more about Cymbidium

I found the Orchid picture as I was cleaning off some memory cards. This next picture was one of 68 photos shot with the Coolpix 8400 while we were in California. I had completely forgot about that camera. This was taken up the coast a little at Solana Beach.

Star Magnolia - Skywatch Friday

Star Magnolia
Magnolia stellata
(mag-NO-lee-uh) (stell-AY-tuh)
Skywatch Friday

The sky sure was gorgeous yesterday and there were a few minutes to snap a some pictures of the Star Magnolia. There also was time enough to take a few deep breaths of the scent. This Star has been planted for about 12 years and it has grown fairly slowly to a nice shrubby specimen. A detailed look at some of the flowers revealed that a frost had nipped at the buds. There was a little discoloration on some the now open petals. It must have been that night in the 20’s a couple of nights ago. Most Magnolias can be hit by frost around here in Connecticut. It is rare and hasn’t happened in recent memory.


Growing this Japanese native is easy. It likes moist sun but can grow in part shade also. I like to site them in a warmer area of the garden just to be safe even though they are hardy to USDA Zone 4. They are really showy in flower and look good during the summer with handsome foliage.


There are a few cultivars of Star Magnolia. I have seen 'Centennial' which was introduced to celebrate the Arnold Arboretum’s 100th Anniversary in 1972. There is also a variety called 'Royal Star' which has pink buds. I saw one of those blooming on the street we have been working on in Greenwich. It was quite beautiful but much taller than the advertised height of 10 feet.

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Korean Abelialeaf

Korean Abelialeaf
Abeliophyllum distichum
(al-bee-lee-oh-FY-lum) (DIS-tik-um)
Synonym: White Forsythia

This plant was featured on this blog March 11, 2007. I am standing by what was posted then. This actually from the same plant, it is a reliable early bloomer.

Here is a link to an article written by Gerald Klingaman of the University of Arkansas about White Forsythia. From it I learned this “White Flower Farm of Litchfield, Conn., introduced the white forsythia to American gardeners in 1955”. They have a great garden at the farm. The article describes the founding of the business, which is an interesting story. I do shop there sometimes but generally only the sales. Last year we bought a bunch of Lilies there and I am anticipating a good show from them this spring.
Link

This picture is just the buds and in my mind very late (this year) in coming out. See the previous post or the linked article to see the flower actually blooming.

We are on our extended hours at work. I hope to keep up this site. There certainly some flowers coming out.

Pacific Giant Primrose

Pacific Giant Primrose
Primula x polyantha ‘Pacific Giant’
(PRIM-yew-luh)

Fire Fantasy Orchid

‘Slc. Fire Fantasy x Lc. Casitas Spring’ Orchid

Giant Bird of Paradise

Giant Bird of Paradise
Strelitzia nicolai
(stre-LITZ-ee-uh) (NIK-oh-ly)
Synonyms: White Bird of Paradise, Natal Strelitzia, Wild Strelitzia

It is nice to have a flower that hasn’t been featured here before. This is, of course, a tropical plant. Well technically it is a sub-tropical. It is a species of Bird of Paradise and is much larger and more course than the more common orange flowered Bird of Paradise or Crane Flower (Strelitzia reginae). From a distance this tree looks like a Travelers Tree (Ravenala madagascariensis) but that tree’s flowers lack the blue tongue of the Strelitza. There are some other differences too, but that is the first thing that came to my mind.


The foliage gets huge and is subject to tearing in open areas. The tree itself gets to 20 to 30 feet tall but generally stays smaller in cultivation. It likes full sun or partial shade. It is recommended for USDA Zone 9B through 11. Bird of Paradise can take up to five years to reach its full flowering potential.

Here is a picture that I took at the next building over from the Bird of Paradise. Both were in Pacific Beach. This shot could have had better composition but I liked these poppies. You don’t see that shade of orange too much. This picture was cropped but lucky it was taken with D700. It still ended up larger than a D70 file.