Sunday Best – Spanish Lavender
Six on Saturday: More Seasonal Bloom
The first is Spanish. The second is Chinese. The rest, including Oregon grape, are native. Only the iris and poppy were actually found growing in the wild, though. It is beginning to look like spring.
1. Lavandula stoechas, Spanish lavender compensates for its absence of floral fragrance with delightful foliar aroma, especially as the weather begins to get warmer after winter.
2. Loropetalum chinense, Chinese fringe flower blooms with these silly rosy pink flowers above lightly bronzed new foliage, which is collectively more colorful than simple bloom.
3. Ribes sanguineum, flowering red currant, although native here, does not grow wild in this particular location. This one was added to one of the landscapes, and is quite happy.
4. Iris fernaldii, Fernald’s iris does grow wild here, and seems to bloom more happily on exposed roadsides than in forests. Perhaps it appreciates the better exposure to sunlight.
5. Mahonia aquifolium, Oregon grape is the Official State Flower of Oregon. It is native, but was likely added to the several landscapes that it inhabits here, like the red currants.
6. Escholzia californica, California poppy is the Official State Flower of California. It can be a bit prolific in some situations, while less prolific where seed are intentionally sown.
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/
Sunday Best – Stock
Six on Saturday: New Leaf
Warming spring weather is stimulating new growth among vegetation that was dormant or shabby through this winter.
1. Rosa spp., rose started growing even before the weather became warmer. It is good to see that squirrels are not eating the new growth. I do not know what cultivar this one is.
2. Hydrangea macrophylla, hydrangea, which is also unidentified, also started growing while the weather was still cool and rainy. It is now settling in after bare root relocation.
3. Nephrolepis cordifolia, sword fern, like many ferns, is beginning to replace old foliage with new foliage. It grew too large for its pot years ago, but somehow continues to grow.
4. Clivia miniata, Kaffir lily has been maturing slowly for more than a year, but is finally providing a pup. It is variegated with yellow stripes, but I do not know what cultivar it is.
5. Brugmansia X cubensis ‘Charles Grimaldi’ angel’s trumpet is producing a new flower as readily as it produces new foliage. It should be no surprise. it is rarely without bloom.
6. Musa acuminata X balbisiana ‘Golden Rhino Horn’ banana starts to produce its new foliage about the time we consider taking it out of the landscape because it is so shabby.
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/
Sunday Best – Camellia
Six on Saturday: Cold & Damp
After several weeks of atypically warm and pleasant weather, more typical cool and rainy weather resumed to demonstrate that winter is not quite finished yet.
1. Brugmansia suaveolens, angel’s trumpet becomes rather scrawny through winter as it sheds its larger leaves that grew through summer, and generates smaller leaves instead.
2. Musa acuminata X balbisiana ‘Blue Java’ banana would be notably scrawnier than it already is if more of its discolored and weather damaged foliage were to be pruned away.
3. Viola X wittrockiana, pansy is a cool season or winter annual, but even it craves a bit more warmth than it has been experiencing since it was planted two or three weeks ago.
4. Canna X generalis, canna of various cultivars got cut back as their foliage succumbed to wintery chill and wind, but are already growing fast to replace what was pruned away.
5. Alocasia macrorrhizos, taro was divided just before the weather got cool again, so it is difficult to know if it wilted because of the division, the lack of warmer weather, or both.
6. Philodendron selloum ‘Lickety Split’ split leaf philodendron was divided immediately after the taro, but has not wilted, and seems to be more resilient to the wintery weather.
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/
Sunday Best – Almond Blossom
Six on Saturday: Last Wednesday
No theme was planned for these six random pictures that I took last Wednesday after we relocated the pygmy date palms. Daphne, pigsqueak and azalea were featured somewhat recently already.
1. Phoenix roebelenii, pygmy date palm, which is one of a pair, is included in my six this week only because relocating them, in their large and heavy pots, was such a major task.
2. Cymbidium spp., orchid is not blooming yet, but is working on it. No such bloom was expected, since this formerly large specimen was divided thoroughly after its last bloom.
3. Daphne odora ‘Variegata’, daphne was featured in my Six on Saturday earlier, but this picture demonstrates how large one of several specimens is. It is apparently happy here.
4. Bergenia crassifolia, pigsqueak bloomed with a few premature flowers for December, but is blooming more on time now. The flowers are nice whenever they choose to bloom.
5. Hyacinthus orientalis, hyacinth has been reliably perennial for several years, which is impressive. The winter chill here does not seem to be adequate for it to bloom so nicely.
6. Rhododendron spp., azalea started blooming prematurely nearly two months ago and continues to bloom through winter. Its bloom duration compensates for its off schedule.
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/
Sunday Best – Primrose
Six on Saturday: Retail Nursery Visit
It is a long story, but to be brief, while waiting for a neighbor to finish at another errand, I visited a nursery and took these few pictures.
1. Bare root stock is too tempting. I must resist. I already have all of the fruit trees that I want. Almost all remained canned from last winter because I did not clear their orchard.
2. Magnolia soulangeana, saucer magnolia looks like it will be blooming soon. I suspect that these trees were field grown in heavy soil in Oregon. I refrained from investigating.
3. Primula vulgaris, English primrose no longer seems to be as common as its botanical name suggests. Perhaps I can learn to appreciate it again. Their colors are so cartoonish.
4. Cyclamen persicum, florist’s cyclamen is also easier to appreciate again when it is less cliche than it is as garish red and white Christmas decor. White is still my favorite color.
5. Daphne odora, daphne caught my attention initially by fragrance, and then by its lack of variegation. I wonder if it grows any more vigorously without variegation than with it.
6. Lamprocapnos spectabilis, bleeding heart is not cliche in white like florist’s cyclamen is. I know nothing of this species, but I get the impression that it tolerates a bit of shade.
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 