This is not how we normally look at these flowers, stems and vegetables (fruits). They might look strange out of context. That was sort of intended. ‘Six on Saturday’ allows more freedom of creativity than the simple illustrations that I use for the gardening column. The last two are closeups of the same two gladiolas that were featured last week. Perhaps they show color better.
I should try this again for next week.
1. Lily of the Nile is the ‘Fourth of July Flower’. It blooms for the Fourth of July, and the florets radiate from the center of their floral truss like fireworks. I will write more about this at noon.
2. Epiphyllum stems, like the stems of other cacti, do all the work of foliage. Because they are flat, they actually look like big and weirdly arching leaves. New tip growth is still rather blushed.
3. Zucchini is too productive. I neglected to go down to harvest it for two days or so, and then found that some fruits had gotten as big as bowling pins. They are fortunately not too tough yet.
4. Red willow is a weedy tree that I should not be growing intentionally. This is special though. I brought its cuttings from Reno. It will be coppiced, and not allowed to grow as a real tree.
5. Gladiola got enough attention last week that I got closer pictures of them this week. This one seemed to be more purple or less blue last week, with just a bit of white, like elderly Grimace.
6. Gladiola are more fun when someone else selects bold colors that I would not consider. This flashy orange and yellow bloom is exquisite, and looks like Grimace’s friend, Ronald McDonald.
This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate:
https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/
Tony Tomeo 
Nice shots Tony ! The last gladiola is beautiful.
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Thank you. I liked the gladiolus from last wee, but thought that the pictures did not adequately show the patterns of the colors.
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Zucchini – “courgettes” to us are being enjoyed almost everyday here!
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Yes, they get a bit too productive. I planted them when there were many of us working here, but there are fewer of us here now. They get taken if I put them out on the edge of the road.
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Fortunately, I really love them – brushed with olive oil and grilled; eaten with a bread roll – a very simple lunch!
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Actually, I just got some for lunch about an hour ago! They are not my favorite, and will be even less appealing by the end of summer, but they are so reliable and so productive.
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A zucchini is a courgette??!!! Wow! I didn’t know that. I always thought courgettes were some mysteriously elegant vegetable only known to Europeans.
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Yes, ‘zucchini’ is the American word for a particular ‘courgette’; even though ‘zucchini’ is supposedly an Italian word for ‘little squash’ (because it is harvested while immature).
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Very funny gladdies! Nice agapanthus and a happy Fourth of July to you. š
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Thank you. Gladiolus are so rad, especially when someone else selects these vibrant colors.
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Do go for the closeups again next week! Nice job.
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Thank you. I might get close up pictures of foliage next week. I want to show off my Eastern red cedar, even though those who know the species are not impressed by it.
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Ronald McDonald, indeed! š
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It is prettier though. Ronald McDonald is creepy.
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I love close-ups, and they are how I do normally look at flowers! Beautiful glads.
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Thank you. I would like to take the credit for them. They did this last year too. I do not know how long they have been here, but they are strangely perennial.
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Lovely shots. I like to look closely at flowers. And while I don’t like it when zucchini get big, I do know what to do with them. Turn them into Nature’s one-pot meal by roasting and stuffing them. Yum! Happy Fourth!
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Some of the guys at work prefer the big zucchini for stuffing, which is fine for me. There were too many this time, so I sliced some up like patties.
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Ooh, I do that too and fry them with the seasoning of choice. Happy eating.
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They do not need seasoning if cooked enough.
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GREAT SIX and good job with the close-ups. When I lived in Mississippi I had a lot of trouble with borers and the zucchini. So, when I came back here to Missouri I planted a whole 50′ row. There were no borer issues but I had a terrible time giving away all the zucchini. Take care and thanks for sharing!
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Gads! A fifty foot long row would be WAY too much. It is not easy to store. We canned it a long time ago, but it was just mush. Pickling worked better, but there is no need for SO many pickles. I grow only three groups of three plants here, which produces a good volume for those who work here. I could actually grow a bit more, but there are yellow squash too.
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No, zucchini doesn’t last long and canning would certainly be useless. You can freeze it successfully but I haven’t tried that either. A few plants go a long way.
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We chopped it up finely for canning, hoping to fry it in patties. It sort of worked, but tasted ‘canned’. Once drained of the liquid that separates from it in the canning process, it is probably not at all nutritious. Zucchini is not my favorite anyway, and is even less appealing if it tastes canned.
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For sure! I only like it fried.I tried steaming it and it tastes plain and watery.
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yet, as bland as it is, I still grow it, just because it is so reliable.
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I like it, especially the Agapanthus.
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Cool; agapanthus are so common that not many of us still appreciate it. Because it was the first perennial I grew quite a bit of, it is still one of my favorites.
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I covet your Agapanthus, I see it around here but it suffers in silent green solitude in my garden.
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It does not bloom?! It is a remarkably reliable perennial.
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In CA
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So, not in the humid warmth?
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I love the willow shot – it demonstrates how weirdly branches come into being – just popping out of stems like that. You can see where the leaf petioles left their scar.
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It only looks weird, but is actually quite normal. That is where the buds should be. Adventitious stems are weirder . . . but are plainer, so do not look as weird.
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enjoying your glads. the first of mine will soon flower, i think.
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They are about finished. I am impressed that these have been perennial for a few years. Only a few last past the first year, and almost none last past the second year.
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