Mystery Bulbs September 29, 2013

 I'm curious about these bulbs.  Janine Snapp gave them to me.  She dug them up on the side of the road from a ditch where construction was going to cover them up.  Two of them don't look like crinums.  The greenery is thinner, it has a totally different growth pattern.  Maybe the growth difference is a result of damage from the the bulbs being disturbed or maybe they are not crinums.  Only the passing of time will solve the mystery.  We will have to wait for them to bloom.

 I have them surrounded by chicken wire to keep the armadillos away from them.

Lantana September 29, 2013

Yellow lantana is pretty, drought tolerant, and a butterfly magnet.  Lantana flowers make berries after the blooms fade.  Birds are very partial to them.  They are a wild life-friendly plant.

Candida Rain Lilies September 29, 2013

 I have little clumps of rain lilies growing under many of my roses, in the Greenhouse Garden, in the bulb Bed, in the Circle Drive, and next to the front porch.  I love them.

 Below, rain lilies and toadstools make a pretty white combination.

Rain Soaked Roses September 29, 2013

We got some excellent rain this weekend.  It rained hard on Saturday and Sunday morning.  Fall roses should continue to be lovely with the soaking they all received.  Below are pictures of some of my pretty bloomers.

 Above and below, Valentine rose, blooms wet and heavy with rain.

 Above and below, Belinda's Dream.

 Above and below, Iceberg rose, a pure white rose.

 Above and below, Dame de Couer rose.

 Above and below, Duchess de Brabant rose.

 Above and below, Ducher rose.

 Above and the three below, Chorale rose, my rose that makes the prettiest buds.

 Below, a view of the Rose Garden.

 Above, Mrs. B.R. Cant

Above, Star of the Republic, one of my best smelling roses.

Big Leaves September 29, 2013

I love plants with big leaves.  Elephant ears, gingers, ligularias, and rudbeckia maxima are all examples that can be found in my gardens.  Below are two more examples that are new additions to my gardens as of last fall.

 The photographs above and below are Clerodendrun bungeii, known commonly as Mexicali Rose.  It spreads vigorously, stands about two feet tall, and is root hardy.  It has the added plus of blooming pink flowers which I have yet to see, so I assume this plant is a spring bloomer.  I had only one tiny sprig of it this spring, all the ground it has gained has happened over the summer.  There have been no blooms this fall, so it must be a spring bloomer that was too tiny for any blooming in early spring.  I could google it, but my own deductions are more fun.

 The photograph above and those below are all of Hojo Santo, also known as Sacred Leaf or Rootbeer Plant.  I bought this plant a couple of months ago.  It likes some shade as does Mexicali Rose.  It also spreads vigorously and gets very tall.  Hojo Santo is used in Mexican cooking as a wrap.  Its distinctive rootbeer flavor, or anise flavor imparts a strong flavor to soups and other dishes.  I also have a plant in the Medicine Garden.  I expect both of them to become very imposing by next spring.

Weekend at the Farm September 21 - 22, 2013

These are white 4 o'clocks.  They are prolific reseeders.  The root is a fleshy tuber, so they are very drought tolerant.  4 o'clock flower blooms open up about 8 pm and close in the morning.  I used to call them my happy hour flowers because they opened when the cocktail hour started, but who am I kidding?  I start drinking way before 8.
Etoile on Friday night with the whole family to celebrate Mom and Dad's 54th wedding anniversary.  To the farm after that.  Two and a half inches of rain in the rain gauge when we got there!

• Cleaned up the kitchen herb garden which mostly means pulling up mint.  Cut back marjoram and sage,  Pulled weeds.  
• Planted 4 chive plants.  The voles ate the roots of all my chive plants.  Only the tops were left last weekend when we got there.  So I had to replace them.  Also planted 3 lemon verbena plants.  Lemon verbena is a tender perennial.  May not last through the winter, but I love it.
• Transplanted lots of Nicotiana seedlings that were growing in the paths.  Moved them to the Medicine Garden.
• Sowed some Microgreen seeds in the Star Garden.
• Planted 2 Snow Storm Beautyberry shrubs in Max's Garden.  They are variegated Beautyberry shrubs.  My husband thought I was crazy for buying beautyberry plants - they grow wild everywhere on our place.  But these are unusual.  
• Pulled up some tuber vervaine in the Bulb Bed and turned the soil over.
• Moved a clump of Pineapple Lilies.  The main bulb had been almost completely eaten by voles which is why they didn't bloom at all this summer.  I'm going to move them all to the Circle Drive.  The voles can't get to those flower beds.
• Cleaned the vent hood, the inside and top of the fridge, vacuumed the house, cleaned the bedroom, cleaned sinks and toilets, and changed the sheets.

Red Cannas September 21, 2013

Janine Snapp gave me these cannas.  They are really beautiful.

La Marne Rose Hedge September 21, 2013

My La Marne Rose hedge looked pretty this weekend.  The flowers are beginning to turn pink.  In the dead of summer the flowers are white.  When the weather begins to turn cooler the flowers are pale pink, and when the weather is at its most pleasant the flowers are dark pink.

Scenes From the Weekend September 15, 2013

 Above, fall means long purple spikes of Mexican Salvia.

 Red Salvia growing in Max's Garden.  This comes back from seed year after year.

 Above, my pretty little Candida rain lilies.

Above, one of the Ox Blood lilies I "rescued" last fall from a deserted house near Carmine.