FIRST FLOWERS OF SUMMER 2015

Re the Liatris----going back a bit in time......."She" used to have just one measly
clump. She probably bought it--planted it-and forgot it.

I remember digging away a few of the root-corms to share at a Swap.
She would never know the difference....as i am always 'working: in this bed of hers.
I think one Fall, I saw a corm laying above ground and just stuck it into an open area
in her bed to "save it". SO--it came up the next year....and the next...and the next....
And NOW--she has 4 huge clumps of it growing and blooming.
Must be something magical in the soil in her bed!

I have an ulterior plan. I KNOW I can dig up one of the clumps (as per her request)
but I will convince her (YES! I can...) to let me dig up another one.
I will tell her the Liatris is suffocating her Glads, which she loves and ask her if I can dig
up the other clump all around them--to "save them'....Sneaky--yes?

Of course, I will share some of these at the Fall Swap. Don't ask for any yet, though!!!
I wan to see how all this goes. I also wan to plant some in my own beds,

Gita

Cool Sally, it would be nice to have another try at one. That last one never made it from the winter. Maybe I shouldn't have left it in its pot but I didn't know where to plant it at the time.

Today's photos

1 - Rose Of Sharon

2 - Rose Of Sharon

3 - Silene stellata - Starry Campion, native wildflower

4 - Desmodium nudifolium - Tick Trefoil, native shade wildflower

5 - Allium tricoccum - Ramps (Wild Leeks), flower spikes emerge when foliage dies down.

1 - Dianthus 'Rainbow Lovliness'

2 - Belamcanda chinensis - Blackberry Lily

3 - Lilium 'Starfighter'

4 - Lilium 'Tiger Woods'

5 - Lilium 'Pandora'

Jill--

How are your red Campions doing?

Mine are up but still very small. of course--they are also in too much shade
buried under larger plants in my YUK bed...such as my NE Aster.
I hope they make it..... G.

David, I love the "strolls" you take us on through yours and Pat's gardens, everything is so beautiful and lush; thank you! :)

Speedy, maybe everything in the photo looks lush, but we're very thankful for the ability to crop the pictures! We're really enjoying the lilies and the dianthus is new for us.

That Dianthus is really pretty, Pat!

Speedie that is one of my favorite coleus, too.and you have the perfect placement for best color.

Gita, Wizard coleus is seed grown series. 'Wasabi' is cloned by cuttings or tissue culture.

I've never grown Lilies in my garden. If Lilies are somewhat new to you, too, what got you started and how have you fit them in with other plantings? Pics? Thanks

A lot is flowering but not too many new flowers.

Star Cluster Coreopsis - been blooming for a while now but something is eating its petals
Mimulus alatus - my mystery plant that I found a couple weeks ago
Red Cardinal Flower
Tessala Oriental Lily - smells wonderful

Sequoia, are the leaves on that Star Cluster Coreopsis dark green or is it just the photo? Either way, I'd like to squeeze some of them into my beds; it's lovely!

Pat and David, that Dianthus is so pretty and unusual; a real find!

I have 2 Felicia's Phlox from Critter, with an array of flower color. I love the mix.

Huh... I totally can't explain the lighter colored blooms on the phlox I gave Muddy. I'm pretty sure those starts both came from the original big clump of "Felicia's Phlox" in the front bed... maybe one is a bee-pollinated seedling rather than a vegetative division.

Daylilies are in their glory now. :-)

My Felicia's Phlox is huge this year, too. Daylilies ae having a great year, noticing them in a lot of yards, and yours look fabulous, Jill!

Muddy, I think it might just be the photo because it was probably 7:45 when I was taking the pics. That plant gets a fair amount of shade and I'm surprised it blooms so nicely. Something does eat the blossoms though but I've never seen the little bugger doing it so I wonder if they get eaten at night. Very nice daylilies Jill!

Wonderful looking day lilies Jill!!

Sequoia, I have found out that the motteling in a lily virus and both the light pink and dark pink lilies has it. They are old lilies and I was told that it can be spread by sucking bugs. I haven't seen it any where else in the gardens but those two types about a doze plants will have to be removed.

I have a few new blooms to share:

1--This is a "lost" Lily as I bought it 2 years ago
Last summer--nothing came up. Now--I see ONE measly bloom.
At least some part of it is alive!

2--Tiger Lilies starting to bloom...there are many coming up from dropped seeds.

3--Big, black wasp-like bug on my Milkweed., What is it?

4--Not mine-but this bright red Crepe Myrtls grows right behind my shed.

5--Lastly--Ta-Dahh! Aunt Felicia's Phlox (from Jill) starting to bloom.
It is now 6' tall. Love that neon color!

Holly, why remove the plants? They're as beautiful, if not more so with the virus.

All is looking very nice Gita. I saw some black bees on my zinnias the other day. I never saw them before. Do you have to stake that phlox?

Gita, it is indeed a wasp, but there are many all black ones and an exact ID cannot be made from
the photos provided.

David-- I am just curious.

I do not need to know exact names or ID's-just general..."Wasp" is OK.
You know me and names.....in one ear--out the other....

If it were something very unusual-I would write it down on a slip of paper
and put it next to my Monitor. I have a pretty big pile by now,,,,,
Then I put these slips of paper in a binder.

Slopy record-keeping. Gita

Sequoia, Critter and I have been having a D-mail conversion about what to do with the Lilies. Since both of us have in the past bought so many plants together I was wondering if she might have had any of these issues in the same varieties that I am having. So far I only have two varieties that have the virus one variety is planted in two different beds and both locations have the virus. I have heard that pink (both of mine are pink, one lighter one darker) varieties are more susceptible to the virus. On one hand I guess I should remove them so that the virus has less chance to infect some of the other lilies but these are huge plants. As Critter described "stems like tree trunks with a dozen blooms on each one". I don't know for sure what I will decide about removing them but for now I am thinking let them bloom, mark the plants that need removed and see how I feel about it when they are finished blooming. Of course the longer they are in the garden the more chance that sucking insects can move from the infected lilies to the uninfected lilies and spread the virus.

Holly, you mentioned via Dmail that virus infected lilies have blotches on the back of the petals also... in which case, I do have an odd lily but no virused ones.

Heliopsis helianthoides v. scabra (yellow ox-eye)

Heliopsis variegata, shorter variegated form

Beautiful DL from Ruby's John, marked "unknown purple"

spider type DL (label is buried somewhere I hope!)

DL 'Fit to Command'

I think I am going to have a second look at the back of my darker pink lilies as well. When I looked I could see where the lighter splotches were but now I am wondering if the petal tissue is actually lighter or just that I can see the lighter patches thru the tissue. I think I am going to have to do a bit more reading up on the Lily Virus. I thought that bringing this discussion out in the group more might result in more info and interest in this subject. Wasn't sure it needed a whole new thread on the subject though.

Aren't the 'Rembrandt' tulips infected with some virus that makes them look gorgeous?

Yes they are.
Here are a few more blooms from my gardens and these lilies are not in question.
Second pic is Trop Hib Creole Lady

This message was edited Jul 14, 2015 3:10 PM

Your lilies are so beautiful. Love pink and pink/white ones especially and you have such a variety of them. That Creole Lady is quite something. Never saw anything quite like it and it must be quite the accent. What part of the garden is it growing in? Is this the first year for it? Very cool.

Looks like 'Creole Lady' has pride of place near the back door / patio. Is that one of the lovelies you brought back from FL? Good choice!

I brought it home from Fl. this year. I am working on turning it into Standard so right now it isn't the great big round Hib that the other ones are. I have it sitting on the edge of the raised brick patio. I want to remove a few more of the lower branches but can't quite bring myself to cut off the blooms yet.

Thanks for the extra photos. I would have a hard time, too, cutting off those stunning blooms.

It is very interesting as it puts out different colored blooms sometimes at the same time. Right now both open blooms are the same color, there are 8 more buds so it will be blooming for a while. These were the last two bloom both blooming at the same time and look at the color difference.

Wow. Which did the blooms resemble when you discovered it in Florida?

There was only one bloom on it in Fl. and it was finished and just barely hanging on to the branch. I just happen to notice it and knew what it was as I had one like it many years ago. It wasn't shaped very well either. Not like the other two beauties we brought home but I thought it would lend it's self to becoming a standard. So far so good.

Wow Holly, that tropical hibiscus is drop dead gorgeous! I wouldn't mind getting a cutting of that if you can get it to root. I can take it to the office over the winter.

Pics from today:

NOID pink Crape Myrtle
Sandia Shomei dahlia
Jitterbug dahlia
Gita's Brazilian Plume flower

Holly, that Hib is outta this world gorgeous, and I love how there are different coloured blooms!! I'm really looking forward to step-by-step photos of it becoming a standard as you go along. (always something fun and cool to learn from you!)

Seq, I love the pink of that Crape, looks so bubble-gummy!! =) And that Brazilian Plume looks so happy, very lovely!

Thanks Speedie. All of our Crapes died to the ground again last winter. This is one of two in the front. I was surprised it was blooming so early as the red one hasn't even started putting on buds yet. The one in the back yard needs moved because it's being eaten by KO roses and my ROS. Perhaps I'll put that up on the block for the fall swap.

Pick me, pick me!!! < =D (just kidding!).... maybe. ;)

Yeah sure why not. It's a dwarf, which would have been great there but I didn't realize I'd have to deal with it dying to the ground every year. It's in good shape though. I think it's called Razzle Dazzle but I'm not 100% sure. Are you going to the fall swap?

Our Lotus has produced its first bloom after planting 2 years ago, very exciting for us.

Jeff--your Br. Plume looks beautiful! This is the first for you--right?

My big one is just starting the buds. It sits in shade, as I read they bloom
better if you do not have them in the sun, Mine gets NO sun at all!
I am wondering if i should move it to a part sun spot?????

I have two--The BIG MAMA and a smaller one that was the largest cutting
from 2 years ago.Both are doing well.

Did you see the picture I posted of the deep bluish/purplish Crepe Myrtles at HD?
I have bever seen these colors. $27.98 in3gal pots. The redish ones sold first.

Very beautiful GT, how exciting indeed!

Gita, mine gets mostly sun except for a couple hours in the afternoon, so probably 4-6 hours of direct sun. It is loaded with blooms but they are all smaller than the bloom pictured. Mine is also not as bushy as yours.

Jeff--here is the Crepe Myrtle at the HD--if there are any left.....

Purple magic--