Happy Flowers!

Anybody have any posies they are especially happy with? I have several that really made me smile today. The first one is El Desperado Daylily.

This one is a Fringed Shasta.

And this one is a sunflower, a gift from a birdie (I have quite a lot of these little gifts under and around my bird feeder area!

Lovely photos - and I love the idea of all these sunflowers jumping up under the birdtable.

My first this year
Tiger Lily
Tilly

That was a bad pic.
About this one.
Yellow oriental Lily
Such the Happy face

This message was edited Jul 31, 2007 8:08 PM

And the whole family

Deeeeeeeeeeeelightful!!!!!!!!

This is another area that is very happy
these are Montibrea ( I can't Spell it right)

Pretty! Now, there's a flower that doesn't have an easy name. Neither calling it "Crocosmia" or "Montbretia" is easy...

Tilly, how did you make the container your lilies are in? Is it all made from giant doug fir branches attached? Did you make it yourself? It's neat!

Those are not man made, They came from logging a area that had Ivy growing around the trees for years. My HD was hired to cut the trees down, and the pack rat that he is brought them home, thought they would look better than the so called edging you buy at the store, I was worried that they would take root, but they didnt.
And now I wish I had more.

Oh, those are very cool!

Oh I do so agree - I love Crocosmia (or that other name - lol!) and the container is marvelous.

So pretty! I love 'volunteer' flowers! I took some photos today. Here is an un-named dahlia being visited by a honey bee.

Not a great photo, but I do love this little geranium 'splish splash'.

And here are some water lilies I'm loving this year. Some of mine haven't bloomed yet. I hope there is still time.

Pixy, those are beautiful - I've seen the Splish Splash Geranium before in catalogs . . . it's marvelous! The dahlia is lovely and the water lily . . . what can I say? It's divine!!!!

I can't remember the name of this pink lily, but it's really pretty and has a nice fragrance.

Oh, Susie, I'm so glad you asked about the edging - like you I was drooling over it - Tillys, your husband has a very good eye for bits of wood - give him our compliments, and encourage him! And planting up the lily family in the midst of it is great - more please!

And Pix, your water lilies are gorgeous - and it reminds me that I have to go wading and reduce the size of our standard ol' white ones, and quite possibly rethink them (pond life I have not quite grasped the nettle, oop, that is suppose to read mettle, but its a very nice gardener's pun so I'll leave it - so much to learn, so much to do!!)

This is one of my absolutely favourite blossoming plants - Angels Fishing Rods - (do plant names get much better than that?) This is a combination of Dierama Pulcherrimum Donard Slieve, and D.P. Blackbird - they are a bit tempermental to get started - but once established, I just - well, I can't imagine being without them -

This message was edited Jul 31, 2007 7:42 PM

And Anthirrhinum Black Prince - I started using this as an annual late season in-filler to take up the spaces where bulbs and early spring plants leave in the summer borders - just goes and goes until the frosts come. Lovely deep soft red over purple flushed, deepest (dare I say conifer) green leaves. Looks great with silver leaved plants, and tucked in with grasses. Good good plant in my books.

Black Prince is such a nice snap. I found 2 at a local nursery & purchased for the colouring alone. They are almost munchkin shrubs: foliage has great texture & quite a sturdy plant altogether. The blossom colour is fabulous - deep wine-red. Very nice - hope to save seed for next year's crop.
My Dierama did not make it through the winter - so I'll have to replace.

I came home to this surprise today: Lilium 'Mondrian'

Here's a container that makes me happy...They're just annuals but I mounted the basket on the fence that's right across from my kitchen window, so for the first time I have something pretty and cheery to look at when I'm standing at the sink. I took this in June, so everything is bigger now.

Susy: that is so cool, where did you find it? I am hopefully getting a new deck this year before this one falls to the ground, those would be so nice. I have planter baskets on the deck railing but didn't do them this year SSSo waiting for the new one.

Whats funny to me is I was not happy the way my Lily's turn out, I was ready to moved them this fall, now I think back on that. After what you all said, and thought about it and you are right It does look look good. This is the first time I have ever had these types of Lily's, and don't know what they do.
Q is will they spread or do I need some filler? I have some really pretty glads that would look good in with them.
What do you think I though I had a pic of them guess not will take one
Tilly

I was playing with my pics and found this one
Last year I had Shasta Daisies in it but they didn't come back.

Thought you all from Washington would like this
Sunset from the ferry

Tilly, I love the wood border! I only wish I had time to sit and make wooden structures like that. I must choose my artistic endeavors with care, but I've always wanted to make my own little wooden fences.
Angel's Fishing rods :((( I've killed them twice. Oh to grow them well would make me quite content, but, alas..... I recently saw a stunning stand of them at the Seattle Center!! I could not believe how well grown they were and it made me feel even sadder about the ones I killed. What's the secret?

Love the 'black prince' snaps, too. Mine come back every year, which always surprises me. The color is excellent.

I do love all these lilies. There isn't a sad one among them. Tilly, I plant the lilies among other perennials as they look a bit long in the leg all by themselves.
Here's one that started opening today: Pep Talk.

I cut a couple of Stargazer lilies and took them to the office. They make the entire suite of offices smell good!

I think I might mix that geranium 'splish splash' with the 'Johnson's blue'. It would look good.

Hi Tilly,
Thanks! :)

Very nice sunset! This would have been a nice day to spend taking a ferry somewhere (for fun, maybe not for work)

I'm not the expert at plant advice like Laurie, Pixy & Murmur, but I can tell you lilies might spread some but it will take them a little while and they always grow straight up like that. The bulbs will get bigger every year and sometimes they'll create bulblets and you'll start getting additional stems. The lily forum people know way more about it than I do. I haven't been growing them very long but I really like them, especially the fragrant types. I think they like their feet covered and their heads in sunshine (just like some people say clematis does), so adding something in there should be fine with the lilies.

I've seen planters pretty similar to mine at Fred Meyer (I got mine at a local store here on sale 30% off) They come with the cocoa fibre liner included. Because the frame is metal, they have built in loops for hanging over nails or screws and they hang well and solidly. They would look great on the front of a deck railing.

Susy, I'm glad you think I'm an expert - but I guarantee you I'm usually shootin' from the hip!!!

Within a couple days I should have some spectacular containers full of lilies in bloom - I'll be sure to take pics. This is their first year and I really packed them into the pots. (Big pots!)

Tilly, lovely sunset . . . you're on vacation so that must have been for pleasure, right??? I was coming home tonight during sunset time, but was in the center of the ferry and couldn't see a thing!!

The idea of commuting by ferry - what a marvellous idea! (Well when the weather makes sunsets like that one - let me think, when it is sleeting horizontally? No, probably not quite so nice. and here is a bit of historicity (I think I just made that word up), my dad was a ferry man in his youth, on one of the Puget sound ferries!! I doubt he lasted long, he has a tendency to day dream, and I am pretty sure that daydreaming is fairly far down the attribute list when you are looking for a Ferry driver. I'm sure they did not let him drive. Probably did all that rope stuff, or maybe sweeping, shouting "oh, look" - at nothing in particular. They were probably a lot more tolerant in those days - less health and safety stuff around.

The lily photos are so good - as are the names! Where do we sign up to become plant namers, I'm sure we could come up with some really good ones. And what a great profession - you could go to drinks parties, and instead of stopping conversation with a yawn when you tell them what you do (or tell them what I do), you could say, 'I'm a plant namer, just last October I had to name a new geranium. Came up with a catchy little nomer: Wandering Star over the Southern Ridge - bound to be a great success - mind you, we call it little Southie for short". Now don't you think someone would hand you another drink if you could add that to the conversation?

Uh-oh, Laurie has gone off on one of her little side trips again. Well, I will just compliment Susy on her fabulous basket, take a bow, and wander off. Pix, nice nice lily, and I agree some nice underplanting of the lilys in Tillys planting would be perfect. And, wasn't I tickled to get cast in with the experts - as long as you don't expect to use my advice (or at least pick you day carefully), I am more than happy to give it by the wheelbarrow load!

I think I better go do some workwork.

Wow, Laurie - your dad worked on the ferries in our neck of the woods? How cool . . . and my oh my oh my what a small world!!! Personally I don't think the ferry staff gets enough credit for what they do - just getting the cars on the ferry without anyone crashing is a feat in itself! And putting up with rude people (oh that is just such a sore spot with me!), keeping things clean and safe (since 9/11 the ferries are a major concern), etc. I go back and forth twice a week and so have gotten to know lots of the staff - great people!

And thanks for a good chuckle this morning - btw, I want one of your "new" geraniums - lol!!

It is a small world at that and you are right they don't get the credit they deserved but don't do anything to make them mad, Ive seen them really yell at people for not obeying them.
I went to a small little nursery in Bremerton yesterday had a chiropractic appt. and I was a hour early the nursery was across the street. Money in pocket had to go.
Came home with 4 new babies. one I seen in the city in someones yard and fell in love with it been trying to find it and there it was, A "Black Knight" Delphinium he hasn't bloom yet can wait.
Also a Grecian Rose and 2 Ajuba "Black Scallop"

This message was edited Aug 3, 2007 9:50 AM

This is the first bloom of my Candy Stripe rose, but no stripes, it is its first year maybe next year

Tilly - Ajuga 'Black Scallop' is a stunner, especially if you plant something chartreuse near/above it. I had some Nicotiana Langsdorfii seed itself into an area, and hadn't really paid attention until I saw it against a backdrop of Ipomaea 'Blackie'. I am going to move the black Scallop to that area and hope that the Nicotiana reseeds. A good thing if you like extreme contrast...
Which Geum did you get? I collect them - they are well-behaved, and non-demanding.
Give us a shot of that Delphinium when it flowers...

Its called the Geum "Mango Lassi" has all shades of orange's Heres a pic still in the pot going out to pick out its new home.

This message was edited Aug 2, 2007 11:18 AM

Laurie,
I like your "off the trip" comments! So much fun! And, thanks for the flower basket compliment! Not much in my yard is thrilling me this year so it feels great to get a simple thing right!

Murmur, I've seen your garden bed pictures! They are beautiful! Shooting off the hip or not.. :) I'm looking forward to seeing your lilies. I planted a bunch this spring and they are all terribly late and short. I expected that, but still.

Tilly, wow, great plants! I'm kind of afraid of delphinium (I killed a bunch when I was just starting out), but they are so pretty!

Katye, thanks for the info on Geum. Tilly's plant is really nice looking. It's new to me and I've been curious about it. Well-behaved and non-demanding sounds like the kind of plant I need to have more of!

Mango Lassi - I have 3 & they are so pretty - think I have a photo of the flower.
Make sure you place it somewhere that you can view the flowers up close. I wish they came in giant sizes...

This was waiting for me, too - afternoon shot not so great lighting...
And yes - it is a very intense colour.

Lilium 'Sumatra'

I think I found the perfect spot.
Have to down load the pic's have taken lots of pics of Happy flowers today, had way to much fun. And some ideas needed.

Katie: I think this would be a good spot, next to my white Hebe with a Plant I somehow lost the tag for and can not find it and don't remember what it was. And its out in front on the flat of the slope of a little incline.

This is "Pooh Bear" Dahlia a very special gift from a friend who knows I collect TIGGERS
but this was the best she could find That had anything to do with TIGGER
Tilly