Tuesday, June 29, 2010

New Blooms for My Garden


This sweet, simple white rose, White Out, was gifted to me for Mother's Day.  At the time, she had not one bud on her.  Lately though, she has been blooming away.


This was a small plant but she is growing well and I'm enjoying her very much.


This crinum bloomed just a week ago!  I love this color.  I was out weeding and edging when I noticed these blooms  and took a quick picture.  Good thing I did.  On my next walk past them I noticed the stem with the blooms was lying on the ground.  Curious, I walked over for a better look.  A big Lubber grasshopper was chomping down on the stalk!  EEEK!  I didn't stop to snap a picture, I just shovel whomped him .  I picked up the stalk of blooms and brought it into the house to put in a bud vase.  At least I was able to enjoy them for a few more days.  I HATE those grasshoppers and this year I am overrun with them.  


The grasshoppers haven't bothered my Regina walking iris though.  I purchased this in the early spring when I read that this plant is cold hardy.  I have two other types of walking iris that did well coming through our January deep freeze, so I was happy to add another.  Regina has a larger bloom than the others and a beautiful purple color.  She seems happy in my dappled shade. 

14 comments:

  1. Beautiful flowers! Your pink crinum looks like 'Ellen Bosanquet.' I too added a walking iris this year. It's my second attempt at growing it. Will never know what happened to the first. Lost it a couple of years ago. Just disappeared. Anyway, I've yet to see any blooms on the new one.

    The lubbers do seem to have a palate for crinums, don't they? They have already morphed into the giant yellow beasts in this garden, and they are so hard to catch at that size. My little dachshund, who fancies herself a hunter, captured and wounded one just this morning. :-) I finished the job off for her, bless her little heart!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love that crinum and the walking iris as well. I have a yellow walking iris. Never have seen the purple. I hope those lubbers don't visit down here.

    FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
  3. We have those crinums at the apartment complex too! Their scent is nice, sweet and spicy. I have seen that giant iris for sale but was always skeptical as to their hardiness. I'll have to see how yours do!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Really nice white roses, NanaK. Elegant and pristine. Those lubbers are stealthy and evil and numerous. My Queen Emmas have been shredded to bits. Lubbers seem to go for the lilies and amaryllis first but this year they don't seem picky after they've ruined those. GRRRR!!!At least they are easier to grab when they are in their ginormous lumbering 4" bodies.

    I'm seeing those crinums blooming everywhere. I don't have any here but they are really pretty when in bloom. My reginas have either quit blooming or maybe their resting? Yours are beautiful.
    Meems

    ReplyDelete
  5. Floridagirl - I was hoping you would let me know if you thought the crinum was 'Ellen Bosanquet.' I just love that color. All my walking iris are in mostly shade perhaps yours had too much sun?

    Flowerlady - No lubbers down your way? Lucky you! I have the yellow walking iris and a white with blue that I've had for a long time. I love when they flower all together en masse.

    Rainforest Gardener - I think the walking iris would do well for you. The yellow and the blue/white ones I have came through the deep freeze perfectly. I'm assuming the same for Regina.

    Meems - Oh no! The lubbers got to your Queen Emmas? I love those crinums. Honestly, I just went outside and saw that my amaryllis are eaten to the ground! And, as you say, the pests are not picky about eating other plants once they have eliminated their favorites. I killed one eating a penta! They are definitely worse for me this year than in the past. My husband says it's because I have more plants which I guess makes sense. I'm thinking I may have to get more agressive (maybe even spray) next spring when they hatch out.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kay, your blooms are beautiful! I'm especially loving the walking iris right now. Must add to my garden. I have my eye on some at my local nursery. Your purple version is lovely. I've only seen yellow.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Are the Regina a walking iris, Kay? I didn't realize that! Yay! Mine are doing great in full sun, and I have the yellow and the white-purple, which also are quite happy in sun, now that we're getting rain.
    The Regina are a "plant of the year," recommended by FNGLA. They get lots of props for being super-tough, and they're doing really well in my super-tough yard (so Rainforest, I would say if you see one, try it!)
    Love your "shovel whomp," Kay! Lubbers favorite food is bulb plants, especially amarylis, but they eat EVERYthing! One recent evening while on lubber patrol, I was finding them everywhere. I was actually thinking, "Well, at least I've never seen any on my plumbago" when I looked up and sure enough, there was a big ol' lubber perched like a proud sentinel on a plumbago!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks, NanaK. Yes, I did have it in full blazing sun. It was actually a fairly brutal spot in the garden, where it took me about three years to finally get a planting scheme that survived. My new iris went right into the shade. I always try something totally opposite after a failure. Glad to know it was the right thing!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've never heard of the rose 'white out.' I love its simplicity..very, very pretty. I'm glad to hear you "shovel whomped" (never heard that expression before) that nasty lubber. I seem to have more than ever in my garden this year, too. Obviously, the cold winter didn't affect their eggs. That crinum is a beauty!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Susan - "White Out" is part of the Knockout series of roses. So, easy to care for I'm hoping. My daughter found it and "Sunny Knockout" in gallon sizes for $4 each, thus a Mother's Day gift was created.

    ReplyDelete
  11. $4 for Knockouts? Where does your daughter shop? I'm headed there!
    Thanks for introducing me to crinums, all. I've never seen them. Are they bulbs? How long do they bloom? What do they like?

    ReplyDelete
  12. My lubber kill count is now 7! They do seem to be even more abundant this year.
    I love your Crinum.They are on my add-to-garden list.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Penny - The Regina is technically a walking iris, but I read that the leaf doesn't bend over to root the plantlet in the ground. I haven't seen any plantlets on mine yet, but I guess when I do I will detach and plant.

    The crinums I have I bought at the County Jail plant sale as plants. I'm new to crinums as of last summer. The pinks are the only ones that have bloomed for me so far. They are bulbs and will multiply. Mine haven't yet. More experienced crinum growers talk about multiplying and dividing so I'm hopeful!

    ChrisC - Only 7? Get those crinums and I bet you'll up your numbers. The lubbers LOVE crinums.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks for the info, Kay. I need to hit that jail sale -- I've never been. I will sure keep my eye out for crinum. I was new to canna lilies this year and I am loving them! As are the lubbers.
    ChrisC, count yourself among the blessed for only having 7 lubbers so far. I lost count at about 407. I caught two the other night mating on the wall. The only thing nearby was a rake handle (not a rake, a handle -- why on earth am I saving a rake handle?) I swung ... and missed. Now I have a pregnant lubber hopping around my garden.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for travelling down My Garden Path with me. I love hearing from you. Please leave a comment and share what is going on in your gardens.

NanaK