Sunday Best – ‘Red Velvet Elvis’ Iris
Six on Saturday: Rose Parade 2026
Roses are in season and blooming now.
1. Color seems to be somewhat deficient with this first and the last of these Six. This rose is actually more butterscotch colored than pale yellow. It is probably the best performer.
2. This rose might be ‘Double Delight’. It looks like it at times, and is nicely fragrant. It is unfortunately the least florific, though. It may not bloom for the second half of summer.
3. Deer have access to these next four roses, so occasionally eat the buds before they can bloom. We appreciate what we can get when we get it. This one seems to be a floribunda.
4. Yellow is not a common color within our landscapes. This is the only rose that is plain yellow, and is not in a prominent situation. It is still recovering from relocation last year.
5. Does this one resemble ‘Seashell’? With so many cultivars available, it is impossible to know. I like to think that it is. I can remember when ‘Seashell’ was popular in 1976 or so.
6. Again, it is impossible to identify the unidentified roses that were recycled from other landscapes or home gardens. I like to assume that this one might be ‘Chrysler Imperial’.
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 – Mount Rainier (from my vacation)
Six on Saturday: Return Home
These are some of the flowers that I observed in bloom when Rhody and I returned from vacation in Washington. (Most bloomed last week.)
1. Rubus parviflorus, thimbleberry is actually not much to brag about. It just looks more impressive in a closeup picture. This flower is not much bigger than a blackberry flower.
2. Prunus serrulata ‘Kwanzan’ flowering cherry is sort of still blooming. Well, the bloom is really beginning to deteriorate. It is the last of all flowering cherry trees here to bloom.
3. Iris series Californicae, Pacific Coast iris blooms in various shades of blue, purple, red and yellow, and of course, white. A variety of this iris series might bloom apricot orange.
4. Clivia miniata, Kaffir lily got to bloom this year. The same specimen produced a floral stalk which got broken off last year. This particular cultivar has yellow foliar variegation.
5. Cymbidium spp., orchid is blooming even after some aggressive division. At least one of its seven pups also bloomed well. Prior to division, it bloomed with eight floral stalks!
6. Rosa spp. ‘Double Delight’ rose bloomed before the other roses in its garden, although other roses are blooming concurrently in another of our gardens about half a mile away.
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 – Bald Eagle (from my vacation)
Six on Saturday: Return to Tangly Cottage Gardening
Skyler of Tangly Cottage Gardening invited Rhody and me back to tour her garden while Rhody and I were already vacationing in Washington. As usual, I left with a few goodies from the garden. Skooter was still confined to his home as he recovers from an earlier injury.
1. Euphorbia mellifera, honey spurge is my best guess for the identity of this perennial. I could have asked but did not think of it at the time. I am quite certain that it is a spurge.
2. Ficaria verna ‘Brazen Hussy’ lesser celandine is a relatively docile garden cultivar of a potentially weedy species. I can remember when it was popular in the 1990s and 2000s.
3. Tulipa spp., tulip was blooming next to the Canoe Garden. It seems to have a red edge or picotee. I took a picture of small cat tails in the Canoe Garden, but it was out of focus.
4. Muscari armeniacum, grape hyacinth is one of my favorite perennials. It is so reliable and resilient. Apparently, dwarf cat tails were not the only subject that was out of focus.
5. Narcissus spp., daffodil were probably the most prominent flowers while Rhody and I were here. I believe that this was the most abundant sort. Some bloomed in broad drifts.
6. Pulmonaria officinalis, lungwort of various cultivars was also abundant. I had already acquired blue, white and pink cultivars. Now I acquired this purple and pinkish cultivar.
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 – Geum
Six on Saturday: Pruning
Rhody and I are still not taking many pictures while on vacation. I realize that I said that I should be more diligent about doing so, but we have been so busy vacationing. Perhaps I will do somewhat better next Saturday.
1. Apple trees before pruning look like a hot mess, particularly with the thicket of willow and other vegetation in their background, but are actually quite healthy and cooperative.
2. Apple trees after pruning still look questionable and disfigured, but really are healthy. I probably should not have thinned them so much. It will compromise their production.
3. Apple debris was not so abundant this year, since all the major cuts were made in past seasons. Almost all of this debris is one or two year old growth. Now, it must be burned.
4. Dandelion was one of the only flowers besides cherry trees that I noticed blooming in the vicinity of the apple trees. A cherry tree that I got pictures of last week is about done.
5. Western sword fern was featured in an upcoming gardening article. This picture is the same as the illustration but sideways. This fern is very common in the Pacific Northwest.
6. Rhody really knows how to relax on our vacation. He is very fond of my Pa, and enjoys lounging on his lap for as long as he can, typically with an inane movie on the television.
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 – Late Camellia
Six on Saturday: Neither Here Nor There
Between leaving on my trip and arriving, I neglected to get many pictures to select from for these Six. Actually, only two pictures are from the trip. I should take more pictures.
1. Prunus serrulata, flowering cherry of unidentified cultivar was featured in the garden column. It was the first to bloom. This picture was a bit too dark to use as an illustration.
2. Camellia japonica, camellia looks like a fried egg with such a prominent yellow center surrounded by a white corolla. White camellia are prettier with less prominent stamens.
3. Camellia japonica, camellia seemed more red than this when I took its picture. It was still blooming adjacent to the white camellia above. It is as pretty in pink as it was in red.
4. Bellis perennis, English daisy is the only picture that I took in Oregon. I must be more diligent about taking pictures on the way back, even if I do not stop in Oregon too much.
5. Prunus spp., cherry understock is growing from the base of what was formerly a stone fruit tree of some sort on my Pa’s farm. It is cool and rainy here, but is obviously spring.
6. Rhody is a good sport on our trip. We left at midnight and, because of a few stops, we arrived after six in the evening. That is an eighteen hours drive, or a 126 dog hours drive.
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 