Just A Couple Of Blooms And Yard Photos From April 29, 2009

This bloom is Hibiscus "Eye Of Kali"

Here is Hibiscus "Neon Nova"

Hibiscus "Fifth Dimension"

A picture of the front yard from yesterday (April 28, 2009)

Another part of the front yard from April 28, 2009. I didn't take any photos out back yesterday.

And one massive sunflower picture from this morning (April 29, 2009).

Very nice, Jon. Thanks for sharing.

Patty

Amazing pics as usual... Neon Nova is sure living up to its name. I have one to share to today. Its Bodacious Burgaundy. The first pic is with the flash on and second pic flash off.

Flash off

Hey Jon and Jon,

Beautiful blooms and I love the yard pics.

Robert

Thanks Robert... I am still trying to work on my pics. Since buying my first plant about a year ago I have become a full blown addict... I just finished building a 30 by 30 shade / green house at my brothers home.

Fun pictures...Jon, what kind of a sunflower is that??

Thanks. I'm not sure what exact kind that Sunflower is Kathy. I usually buy the individual varieties separately and have probably tried about 60-80 different ones. I do know that the Sunflower in the picture came from Burpee and is labeled "Large Flowered Mix". The plant right now is approximately 9-10 feet tall. Most varieties will do great this time of year as the days are long. They will still grow during the winter down here but most varieties will be shorter and smaller due to not being daylength neutral (unaffected by number of daylight hours).

Jon

What a beautiful front yard you have Jon. Isn't it amazing how long the snapdragons are lasting this year. Usually they are melting by this time of year.

Many thanks. The tall snapdragons are one of my favorite flowers. I'm not sure how long they're supposed to last down here although I recall they lasted until the beginning of June last year. You can't find any of the tall varieties of snapdragons down here in the nurseries. I start them from seed down here around the middle of September. The variety of tall snapdragons that lasts the longest down here for me in the spring is the "Rocket Series". They're supposed to have much better heat tollerance compared top most other varieties.

Jon

Curious to know what the two vines are on your trellises. Morning glories maybe???? Don't know what it is about pink but my eye just seems to go straight to it. I think purple is a good complementary color with it.

I love the Neon Nova.... just gogeous

Neon Nova's coloration is pretty unique. Always very bright and incredibly bright when it blooms in cooler weather. You're correct Patty. That is a tropical Morning Glory named "Blue Dawn". I purchased it online as a cutting from www.buyplantsonline.com. Right now I only see it available on that website as a potted plant in either a 1 gallon or 5 gallon container. Since it's a tropical variety of Morning Glory it even blooms down here in South Florida during the heat and humidity of summer. The 3-4 inch blooms open up right before dawn and are a bright violet blue that completely change to pink by later in the day. Here's a photo I took this morning reflecting the bloom color during the morning hours. Hope this information is helpful.

Jon

Just checked around a little more and Morning Glory "Blue Dawn" is considered a everblooming tropical plant. I would agree with that classification. Ir's also available as a small starter plant in a 2 inch container from www.logees.com for $8.95. Trust me...this plant grows REAL fast once it gets started. In the photo near the top of this post that is just one plant growing up both trellises.

Jon

Here's one more photo from August 6, 2008 of another Morning Glory "Blue Dawn" growing in a container.

Jon

So the plant on the two trellises in this picture

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=6482732

is actually blue????

How cool is that! It looks really purple with some pink. I would have never known. I need to ask my friend, RJ if he knows about it. He grows a lot of mg's. See if he has ever grown this one; he loves tropicals too. He was helping some dude do research on mg cultivars at one time; growing em from seed, not sure he's doing it any more, but he has several cultivars. I haven't done mg's in several years. About three years ago, I had a pink/white one that was variegated, but it would never survive more than one season.

My next mail order is going to be hibiscus; I was already hitting DH up this morning to let me order early for Mother's Day. He said "why you asking me?" I said I need to know how much I can spend. He says $20. YEAH RIGHT! I should have told him I'm a better mother than that. LOL

Going to go back to Bloomers, our tropical hibiscus nursery this weekend and see if they have any purple/pink cultivars. If not, I feel my fingers will do the talking or rather buying. It's really hard to narrow down your selection isn't it? I'm such a plant shopoholic to begin with.

Patty

Hi Patty. Yes. its a beautiful blue when it opens and fades to pink during the afternoon. I like this variety because the blooms are very large and they seem to be a bit thicker and hold up much better during the breezy days. The one growing in the pot has been blooming non-stop for almost a year. The other one I purchased as a cutting in September and has been blooming since November.
I have a feeling you'll be buying way more than $20.00 in plants also, but that's a good thing. I hope you find exactly what you're looking for at Bloomers. It's nice to find something locally and avoid the shipping costs. It all comes down to trying lots of different things and then you settle into what you really like. Personally, I've kind of settled into about 10 or so different flowers I really like, but will always try something new/undiscovered previously. The dilemma down here in South Florida is that all the nurseries/garden centers carry the same stuff year after year. Almost everything in my yard I've either ordered online or grew from seed myself.
Jon

If your searching online to read more about it Patty either search typing in "Morning Glory Blue Dawn" or "Ipomoea Blue Dawn".
Jon

Jon, I know your garden is still fairly new so a word to the wise. Be careful with that beautiful blue MG. It is extremely invasive around here and pops up 50' away from the main plant. It would not be a problem in cooler areas but in zone 9 it is trouble. You shouldn't have a problem if you keep a wary eye on it.

One world renowned gardener I know calls it the new kudzu.

Yeah, Ive heard they're very invasive. So far its just been trying to spread everywhere so I have to keep moving new growth back into the desired area. I actually remove all the faded blooms each evening or the following morning so that they never have a chance to produce a seed pod. So far I havent seen any new ones popping up anywhere else but I'll keep an eye on it. Thanks for the advice.

Jon

They pop up from underground runners; that is the sneaky part.

love the neon nova. That was one of my casualties this past winter....oh well. Love the blue flowers too.
Jon, can you come over and landscape my front yard? You have the knack that I don;t. I only live 2 hours from you. Please, please, please (just joking)

Paczona,
Your hib is pretty amazing, also :)

Neon nova is breathtaking! Love the colors combinations.

Thanks Cathy. Sorry to hear that your "Neon Nova" was a casualty this past winter. Those things can happen regardless of how well we take care of things. I'm not sure if I have the "knack" but thanks for saying so. I always just try imagine how tall and wide something will be when it matures and plan things that way. You're always welcome to some of my extra plants if you're ever down in the area. I always grow some extras of just about everything in case some don't make it, etc, etc. Here are a couple of photos, from today, of new stuff grown from seed that have just started blooming in the past week. Just have to decide if they're keepers and/or where to plant them in the yard. This is a new Rudbeckia (Black Eyed Susan) named "Tiger Eye Gold".

And this is an Aster called "Spider Chrysanthemum" with Lisianthus "Florida Pink" in the background.

Jon

Those are so pretty.

And one more called Aster "Spider Chrysanthemum White"

I love those spider asters. I've never had much luck growing asters here.

Hi Patty
It's the first time I've tried growing asters from seed and they were pretty easy actually. I'm normally not that wild about asters but these ones I like because they're well branched and the blooms are a good 3-4 inches in diameter. The seeds came from Thompson & Morgan.

Jon