FIRST FLOWERS SPRING!!! Next time it might be summer!

We came from here:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1361625/

Sally, I like the upright cacti. Mine is a Opuntia erinacea var. ursina. It didn't wither at all this winter...took it like a champ.

We'll take a picture of it sometime...love that Silene in the meanwhile!

Yeah I'm super happy with how my silene turned out. I hope it grows and multiplies. I might even buy some more next year now that I know it can take some shade.

I don't know much about Silene in general, but the wild European white one does well in shade for me (White campion/catchfly)

that's a very pretty blossom, Seq!

Yummy looking strawberry, Sally. You have great soil in the veggie garden!

Got a new camera more than a year ago, but never bothered to figure out how to use half the buttons. Oh well. Here are a few taken with the camera -- couldn't even focus well :o(

1. Iris 'Beverly Sills'
2. Spiderwort 'Sweet Kate' with Geum in the background
3. Columbine
4. Carolina Allspice from Sally
5. Wood Poppy from Sally





This message was edited Jun 9, 2014 7:33 AM

I like that blue/orange combo there of the spiderwort and geum, looks great! Looks like your camera takes nice crisp pictures.

ditto!

Donner, those are beautiful photos! I love the delicate colors on your iris and columbine.

So you like soft pinks, Cat :-)

Well, right now my garden has so many strong, bold colors, maybe I am drawn to the softer, delicate ones right now! :-)

then I hope you grabbed Gita's pink Oenothera. Planted mine today.

Yes, I got one! So beautiful! Might be in too much sun, though--the blossoms have wilted off... What kind of sun did you give yours, Sally?

Petunias grown from seed.

Strawberry ' begonias' from Happy.

Creeping jenny blooming. With hardy begonia foliage.

Oakleaf hydrangea, crowding out its neighbors.

Beautiful, SSG! I love those petunias!

Petunias grown from seed! Impressive! Are they fragrant?

Thanks! I started the petunia seeds back in Jan/Feb. I don't think I'll be doing this again, though. The seedlings took up a lot of precious space under the lights.

Donner, I'll check tomorrow. I didn't even think to check for fragrance!

I just love bearded irises but I'm squeamish about iris borers. It's a good thing I can enjoy all of your pictures here.

Better late than never---Here's some color form my garden...

The Roses I will show are all in the stage of first blooms fading away.
Never got to taking pictures when they were fresh.

--My only climbing Rose--"Autumn Sunset'.
--A closer-up of the blooms. They are orangy when in bud--and then change to yellow.
--"Sweet Surrender"---my oldest and favorite Rose---the scent is to die for!
--"Knock-out Rose"...doing her thing...
--"Estonian Clematis--Piilu"--(Little Duckling)--looking from the back.
We talked about pruning a while ago--this was pruned pretty severely--NO matter...

More............foliage chapter......:o)

--My "Endless Summer Hydrangea" has regrown from the base and will blooms soon.
--My big "Brazilian Plume Flower"---when this is done blooming--I will cut it back
and root a bunch of cuttings. Just FYI--for those that got one--they do not like full sun!
They do best in filtered sun/part shade.
--Here is my OLD (20+ years) Angel Wing begonia. Every year--I cut it back to nubs--
and it regrows beautifully. And--so I have kept it going all this time.
--Maya Brug doing VERY well! This one sat dormant in my Shop all winter.
--Dr. Seuss brug cutting--just from last fall--is also doing well. In 3 years--it will be
a glorious "monster"--like pictures I have showed you before.

OK--Back to some color----

--A beautiful Petunia I bought at Chapel Hills Nursery. Quite unusual!
--First Day Lily to open....There will be more--all colors...
--White Easter Cactus in bloom
--Red Easter cactus in bloom--just starting...
--My one Clivia (I have two) blooming again--second "flush"---this one is beautiful!

And as a finale--I have a story to tell you----

A week ago--we hot in a slew of big, potted Hibiscus. All jammed up on racks--
and then laid out at the front of the garden center outside the gates,

People were buying them by the arm-loads...but this one Hibiscus sat untouched,
because it had NO flower buds on it at all--just this big, full pot of healthy leaves...
Most of the Hibiscus we got were either red or yellow....so I figured that this had to be yellow--
just from comparing leaves.
I wanted to buy it--but did not that day.

A couple days later--I came in to work--and it was still there. Serendipity!!!
Still sitting there all green--bun now it showed a couple promising buds.
Then I saw a sticker on the pot that said "PINK"...
I HAD TO buy it--it had waited for me...so I did.

Got home--cleaned it up and re-potted it in a bigger pot. Soaked it with Root-starter
fertilizer in a bucket--and set it out on a corner of my driveway.
1--A couple days later it bloomed! Mamma Mia!!! SO gorgeous! I was lucky to get it.

2-- Some beauties still waiting to be planted....I keep buying them--and, they sit
and wait--patiently--for the day they will get a permanent home...

More in a couple days--things are beginning to "pop" all right....
Still have all my other DL's to go---and my newly planted flowers.....
G.

Gita

gorgeous hibiscus!! nice story.

I forgot to get one of Gita's Oenotheras. Bummer! Oh well, it's not as if I didn't come home with a car full of plants...some still waiting to be planted.

Seq and Donner, your photos are so artistic; you're quite the photographers!

SSG, your Oakleaf Hydrangea looks terrific against that red brick. It may be a thug, but it's a handsome thug. Oakleafs have great fall color, too, as I recall.

I love that hibiscus story, Gita. It's a lucky plant to have you to care for it and all of those colorful plant friends to hang out with : )

Beautiful Hibiscus, Gita! The roses are pretty too. I had a floribunda rose years ago, but only grow trouble-free knock out roses now.

My hydrangeas also all died to the base over the winter. The old fashioned varieties probably will not bloom this year. I am still hoping for some flowers from the Endless Summer.

I'm not generally a fan of hibiscus but that is one beautiful specimen.

Beautiful hibiscus, Gita--I agree, it was lucky to have you take it home and care for it. :-) I love that orangey yellow on the rose--and such a beautiful petunia!

Thanks--I am waiting for it to be covered in blooms....

Unfortunately--it also came home with white flies all over it. Nasty little things!!!
I was looking all over for what to do....finally mixed up the water/alcohol/dish soap
and sprayed it down yesterday.

2 parts Rubbing Alcohol + 1 Tbs. soap + 5 parts water.
Mix alcohol and soap and then add the water. Sprey all over--esp. the undersides.

The leaves were already showing some mottling on the undersides--from all the
egg-laying and hatching. Read in one of my searches that WF cam produce a
new generation every 5 days. YIKES!!

Will do it a couple more times. Hosing it down with a strong stream of water
also chases them away..but just temporarily.

Checked this morning---plant looks OK--was worried a bit with that much alcohol on it.

Gita

Get my new dryer delivered today. YEAH! I DO have a clothes line--I can always use that...

yay fun to have new things

I think I've read that alcohol is really pretty safe sprayed on plants.

Sorry to hear about the whiteflies, Gita. Hope the rubbing alcohol solution does the trick!

I even use a 70% alcohol when attacking spider mites, I just protect the plant from direct sun.

I really enjoy seeing all the flower photos. Nice!

Here are a few things blooming here this weekend:
#1 and #2 Silene armeria (Sweet William Catchfly) - this came from David and Pat and has self seeded everywhere - it is easy to pull up though. I left groupings and weeded the rest of hundreds of seedlings.

#3 Blephilia ciliata (Downy Wood Mint) - also came from David and Pat. I love the tiered pagoda type flowers.

#4 Digitalis thapsi 'Spanish Peaks' (Foxglove) - this is the true perennial foxglove that I was mentioning in one of the threads. I have never had much success growing the biennial spectacularly tall foxgloves, but this one has done well.

#5 Calycanthus x raulstonii 'Venus' (Eastern Sweetshrub) - bought this one as a tiny mail order 4 or 5 years ago. This is the first year for blooms!



This message was edited Jun 7, 2014 10:46 AM

Beautiful, Aspenhill! I love that perennial foxglove.

More photos:

#1 and #2 Noid Siberian Iris - got these several years ago on an outing with Jill to the Francis Scott Key Iris Society annual sale. I know they were labeled, but darn if I know where I put them for a way to match them up with the flowers.

#3 Polyantha Rose 'Mrs. R. M. Finch' - these had gotten tall and very straggly, so I cut them back almost to the base at the end of last season. What a difference!

#4 Lamium 'Purple Dragon'

enjoying all the bloom posts! Blephilia ciliata (Downy Wood Mint) looks so interesting. I never heard of that one before. will have to look it up

1- our annual begonia border. used to use impatiens
2- clematis wildfire
3- Holly's comphrey showing buds

Love that begonia border against the hostas, Wind!

Beautiful irises, Aspenhill!

Ooh, that downy wood mint is interesting!

Wind, what's the big blue hosta? It sort of looks like Abiqua Drinking Gourd. What a beauty!

Terri--

I LOVE that Sweet William catchfly! So pretty!
Also--love the bright blues your camera reproduces...

--Only one new bloom --The VA Bluebells I bought at a Nursery.
A new resident in my YUK bed....

--The undersides of a couple Hibiscus leaves--damage from White Fly.

--Closer up. I imagine this is where the eggs hatched? and then the young'uns
sucked all the juices out? Yes? no? Ric????

So far--I have not seen any Whitefly on the leaves. Will keep checking and
spray again in about 5 days.

This message was edited Jun 7, 2014 12:51 PM

That's such a pretty hibiscus, Gita. Too bad about the whitefly damage, though.

Good thing you caught the whitefly right away so you could treat it, Gita!

That's a beautiful VA bluebells!

Wow Terri, such nice blooms!! I especially like that Silene and that Woodmint is outstanding! I'm going to have too look that one up because I want it for myself :)