Friday, May 20, 2011

Blooms!

Blooms greet me everywhere as I walk through the garden these days.  Even though conditions are quite dry, the temperature has remained cool enough to encourage flowering. 

Easter Lily, Lilium longiflorum
The Easter Lily didn't open its buds until after the holiday, but these sweetly scented white flowers are welcome whenever they decide to blossom.  This specimen was received as a potted plant last year and was planted in the ground after it finished blooming.  The leaves totally disappeared and the plant was forgotten until a few green sprouts showed above the mulch in early spring.

Yarrow, Achillea
White flowered yarrow was planted in the fall.  Its ferny foliage stayed green all winter long and then this spring it began to multiply all over the rose bed.  This is the first bloom which appeared right on schedule this May. 

Brazilian Plume, Justicia carnea
Brazilian Plume is a fantastic shade flower.  For some reason, this winter wasn't as hard on it as last.  These small shrubs are still much smaller than in past years but they are back and blooming. 

Flowering Maple, Abutilon
I picked up two of these flowering maples from the clearance rack at one of the big box stores.  No information tags came with them.  They grow more compactly than the one I already have planted by the rain barrel.  The flowers are a different color too.  These bushes are about 2-1/2 feet tall and as wide, full of buds and blooms.  They sailed through winter. 

Cuphea llavea
These little cupheas are another clearance rack find.  They bloom constantly.  If they behave like my 'candy corn' cuphea, they will die back in winter but return in spring.  But, they may turn out to be an annual.  If so, they were worth the discounted price.

Stoke's Aster, Stokesia laevis
 The native Stoke's aster is quite happy in a partly sunny area to the side of the rose garden.  These have only been planted since early spring so I don't really know what to expect from them.  I had another plant that was sited in a sunnier area and it bloomed well until last month when it suddenly died. 

Coral honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens
The little coral honeysuckle purchased from the county jail plant sale for $1 has finally bloomed!  I planted this one last fall when it was only a foot tall and it has covered an obelisk that is five feet tall.  No blooms appeared until this week.  I've been worried all spring that it was not really coral honeysuckle.  But, it is!  Yay!

Blanket Flower, Gaillardia pulchella
Native blanketflower is still flowering.  Some of these are reseeded from last year's plants and some are a hybrid I purchased earlier this year.

Rain Lily, Zephyranthes grandiflora
We did get two inches of rain this past weekend.  I guess that was enough to trigger the rain lilies that live at the edge of the non-boggy bog garden.  While that rain event was quite welcome, the garden and I can't wait until the regular summer rains begin.


10 comments:

  1. I LOVE all of your blooms! My Easter lily bloomed after the holiday too. Did you grow your yarrow from seed? The Cuphea llavea are really sweet and I didn't know we had a lovely native stokes aster. What a deal you got in that honeysuckle. I've not seen that over here, maybe we're a zone too south.

    Enjoy all your lovely blooms. Thank you for the little tour I really enjoyed it this morning.

    Happy Gardening ~ FlowerLady

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  2. These blooms are beautiful!!

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  3. I've never seen white yarrow before! It's hard to pick a favorite out of all these amazing blooms, so I guess I'll just love them all!
    Thanks for sharing your wonderful garden!

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  4. I'm still waiting for my Easter lilies to bloom. They did bloom last year My original plumeria is blooming now (white flower with a yellow ring on the inside). It missed blooming last year. Hoping some of the others bloom...some from seed and some from cuttings. Hoping I have at least one pink or red.

    Enjoy your weekend!

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  5. I always thought Easter lilies is one time thing for our floridans. Hmmm, maybe I can try it next time also. I have never seen Cuphea llavea and Stoke's Aster before. Wonder where I can find them. Love them, especially that Stoke's Aster!

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  6. You've got some colorful and fervent blooms bringing a smile to my face. I love them all and I know you are loving walking out to your garden this spring. Those white Easter Lilies are gorgeous. What fun to have those bloom for you. I'm thinking my Stokes Aster might need a bit more sun than I'm giving them. They bloom okay but quickly and not very profuse. How much sun are you giving yours? The cuphea is a fund find, too.
    Meems

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  7. FlowerLady - The coral honeysuckle info I've read says it will grow as far south as zone 10 so it's one you should try. The hummingbirds are supposed to love it. A lot of the natives are just starting to be available commercially so perhaps you'll see it in your area soon.

    Darla - Thank you! I'm surprised that I have so many flowery things now. I'm branching out from foliage:)

    Daisy - I'm new to any kind of yarrow. Mine was snagged as some seedlings from Meems:) Love it and the way it spreads.

    Siesta Sister - I, too, am waiting for plumeria blooms. I've had my little stick for two years and each spring it starts over but no blooms. I have high hopes for this year as it has quite a good number of leaves which is more than last year at this time. I hope we will both be seeing and smelling some lovely plumeria blooms soon.

    Ami - I've always thrown my Easter lilies away after blooming, but thought I'd try planting one last year. I totally forgot about it and then...wham!...a stalk and bloom showed up.

    If you have a nursery near you that carries native plants they should have that Stoke's aster. I really like mine but think it can't really take full FL sun unless it is well established. I lost the one I had in full sun, this one gets just a couple hours of direct morning sun and then dappled shade.

    Meems - Well, on the Stoke's aster I think the dappled shade (more on the sunny side) is better. But, that could just be a fluke in my garden as I only had two plants to start with. The full sun one bloomed and then died. This one seems happy so far. Jury's out until next spring when I see how it does through summer and winter. They are suposed to multiply in a clump. That's what I'm waiting for :)

    I'm loving that yarrow I got from you! It grows in that very sunny spot in front of the roses where I have trouble finding things that stand up to summer.

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  8. Hey Kay...You do have a lot of pretty blooms in your garden in spite of the lack of rain. I'll bet you're busy watering them like I am. I like your new flowering maples..very pretty. And, don't you just love the yarrow? It is one of my favorite...foliage and flowers.

    I lost a stokes' aster last summer and have since discovered that if I cut the dead flowers off of the new plant...instead of letting them go to seed...it gives the plant a chance to become better established instead of spending its energy generating seeds. And, that reminds me that I have a couple of new ones I planted this past winter that I need to cut the old flowers off of. Thanks for the reminder.

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  9. Compliments to your delightful garden path.

    I've got a question for you. In seeing your rain lilies (and I have some, too), do you have any idea how long it takes them to go from seed to bloom? I found an errant bulb that has produced two blooms on one stem. I've seen this one before, but lost the seeds among all the others that I had collected. This year, they WILL be kept apart. My aim is to grow them up and see if the carry the same trait as the parent bulb - a double bloom.

    So, I'm seeking information on how long that might be before I can see these seeds mature to become blooming bulbs. Do you have any idea or any one that you can direct me to?

    Crystal
    Central Texas

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  10. Susan - Thanks for the Stoke's Aster tip. I am learning as I grow this one.

    Xtal Ivy - Sorry, I don't know anything about growing the rain lilies from seed. I just planted some bulbs. It'll be interesting to see how yours turn out from seed. Keep me posted. Have you looked here? http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/lily/msg0413113223687.html

    The Garden Web Lily forum might have more answers.

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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