What's Blooming Now - Bermuda's Kathleen June 24, 2012

This huge rose shrub that dominates the entrance to the Rose Garden is called Bermuda's Kathleen.  It is a "found" rose.  It was discovered in Bermuda, and it's heritage is unknown.  BK has no scent.  But it makes up for this short coming by blooming profusely and having pretty hips that turn orange in the fall and look like little lights all over it.  The flowers start out a deep pink, fade to peach and then to pale orange.  It really gets big, so give it lots of room.

This Bailey Red is getting crowded out by Bermuda Kathleen's agressive size.

Oakleaf Hydrangea June 24, 2012

The oakleaf hydrangeas have already bloomed and put on their show.  The flowers are very long-lasting, though.  They grow in a long cone shape of white florets which open from the bottem and move upwards.  Eventually the flowers turn a dusky pink like the ones in the pictures.  Oakleaf hydrangeas are native to Texas.  They like shaded areas.  They are deciduous.  The leaves are large and interesting-looking.  In a garden it is good to have lots of different leaf sizes and shapes and colors.  It adds interest.

Mojito Colocasia

Mojito Colocasias get about 3 feet tall.  They like shade.  They die back in the winter.  I had one I planted last year that I grew from a bulb, and it came back very well this spring.  That's important because I find they don't always come back well the second year.  I had a gorgeous Nancy's Revenge that grew beautifully the first year, but it never showed back up the second year.  Black Magic did not do well for me either.  But Colocasias (elephant ears) are classic plants for shade gardens, so I keep trying various varieites.  I bought nine more Mojitos and planted them this spring.  The markings on the leaves are really dramatic.  A single leaf in a tall, very narrow vase is very stylish looking as a floral arrangement with no flowers.  Very modern.

What's Blooming Now - Tiger Lily June 24, 2012

I only have one little plant growing in the Star Garden.  But it is so pretty.The spots are purple, the petals reflex so prettily.  I'd love to have dozens of these plants so that I would have a big show each year.  They are not acually very easy to find in the catalogues.

Even the back side of a Tiger Lily is pretty.

Red Hot Mamas

I planted yellow and red zinnias this summer.  Some of them are already blooming.  I purchased an ounce each of red and yellow seeds.  That's a lot of seeds!  They are absolutely beautiful, so vivid and showy.  I seeded several beds in the Orchard, a bed in the Vegetable Garden, and throughout the Star Garden.  Zinnias grow quickly as do most annuals.  Annuals grow quickly because they only have a short time to grow, bloom, set seed, and die.  It has to happen all in one season, so Mother Nature has engineered the speed of their growth to match their task.  I also purchased an ounce of cosmos.  I don't think I will try cosmos again.  They just aren't as vigorous as zinnias, and certainly not as gaudy.  That's it!  Zinnias are gaudy.  But I love them.  When you deadhead zinnias, cut the bloom off the stem and let it wither right there in the flower bed.  The entire flower becomes a hundred seeds that take root and become plants.

A Weekend at the Farm June 23-24,2012

This is a Venezia di Carnivale Morning Glory.  I don't love them.  It turns out that for me, the classic clear blue morning glory is the best.  These are pretty, but the leaves are smaller which makes them look less hardy and healthy.  And the flowers are not as showy.  I bought various varieties of morning glory seeds this season, giving something new a try in case I was missing out on something.  I wasn't, but I'm glad I know for sure.

• I trimmed the lantana around the pool.
• Watered the hydrangeas.  They aren't getting enough water.  Cut back lots of dead wood.
• Fertilized all my new shrubs (planted this year) - flowering almonds, pearl bush, wegelia (not doing well at all), harlequin glorybower, snowball viburnum, almond verbena,double pink althea, blue satin althea, double red althea, Madame Isaac Pereirre, Japanese Roses. 
• Picked lots of tomatoes, eggplants, jalapenos, and cucumbers.
• Staked the Indigo Spires salvia away from the Blue Satin Althea.
• Deadheaded some roses, but didn't spend a lot of time in the Rose Garden. 
•  Planted two Oakleaf Hdrangeas along the Boardwalk.  I found them at Buchanan's Nursery, and I bought them because they were in small pots (cheaper).  I like to buy plants in small sizes that are going to get big.  I'm a patient person.
• Weeded, weeded, weeded.  Then I weeded some more.  I haven't been able to spend a lot of time in Burton this summer working.  Other things have prevented it.  So the weeds were out of hand.  
• Sunday I worked in the Orchard for a long time.  I pulled up lots of spent flowers - arm loads of flowers.  I also pulled up armloads of weeds.  I fertilized here and there and mulched the flower beds.  It was pretty hard work.  I also sprayed herbicide in the paths.
• Sprayed herbicide in the Star Garden and the driveway.  
• Swam in the pool off and on Saturday and Sunday.   

Moonlight Caladiums June 9, 2012

Moonlight Caladiums are almost completely white.  There is a very thin green line around the edge of the leaves.  I think they are really striking.  Growing in amongst them are some Cranberry Star Caladiums that came back from last year.  I actually wish the Cranberry Stars had not returned because they distract from the gorgeous Moonlights.  I will definitely buy the Moonlights next year.  They are so showy in the shade! I planted some in the Shade Garden and I planted some down the Boardwalk path. 
I bought these on line from Brent and Becky's Bulbs.  It is the only time I've been disappointed with a purchase from them.  The bulbs were very small.

What's Blooming Now - Blue Fortune Agastache 05/25/2012

Agatasche is a perennial.  There are countless varieties of agastache, all colors.  I have always preferred salvias myself, but last year I grew this from seed and it reseeded profusely.  I have it growing in a dozen spots in the The Orchard.  I love a plant that reseeds because I have such a big area I'm trying to grow plants in, I can use the help!

What's Blooming Now - Triumphator Lilies 05/20/2012

In the picture above, just to the right of the Triumphator are some Phillippine lily seedlings.

This is the first year I have grown Triumphator lilies.  I bought them at The Arbor Gate.  The owner and several employees were so enthusiastic about them that I bought a clump of them already potted up.  Several weeks later they had some bulbs for sale, so I bought three of them.They are blooming quite spectacularly.  The other type of trumpet lilies I grow are called Phillippine lilies.  I have many seedlings growing of those.  I purchased plants several years ago, but the armadillos dug them all up.  Before they all disappeared as a result of that abuse, many of them had thrown off hundreds of seeds.  Growing lilies by seed is a multi-year endeavor, it's not something an impatient person would want to do.  But here I am, two years later, with a dozen plants just mature enough to produce a single flower.  In a few more years they will look like the Triumphators.  My plan is to encourage the Phillippine lilies to begin growing in the Circle Drive under the trees.  The Phillippines don't mind a little shade.  I have two growing in there now.  It will be another five years before that vision is realized fully.