Sunday Best – Bird of Paradise
Sunday Best – Rhododendron
Six on Saturday: Rhody’s Rhodies 2026
Rhody’s rhodies have been blooming spectacularly. It is not easy to limit their picture to only six. There are so many cultivars.
1. White is generally my favorite color. However, most white rhododendrons are blushed with another color, so are not pure white. This one usually exhibits a bit of a pink blush.
2. Pink is the most common color among rhododendron cultivars. That certainly can not discredit any of them. They all are pretty. This cultivar eventually fades almost to white.
3. Lavender is one of the lesser common colors among rhododendron cultivars. Purple is more common. I may get a picture of a purple rhododendron for Sunday Best tomorrow.
4. Fuchsia is one of the many colors that many guys can not perceive. This looks pink to me. I guess it is slightly richer pink than the other pink rhododendron, but only slightly.
5. Magenta is another color that many guys have difficulty perceiving. I can merely guess that this is magenta because it resembles the rich color of ‘Barbara Karst’ bougainvillea.
6. Red is an easier color, although Rhody can perceive it no better than pink, magenta or fuchsia. As a canine, he sees just blue and yellow. Regardless, these are Rhody’s rhodies.
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 – Cymbidium Orchid
Six on Saturday: Rhododendrons Must Wait
Rhodies are in bloom now, but will need to wait while I show off five other blooms.
1. Sambucus nigra ‘Purpurea’ elderberry is already blooming. Is this early? It did not get pruned while dormant in winter. I must see if the native blue elderberries are blooming.
2. Disocactus flagelliformis, rat tail cactus is more out of focus than the elderberry. It is one of only a few potted plants that gets moved into the landscapes only while blooming.
3. Rosa spp., rose was not blooming for last Saturday when six roses were featured here. This particular rose was removed from its landscape a few years ago, but not reassigned.
4. Iris X germanica, bearded iris came back with me from one of the lodges that I spent a night at on one of my several trips to the Pacific Northwest. All our irises have history.
5. Epiphyllum spp., orchid cactus, like the rat tail cactus, was relocated into a landscape as it began to bloom. It has been here for several years, but has not bloomed like this yet.
6. Rhody has been absent from Six on Saturday for quite a while. He makes it difficult to get a good picture of him. Perhaps I will take some pictures of his rhodies for next week.
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 – ‘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/
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/
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/
Transvaal Daisy
Though a popular cut flower, Transvaal daisy, Gerbera hybrida, is rare in home gardens. When it does appear in home gardens, it is typically within pots or planters as an annual. As a perennial, it gets shabby during winter, and is very popular among slugs and snails. It performs best with partial shade, but can tolerate full sun exposure if it is not too warm.
Coarse basal foliage of Transvaal daisy can grow a foot high and a foot and a half wide. Its solitary floral stems stand a few inches higher. Bloom is two to four inches wide. Most garden varieties bloom with simple single blooms. Most florist varieties are semi-double. The floral color range includes cartoonish pastels of yellow, orange, red, pink and white.
Floral structure of Transvaal daisy is more variable than it seems to be. Several varieties produce blooms with brown or black centers. A few varieties with fuller double bloom are uncommon but increasingly popular. Fewer varieties that resemble spider mums are rare but could become more available. Transvaal daisy becomes available in nurseries now. They are seasonable in spring and autumn.
Tony Tomeo 