What surprised you last year?

While we all have a moment to consider last year's garden, I wonder what surprised each of us?

For me, it was the color orange. I have never cared for orange much in the garden, have been careful not to plan for or buy anything that even hinted at orange. It just isn't for me. It hit me one day, when I was admiring an orange flower on my Nasturium, that I have actually picked up - and loved - quite a bit of orange this last year.

This is the Crocosmia I got last April at the Spring Kerrville RU, from catbird8. I love it!

Cosmos. Gotta love 'em!

okay, posted twice. Chalk it up to a senior moment, lol!

This message was edited Jan 8, 2006 7:27 PM

Dwarf pomagranate, lovely red-orange.

Cape honeysuckle

I've actually had the Mexican milkweed for a while, but was never comfortable with its... orange-ness, lol. As it has become a very nice stand of milkweed, I really have come to love it!


This message was edited Jan 8, 2006 7:29 PM

Pride of Barbados, brought to my attention by trois. I wasn't successful growing it myself last year, but maybe this year it will work.

This wonderful Mountain Sage was a find at the Fall Kerrville RU. The model in this pic is Amelia2. :-)

Finally, a bad picture of the Nasturium blossom that startled me into this revelation.

So.... What surprised you this last year?

I've grown fond of orange over the past couple of years too. And also yellow. I agree with you about orange...I used to prefer the pastels. I couldn't live without my hamalia now. Seen red, orange, and dark purple zinnias together?....stunning. The butterflies simply go ga-ga over orange and red. The hummers this fall loved my tecoma stans....
I need to get out there and get a shot of my cigar plants. They are blooming like no tomorrow in the middle of January--go figure. The vitex has put on a second flush of blooms also.

I will admit its easy to get too much yellow though.

PS--Now I've gotta have some crocosomia too! They need shade, right?

Debbie, yes, they need part shade. They are also pretty invasive from what I hear, so I have mine in a container. They are also supposed to multiply pretty fast. I can divide some of what is in my pot if you'd like some.

Hazel (htop) and I are looking for the Fire King (I think that's the name), it's a vibrant red.

Maggie - I love all your oranges =)

me too

I'd love some...I will keep them in a pot too. Do you have any Hinckley's yellow Columbine? I've got some (very small) babies started I could bring you at thye Arbor Gate citrus sale.
Deb

Thanks, I have that columbine already. You don't need to bring me anything, just glad to have something to share.

:-)

These are some of my favorite orange flowers.
Crossvine, Bignonia capreolata.

And Texas Lantana, Lantana horrida.

The one that really surprised me was this one, Datura Metel Double Purple.
I bought the little plant in a four inch pot at the produce market, I thought it looked cute,and it was only $1.99.
Well, the little plant gave me 6 beautiful blossoms, all of them different, this is one of them.
You just never know.

This message was edited Jan 11, 2006 4:07 PM

2005 having been such a dry year, plus the little bout of *very* cold weather we had, with 2 nights of 15 & 20 degree temps, I guess what surprised me is what lived!

Aucuba & aspidistra (cast iron plant) are doing well,
shrimp plant cuttings seem to be taking root,
irises in pots don't look toooo bad,
lamb's ears, some of the roses, one vine that I can't remember what it is, purple lantana, & what I think is catchfly are all green!

and I have a little clump of paperwhites in bloom!

Josephine, I forgot to include my crossvine as another surprising orange flower that I love, and I intended to do so. Love your datura surprise! How big did that get?

Sylviatexas, it's always surprising to me that the roses and lambs ear don't even blink at these low temps. Perhaps because they know it is a VERY temporary condition! I always figured they call aspidistra "cast iron plant" for a reason, they really earn their reputation! :-)

The plant only got about 2 feet tall, all the energy went to the blossoms.
I took some cuttings, about three of them, before frost hit.
I didn't know if the plant would survive and did not want to loose it.
It died to the ground, we shall see if it comes back. The cuttings are fine,
I brought them in.

here's a little experiment with my new camera I got from an hp grant. It took me forever to figure out how to snap just a picture and not a video. I know you guys have been wanting to see pics--these have no adjustments (haven't figured out how to do that yet). This cuphea is orange!

Here is a close up shot.
It does fit the orange catagory right? lol

Shamelessly posting pics...I really need to get gardening! We probably won't have this nice of weather for the rest of the weekend!

This message was edited Jan 14, 2006 4:01 PM

Lol, have fun with your camera, they are great toys and great garden tools! The cuphea looks great, are you having any butteflies/bees/hummer action? I find I still have lots of bees looking for pollen, only a few butterflies right now.

I played around in the garden quite a while today, mostly in between moving the hose from one tree to the next to get those well watered.

Still bees on the mexican heather (which I am removing this winter--would be alot easier if it would just freeze--lol) but that's all. They bloomed too late (Dec was their peak) for the hummers this year but butterflies love them...they are usually froze back to ground level by now.

My surprise was a scabiosa (pin cushion flower) that I thought was a Shasta daisy (identified thanks to ecrane3). The plants were in 2 pots that the nursery was going to throw away. I watered them and they came back to life. One of them began to bloom in December! It's blooming its little heart out. The other is not blooming, its in a place that doesn't get as much sun. Will they make it through south Texas heat?

I wanted to grow some cockscomb (celosia) because my mom grew them when I was a kid. I bought a pack of seeds at Walmart, they were supposed to grow 10" tall. They were beautiful, but 24-30" tall!

The celosia were so large that I had to take some out, which I did at random to leave 18" between them. I gave them to my neighbor. The ones I had when they bloomed were all red to pink except this one yellow. The bloom was a foot in diameter!

This celosia was given to me by my neighbor, I loved the way the leaves turned red on the edges.

those are exquisite! i bought some plants from the nursery and those babies didn't last a week. I had that dark red one, so beautiful (while it lasted, lol)

Oh Maggie I just love your mini Pomagrant bush. Have you tried propagating it yet? ;)
Also that Crossvine is love I sure hope the piece you gave me survives. I had so many problems in my courtyard. irrigation, birds, squirrels and to top it off the crew that came out to repair the gutters. Its only gonna get worse too! They are rebuilding Oaklawn so rapidly I am afraid they are going to cut down all the trees. I've got to get really creative with shading my Hosta area. I am open to suggestions. :)
Sylvia

Hi Sylvia! No, I haven't tried propagating the dwarf pomagranate yet, was just thinking the other day that I guess I'll try it in a little while. If your crossvine doesn't look like it's going to make it, let me know, I'll pot another one up for you. You are going to the Roundup in College Station in April, right?

Nery, I see the celosia at Arbor Gate all the time. Maybe barbur has a secret to growing them she wants to share with us? (Hint, hint)

:-)

My biggest surprise were several blue daze I planted around a koi pond. They were in 3 inch pots, and I didn't expect much. Gosh was I surprised. They turned into huge beautiful mounds that cascade the pond wall, bloom all spring/summer/fall, and no pest problems at all. What a thriller!

Maggiemoo, I have no secret except these were grown from seed. In the past I bought the 6 packs of plants and didn't have much luck with them most of the time. They get morning sun. I did have problems with some little black worms at the end of the season.

The seeds were Walmart seeds, labeled "cockscomb, dwarf crested, mixed colors." The last photo posted were from seeds from someone's plant that my neighbor bought. I saved some seeds and can share with about 6 people. Send me a D-mail and I'll give you my address, you can send me a SASE.

Brugmansia......apparently, my yard's perfect for 'em. In fact, I left out the huge big "tree" of a peach NOID that I had out front, and it's coming back! Who knew..........

Yes Maggie I will be there. Wild horses could not keep me away.:) Did Shelia find us a motel yet?
Sylvia

Sylvia, I think Dave is looking into finding a motel that will give special rates for DG people. It will be so good to see you again. I'm really looking forward to the Roundup!

If i had some suprises last year I dont remember what they were. I worry so much about what will come back. lol but I hope to have a bunch of suprises this spring, with all the stuff I bought home from the Arlington roundup. :)
Sylvia