Pixie, Anita. It has been identified as Perennial Cornflower 'Centaurea Montana'
This one stays in place, unlike the monarda 'Bee Balm' which was' next to it.
I thought Bachelor Buttons were annuals.
A bud. Kinda pretty even at this stage.
Andy P
My curb herb garden is in bloom. In the foreground is sage and the background is thyme. Having fresh herbs certainly beats trying to mow that steep slope between the curb and the sidewalk.
Andy, There is an annual & a perennial bachelor's button.
Thanks Pixie, Yankee & Maria for the tips.
Pixie, your garden looks great! What is the tall yellow thing? You must be a little ahead of me because my babtista and my irises are not blooming yet.
Maria, what are lilioms?
Anita and Dave thanks, the yellow flowering plant is Russian kale, the edible not ornamental type. I planted some about 6 yrs ago, it self seeds but can easily be pulled up. The seedpods are pretty too.
Thanks Dave, I learned something new, again.
Speaking of edibles, how about Kohlrabi?
The light was just right yesterday to get this shot of the back side of a leaf.
Something 'abstract' for a change.
Andy P
I was in a Macro mood and snapped this shot of my first Iris.
It's up against the house, nice and warm.
Another gift from many years ago.
I wonder what it looks like this morning after the cloudburst last night.
Andy P
Andy...wow, I love the 'abstract' leaf pic and the close up of the iris bloom : )
Great pics Andy! Isn't macro fun?
Thanks Beau and Anita. Macro sure is fun.
Look at what I got today, a different Iris.
Andy P
Andy, Those are great!
Woodlandpixie, There is an edible kale that grows that tall? It looked 5 or 6 feet tall. How long does it bloom? Where do you get it?
Thanks, Dave
What beautiful pictures!!! The only thing I have blooming now are daffodils so it is great to look at all your beautiful flowers.
I have poppies growing over my dying daffs. Funny thing is that their colors run in the rain! The black from inside gets all over the orange in streaks.
Those are awsome poppies! My California Poppies have tons of buds...can't wait to see the flower on them!
Here's a bright face, Oranges & Lemons gailllardia
That is a beaut Al!!
Yankee cat, that must be the pollen running off. Very pretty, though.
Al, that's a new Gaillardia to me, I like it. Mine are a couple weeks away. Goblin and Arizona Sun.
Got a new Iris today.
Andy P
bigcityal-is that gaillardia an annual or the other kind that I never can spell?
They are a perennial, although not always long lived, but they should self seed some my others do. Summer Kiss and Tokajer looked nice, but very similar. My Fanfare is about a week away.
Andy,
My iris are all done except the german. They don't flower long, but I can tolerate the foliage so they are OK.
I don't recommend this shrub because of the borers around here, but the flowers are nice.
Al, I love that galardia. So different from the more autumnal colors og most gallardia.
Does that shrub have a name? I like the halo. Reminds me of mine.
Andy, I think you should publish. I'd buy a book of your photographs! Anita too!
Dave,
That's a Crannberry Bush viburnum.
I love to study this photo
Thanks Al.
That is a cool one Al--mesmerizing
Al, is the one poster at 8:55pm a French Hydrangea?
And the one this AM an Alium?
Both very pretty.
Dave, we gotta get your pic posting problem resolved. somehow. Ask on the Photography forum.
Thanks for the compliment. If you wish to make your own copies of any of my pics (without the DG ©) they can all be seen at http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a202/andy2302/ Look in the 'Spring Flowers' and 'Summer Flowers 2006' albums. Help yourself.
OK here are a few veggies, first up is my Kohlrabi. Just starting to ball up at the base of the stem. That will be ready at about 2 1/2 inches, a few more weeks.
Andy P
Some Pac Choi 'Joi Choi'. Almost ready.
Muddy from the recent heavy rain.
Andy P
Andy - here's a new exclusive bloom for you
The white flower was Compact American Cranberry bush and the second is Purple Sensation, I believe, Allium
Dave - you can't post photos?
nice veggies Andy.
Al - is that columbine?
Here are some from today...
and here is some afternoon delight!
I do have some of those id'd. What is the yellow flower?
You are such an insect voyeur aren't you.
lol - I just thought it was neat. I'm thrilled they like my yard! As for the yellow flower... http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/annuals/melampodium_paludosum.html
Never heard of melampodium before. What was the tequila sunrise looking thing?
Al, I can post pictures but when I enlage or crop them; no matter what I do to save the change, the original posts. It gives me distant, vague shots.
To tell you the truth, I haven't had time. Every non-raining moment has seen me trying to catch up. I took Friday off so I had a 4 day weekend which was about 85% gardening.
I have a young clematis Nelly Moser(gorgeous) that just bloomed. jack-in-the-pulpit, and my funky allium. I'll try to get shots.
Al, you got me to go out and take a close up look at my allium purple sensation. They are even more amazing up close.
Hi Everyone - I am up here in Maine and just had the best Memorial Day weekend planting my 3 raised veggie beds and cut flower garden and way too many new perennials around the house border. The weather was gorgeous finally and I got almost everything planted. Just some edging to do.
Question - this year I though I would do something I saw in a great perennial bed up in Camden last year. They interplanted vibrant hued Swiss chard, like the kind you find in Bright Lights Swiss Chard in their perennial bed and it looked gorgous! Has anybody ever tried it? I just planted some seed of the Pink Passion (a fushia color stem) and the Orange Sunset (a vibrant orange stem). When they come up in my veggie bed I hope to transplant them into my perenniel border!
That's a neat idea. I just read an article about combining perennial/annuals and veggies. I think it's a great idea.
I planted Bright Lights Swiss Chard in the sidewalk border with Silver Lace to hide the faded daffodils and I ate and ate Swiss Chard until first hard frost. Yummm! A friend showed me how to make Chard Crisps by putting the leaves in a single layer on a baking sheet, drizzeling with olive oil and scattering sea salt chunks on it and baking at 375 (I think) until the leaves were crispy. I also sauteed them with olive oil, garlic and sausage chunks. Yummm with meat!
I have to try Chard Crisps! Thanks.
I grew the Bright Lights Swiss Chard last year (couldn't find my Pac Choi seed), they were very pretty. I can see them in a flower garden.
Andy P
Snowhermit.....
I just had a few ideas of some unusual/tropical looking plants for your area:
Zanthoxylum americanum is a hardy shrub in the Citrus family that has thorny stems, pinnately compuound leaves (that smell of citrus oil when rubbed or crushed), and lemony smelling reddish orange fruits in the fall (the fruits look kind of like pill sized lemons), and tolerates a wide variety of growing conditions.
Yucca Filamentosa is a very hardy shrubby Yucca that is hardy to Zone 3, and also tolerates a lot of growing conditions (mine are planted in unamended clay on a level spot), and I'd highly reccomend the "Color Guard" cultivar, due to its bright yellow striped leaves.
You might also want to give Fargesia nitida, a.k.a. Blue Fountain Bamboo, a try as well. This bamboo has been successfully grown in Tromso, Norway, and Anchorage, Alaska, both points above the arctic circle, and the plants survive the winters with occasional defoliation being the only damage suffered. As an added bonus, F. nitida is a clumping bamboo, which means that it couldn't run if it was being chased down the mountain by a pack of starving pandas.
Just a few ideas for you to try out.
Andy - I have my other kind of centaura(cornflower) blooming now. Not the most amazing flowerer, but the leaves are nice.
I was at the nursery yesterday and was looking at the cornflower. I saw this one that is bigcityal's photo and liked the leaves, so bought it instead of the taller ones. Also bought Russian Sage and Blue Eyed Grass. Sarahskeeper had posted a picture of Blue Eyed Grass and I thought it was really pretty - the real thing is too. I feel like a lurker stealing ideas from you'all. I hope you don't mind - I've never had so much fun going to the nursery and checking out plants.
Kayellen
Kay - glad to be of some service for once. I do post plants in plantfiles, but you get a better idea of the bloom time if you see them 'live'.
Not the most amazing plant, but small
fleabane azure "aster"
