I was given almost 200 rhizomes of an unnamed dark purple bearded iris two years ago. Way more than I expected so I was putting them everywhere I had room! They have turned out to be wonderful: the evergreen swordlike foliage is a great vertical accent, the plants do well in both sun and shade, dry or wet soil, and they bloom several times a year to boot. They look great with anything, but particularly with white calla lilies.
Wow, is that ever elegant. Amazing how it all goes together, isn't it?
Spring is long gone here in coastal Northern CA -- we are well on our way into summer. One of my indulgences every February is pots of the Bloomingdale hybrid ranunculus. I adore their vivid colors and frilly petals! Add in freesias and you have color AND scent, in a great combination.
Agapanthus are standbys in CA, planted everywhere for their drought resistance and reliable summer blooms. Here their long-lasting flowers are set off by the huge flowerheads of Trachelium (Throatwort).
Jkom51- I am speechless. Everything is just beautiful. Love the Trachelium.
I love the purple iris and white calla lilies together. I have the white lilies now but my iris are long gone. I will subsitute dls :)
I plant white and purple together. I think it is a good combination.
Sometimes I add a little yellow.
jkom51--love your agapanthus bouquet. never thought of using ag. in a bouquet, but it looks lovely...t.
Ivy,
It's never the money, most seeds are fairly inexpensive. Your right, it is the time. And i usually do seeds if i can't find the plant. You look for the plant, can't find it, look for the seed, order it, germinate it, baby it, and it grows up to be the plant you could have bought in the first place. It happened to me with some fancy double peony type poppies... grew up to be mixed coloured singles :( And another time with some nasturtiums that were supposed to be a cherry pink colour.... just plain orange. Oh well.
Ohhh, and poppies are hard! I just did some pale salmon ones, and out of a whole flat planted, I got ONE plant. It's 1 inch tall after 6 months!
Oceangirl, Guess what.
We have winter moths all over the place. I read they hadn't gotten to Ct. yet, but the articles were wrong. My red Acer Palmatum Dissectum is about to bite the dust. We got it for our 1 year anniversary from my MIL, who is also sick. I am spraying with something I got from Gardens Alive , that is supposed to be organic. This really bites.
How is your garden? Did it survive the infestation?
I accidently whacked an entire stem of Blue Wave Lacecap Hydrangea off my bush. I' m putting all the side shoots in a vase. It shoud be beautiful. The flowers are small this year because we transplanted the entire six foot shrub last year. I'll try to get a picture if the camera works.
Oh Ivy, I'm so sorry.
They probably have you spraying with BT- that's what kills the caterpillars. The active infestation has ended here and my trees are growing new leaves- but fewer than last year. I was hopeful when I saw a lot of birds eating the caterpillars and feeding them to their babies.
So far nothing has died but some things look pretty bad.
What a dissapointment with your snapdragons, too. You asked about fertilizer- I give each annual I plant about a teaspoon or a half teaspoon (for small plants) of time release pellets, like Osmocote.
jkom51, Your arrangements are so simple and elegant. I love them all.
The Acer seems to be responding to the organic spray - I see new growth coming in a couple places and the leaves aren't withering and drying up like before. At first I thought the plant had root stress or was too dry, but I think it was being munched and I just couldn't see it because the leaves are so lacy and small. Wish me luck!
Jkom, I was just looking at your second arrangement and was inspired- I'm going to take all the foliage from my blue garden and put it in a vase. That will include Montana Juniper, Weeping Katsura, Diabolo Ninebark, Silver Mound Artemisia, Blue Prince and Princess Holly, and Bronze Fennel. I wonder how they will do all together in a vase? They look great in the yard, but I can't see them from the house. This is the answer !
Oceangirl, Hi are you still there? Working hard I am sure.
I grew Lilac Time Dahlias for the first time this year and they are blooming so I had to go cut some! Here they are with Lemon Queen Sunflowers, Perennial Sweet Pea, Indigo Spires Salvia, and an unknown White Dahlia that was supposed to be Lavender Perfection.
Here's another picture:
A little bit of EVERYTHING.
The other side....
Ivy,
I envy your sweet peas and WHAT a dahlia!
Melissa
Melissa- I envy YOUR (I think) snapdragons? Orange and pink? They are racy! And is that Crocosmia on the bottom left in pic #1? Your composition is just lovely, and the tall grey pitcher is to die for!
I bought snap seeds for my daughter this year but they turned out to be very washed out colors, instead of the bright pinks and yellows I had ordered.
I have never grown big Dahlias before because I thought they would be finicky, or hard to grow. Boy! Was I wrong! They have been great growers with little to no care, and so satisfying to watch grow. You can see a change every day.
The Sweet pea was a small rooted piece from a lady down the street. It is actually an invasive species here- if you don't cut the seed pods off. It grows by the side of the road everywhere! So next time you are on vacation in New England, bring a pot of dirt and dig some up! No smell, unfortunately.
I don't have a pic but now I am bringing in glads, one of my favorites. Coneflowers, daisies, ect. Daylilies, when I have a few. They have been great this year.
I have wanted to try dahlia too.
I love Glads. What colors did you plant? Are they the kind you have to dig up, or can you leave them in the ground all year in KY? There is nothing happier looking than a big floor vase full of glads!
I like the BIG Dahlias! Dinner Plate size. But I was always too scared to plant them. My Lilac Time are about the size of a teacup saucer. The plant is about 4 or 5 feet tall. I didn't even stake them, though I probably should. They seem very sturdy, with big one inch thick stems at the base.
The ones that I have now are Mom's hardy orange glads.
We leave these in the ground but the newers ones don't make it. I learned that the hard way.
Hi Ivy and all, I'm still here. Love your dahlia, Ivy,
and
tombaack, nice vases. You have a little of everything in your garden I guess!
Been working hard here, but I did cut some flowers yesterday, and I will post pictures soon.
Beautiful flowers everyone! Here is a vase of flowers from cuttings in my garden I took a couple of weeks ago...
Crepe Myrtle, Hydrangea, and Gardenia
Here is another one from my garden...
Last one (dahlia)...
Hgurule- Beautiful vases! That Crepe Myrtle, Gardenia and Hydrangea is very different from anything I've seen before! The colors are quite stunning together.
Do you know what kind of Dahlia that is? It's so big and gorgeous!
Bluegrass- I planted Glads the first year we lived here, dug them up, stuck them in the shed and promptly forgot them. Isn't that sad? I should've replanted, but never did. Are your hardy orange ones all orange? or just around the edges?
Oceangirl- I miss our chats! I know in summer it is hard to get anything done, let alone have time to go on DG! I hope your garden is surviving. I have been very lax about keeping things watered and weeded during this drought. In fact, I have to go now to spend time out there. See ya!
Thanks, Ivy1. The hydrangea, crepe myrtle, gardenia arrangement turned out better than I expected, and the gardenia added such a wonderful scent! I was tempted to keep the arrangement for myself, but I gave it to one of my young piano students as a graduation present.
The name of the dahlia in the picture above is Jean Marie. It is my very first dahlia bloom, and I am so excited that it turned out so beautiful. Here is a picture of it in the garden before I cut it.
Don't you love the names of plants?And the stories behind them? Jean Marie is a super name for a super plant.
I only grew Dahlias this year for the first time. I really love the way they grow, how their stems come up fat and then slowly you see side shoots split off from the main stem. I also love the way the buds take a couple days to open and look like one color, but then turn out to be another. I think because they are so big, you can almost see every step of the process. it's all very clear with Dahlias.
Hi Ivy,
I'm sorry I haven't been around much. I'm having a family crisis, which has used me up!
Heather, your arrangements are beautiful!
I've managed to take a few pictures...
A vase of dahlias (I love them!) These are Thomas Edison and Art Deco. With some zinnias.
Heather,Jean Marie is Beautiful. I love your Dahlias, too, Ivy.
Cindy
Another Dahlia vase with Alloway Candy.
Alloway Candy in the garden
My annual cutting garden now
And one of the gardens I work in
Calla lillies in the garden I work in
And lillies
Wow, Ivy. I really like the way you describe a dahlia. It makes me want to go out and get some more.
Cindy - Those are some beautiful dahlias!!! I love your cutting garden with the colorful zinnias too. How are you holding up (family crisis)? I don't know anything about your situation, but I am praying for you. Hope all is well. The flowers you posted are beautiful. Thanks for sharing them with us.
Heather
So nice!
Thanks for the vase compliments. I keep an eye out for vases at flea markets, garage sales and thrift stores. I often pick something up for a quarter.. Sometimes if i really like it i'll pay a buck. I have a whole shelf in my garage of vases, from the clear ones that most florists deliver flowers in (usually 5 or 10 cents), to really nice ones that way when i take someone flowers i don't have to worry if i never see the vase again. My dad is a glassblower though and i have some really fancy ones that never leave the house.
Cindy- I'm sorry. I hope all gets better real soon.
I don't know which pic I like better! Thomas Edison and Art Deco are super, but Alloway Candy is a real stunner!
I like that in your cutting garden you have some red or pink grass. I never thought of it for cutting, and it makes a wonderful color echo with the cannas or big leaf thing (sorry not very knowledgeable about tropicals) in the center!
Tombaak - I wish I had room for more vases, but we barely have room for the family here, much less the decor!
