Beautiful lotus! So far, no luck with lotus for me. The tubers that Jill gave Cheryl and me last year bloomed beautifully for Cheryl, but not for me - go figure LOL. I got two new tubers from Jill this year, and not much happening with them yet.
FIRST FLOWERS OF SUMMER 2015
Jeff--I used to keep them in sun--years ago. Then i read that they
prefer shade--so I have been keeping it shaded. You may want to
find a happy medium.
Yes! Mine is bushy--as I usually cut it back in the fall--that is how you all
got the cuttings at the spring swap. I left ONLY one tall, new shoot.
This is how it filled out throughout the winter and outside.
I think if it was in it's natural habitat--it would grow as a tree...
Here's some good links...I learned few things too...
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/brazilian_plume.html
http://www.igarden.com.au/plant-type.jsp?id=88&t=Justicia
https://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/justicia_carnea.htm
Pics. are from 2007. Yes!! --I have had it that long! .
I love the purple magic crape myrtle. I really wanted a purple one but when I got mine I was trying to pinch a couple pennies so I got the red and pink ones in a smaller pot, which the purple were not available in. Thanks for the links, I'll have to check them out at lunch.
No luck for me with the Lotus either. Not that I didn't get blooms, 1st bloom was picked apart by starlings that had perched on the edge of the pot when it was a very small bud. Second bloom was looking great and did bloom, but I never saw it as it happened when I was away. By the time I got home it was finished and all I saw were a few petals still hanging on. Ric had meant to take a few pics for me but forgot. Not sure if I will get more blooms.
Today's Bloom.
That's gorgeous, Holly ! So pretty, hard to believe it's real. :)
:-0
Like I said, drop dead gorgeous.
Seq, I'm pretty sure I'll be at the swap this fall, but I was honestly just kidding; I'm sure someone else here would really love that beautiful baby! I'm holding out for something bubble gum pink. =)
David... WOW!!!!! That Lotus is absolutely stunning!!!!!!!
Holly, another WOW, what a frabjous bloom!!!!!!!!!
1st pic Silver Vase Bromeliad
3rd pic Lily Deep Impact
4th pic Lilies with Hardy Banana in background.
5th pic Container with OSP, Persian Shield & Croton Gold Shield
all very pretty, that blue pot though..
Winner winner chicken dinner! Wowzers
I got two of them from Ollie's a discount store. They are tall thin and sit on either side of the GH door.
fabulous colors with what you planted in them!
Good Old Ollies!!! One can get all kinds of things there....
Look for their 15% off coupon ,,,it comes in Junk mail....
Over the years--I have bought all kinds of great things there...
Their single biggest deals are BOOKS! It is like you walk into a library.
Bedding...Spices........Candy......cookware....kitchen tools......and, lately...gardening stuff...
All cheeep....cheeeep.....
LOVE the bargain stores.... G.
Your banana tree is looking pretty good.
Phlox explosion!
1 Noid. Maybe a seedling?
2 Jeana from last year's group buy
3 Felicia's phlox over 5 ft tall. That's a 4 ft tall fence in the background.
4 Noid plus lilies.
5 Phlox David.
Amaryllis Blossom Peacock blooming again!
Clethra 'Ruby Spice.'
Beebalm
Hydrangea 'Pinky Winky'
Dahlia from an ATP member.
You guys are really taunting me with your Phlox, huh? ;P Those are spectacular Ssg!!
I went out to take a few "before home improvements start" photos, and ended up taking a few of some 'babies' as well. Finally! ;)
1: Month-old "rescued" dianthus (don't remember which one), is actually budding, whee!!
2: A couple happy-looking Coreopsis blooms.
3: I honestly have no idea what this is, but just in case it's not a weed, I've left it alone. The main "trunk" is round and very gently "fuzzy". No blooms yet.
4: The half-dead lavender that I left lying there last fall is really taking off, and even blooming!
Oh my goodness, now I'm really embarrassed by my meager offerings. < =/
Speedie, phlox is so easy! :D You'll love it!
Speedie--
Are you planing to make the trek to the Fall Swap?
1--I could dig up a small clump of the gentle white/pink one for you.
2--Also--pretty easily--a small clump of the hot pink one in my kitchen bed.
Ask away--if you see anything you want......Gita
Speedie, I could be wrong, but your #3 mystery plant looks like a very healthy common ragweed.
Oh Great Googley Moogley that's TERRIBLE, I'm growing ragweed!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you David, I'll get out there posthaste and yank that sucker outta there, ... for cryin' out loud! < =(
Gita, while I am pretty sure I'll be at the Swap, I will humbly and graciously decline your VERY generous offer; I really need to see how the stuff that's in that bed now fill in, I really need to stop adding new stuff, it's getting ridiculous! ;) (yes, that is my middle name, but still...) =)
SSG, just love that Clethra 'Ruby Spice.'
Thanks, Holly! The color is very subtle, and very pretty in person. I bought it after it had bloomed so I had to trust that it was labeled correctly. I think it's benefited from all the rain we've had!
Your hibiscus blooms are outrageous! It looks like a piece of art.
My one perennial hibiscus has buds but no blooms yet. I had to choose between dry/ sunny vs part shade/wet, and I thought it may do better in part shade/wet. I may need to move it to a sunnier/drier spot.
Or, you could plant double-densely and then either let the plants duke it out or dig out the less vigorous performers and move them to other locations...
Nice "rescue" on that dianthus and the lavender! Lavender can get really beat up, but as long as it has a bit of green there may be nice healthy roots just waiting to spring forth with new growth the following year!
My hardy Hib is just loaded with buds more than I have ever seen but no actual blooms yet.
My Kopper King Hoibiscus is starting "The Show"...There are SO many buds!
The "bush" is not full of blooms yet--but The moment will come.
It just gets bigger and bigger. There is a whole slew of Daffs in a circle underneath it.
It is almost to the point now that i will never be able to dig them up. Have to--somehow!
The Hibiscus roots radiate in all directions from the plant. It will be hard to dig them out
without totally damaging the KK.
I can see it now--in a few more years--the KK Hib. will be to the brick edging.
Scary!
If you're still getting blooms, I wouldn't worry about digging up the daffs. On a wet spring day, you may be able to grab the foliage and pull some out... I'd rather lose the daffs than risk that gorgeous hibiscus (and you know how much I love daffs!).
Jill--you mean blooms on my daffs? NO! Those are from April.
The bulbs on these daffs work themselves deeper and deeper with time.
I dug them out , as best I could, from the small front bed by my Koromo Shukibu Azalea--
but my big shovel would not go deep enough to get all the bulbs out.
I can tell you that--NO WAY any of them would pull out by yanking on the leaves.
I KNOW that--rain or no rain.
Wondering just how much damage I would do if I really went at it with the digging.???
UGH--I don't want to think about this right now.....
Speedie, your flowers are very pretty!
SSG: that Felicia's phlox is the bee's knees! That's gorgeous and I like how tall it is.
Seq, I think pretty much every one of us has Felicia's phlox via Jill. It's totally mildew-free in my mildew-heavy garden. I think mine might have gotten even taller or bloomed earlier, but it got pruned in early June. Are you interested in trying it out in your yard? :)
SS--How do you prune your Phlox (in June) ?
Do you do it just as it is emerging--WHY do you do it? To make it bushier?
Inquiring minds want to know.............G,
Gita, I read that pruning summer/fall bloomers in early June helps them grow shorter, sturdier, and bushier. I prune asters, Joe Pye weed, phlox, and monarda,
SS--makes sense.....it is not that I do not think of doing it--
just seems that the plants grow so fast and then I never get to it.
Then--when they are 3' tall--I do not want to cut them back any more....
G.
Couple of new residents to my back yard patio.
1. Mounding Mandevilla.
2. Some lovely Purple Shamrock I just picked up yesterday along with a Sweet Potato Vine
purple and chartreuse are a killer combo, in my eye. I love them together.
Yeah Sally, when I bought them home yesterday, I already had in mind to plant them with a sweet potato vine. Love the color combo too! :)
Deep, purplish blues are another color that goes really well
with chartreuse and red... Wasabi Coleus and Sweet Potato vine are both
beautiful examples of Chartreuse.
This is wasabi Coleus in 2 combos.
I had a gorgeous picture of Wasabi Coleus and Alabama Sunset Coleus---
ut all I can find is the one below (#2).
I believe I have LOST the whole July 2014 picture folder...somehow....
It is NOT in my Documents under "My Pictures".....Where didit go????
G.
Jeff---
This for you. See how big my Mandevilla grows each year?
It never stops!
Also--here is a picture of the "Dwarf red Coreopsis". Cute! You want seeds?
G.
Gita, Just beautiful and so colorful