Some of my favorite flowers only bloom in springtime, and only once during that time.
 |
| Amaryllis, Hippeastrum hybrid |
 |
| Nun's Orchid, Phaius tankervilliae |
 |
| Lily of the Nile, Agapanthus africanus |
Even though the flowers belong to a particular season, the long strappy leaves on these plants make a nice addition to the garden through other seasons. With the exception of the amaryllis, which goes dormant and doesn't appear again until late winter, the foliage holds its place in the garden. Then, in spring, the bloom scapes rise and their long lasting flowers burst forth reliably each year.
Beautiful, beautiful!! I divided my Agapanthus this past winter, don't know if they will bloom this year or not. But like you, I enjoy the foliage in the garden. Did your seeds arrive?
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! Your agapanthus is earlier than mine. I have not seen flower scape from mine yet. That Nun's orchid is beautiful, mine doesn't have that many flowers, hope they will do better next year.
ReplyDeleteWow! Nice blooms! I'm still waiting for my Lily of the Nile...I saw some in bloom already, but mine is not showing signs. Your orchid is gorgeous!!!
ReplyDeleteKay,
ReplyDeleteThe key word is "reliable". All these 'once in a while' blooms are lovely and yes, we must enjoy them while they last. It is a happy time of year with so many flowers bursting forth. I would never want to be without the foliage of agapanthus but when they bloom ~~ wowza!
Meems
Show stoppers, Kay. I have two dwarf agapanthus, not blooming yet or even showing any signs.
ReplyDeleteDarla - Got the seeds, thanks. That is the first bloom on my large agapanthus. I hope yours will bloom this year. I've heard they sometimes won't bloom until settled in.
ReplyDeleteAmi - My Nun's orchid is from an offset someone gave me and only had one bloom stalk. I'm hoping for more next year too. It is putting out more plants from the base so that's a hopeful sign that it's happy.
Kimberly - You know, I have a smaller variety of the agapanthus that isn't blooming either. My smaller ones still have big blooms on them when they do bloom though.
Meems - I just love anticipating the buds opening. I agree about the agapanthus being a "wow" flower.
sherryocala - I have some smaller agapanthus too and they have bloomed reliably each year for me but I'll have to look back and see when that was. They don't have any scapes coming up on them yet.
Your agapanthus are ahead of mine. I've just got stalks reaching for the sky right now. I do love these plants and the amaryllis too. It is a shame they only bloom in springtime, but they make spring extra special. Have a great day!
ReplyDeletebeautiful , hope you can link those to the hot meme tommorow. love the orchid, the colors are stunning and hot :)
ReplyDeleteI have not been able to get my agapanthus to bloom at all (Meems gift!) I've moved it three times, and it's green and thriving, but no blooms. I asked about it at a garden club sale and was told they really like to be rootbound! Mine is the the ground -- this gardener told me it might do better in a pot.
ReplyDeleteYour nun's orchids are beautiful, Kay, so they must be happy. I was wondering what they look like. At that same garden club sale, one of the club members tried to sell me one, but alas, they were all gone.
Susan - I have some smaller variety ones that are yet to bloom. I'm happy to have staggered blooms of these though.
ReplyDeleteNoel - I can never keep up with linking to memes, sorry. I do enjoy seeing the ones who do.
Penny - I was told that the agapanthus don't like to be moved and will sometimes sit out a blooming season until settled in. My smaller ones were moved last year and bloomed just fine. I'm still waiting on them this year though. No scapes showing up yet on those. Yours may just need to grow up a little.