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Six on Saturday: Fowler

These are a few more flowers that are in bloom now.

1. Lantana montevidensis, trailing lantana in white sounds better than it looks. White is my favorite color, but I fail to be impressed. Lantana excels at other more vibrant colors.

2. Rosa spp., miniature rose is the only miniature rose here. It arrived as a cheap potted mini rose from a supermarket, which had outlived its domestic appeal before rehoming.

3. Silene coronaria, campion is such a delightful weed that we leave much of it where it appears. Most grows where it is not a problem, although this one is in the White Garden.

4. Agapanthus orientalis, lily of the Nile in white is special both because there are not so many of them, and also because only a few can bloom in their formerly shaded situation.

5. Gladiolus X hortulanus, gladiola has been reliably perennial for several years. I would like to know what is so special about their situation that allows them to perform as such.

6. This is the first new painted rock that I have found in quite a while, and the first rock I noticed with a spell check glitch. Is this really a glitch, though, or actually from Fowler?

Anyone who would like to participate in this meme should peruse this participant guide for Six on Saturday.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 16 Comments

Six on Saturday: Just A Few Flowers

It is difficult to select only six flowers from the many blooming at this time of year.

1. Morea bicolor, yellow African iris is not very yellow. It is an impressively resilient and reliable perennial, though, and is quite easy to propagate. It really deserves more credit.

2. Morea iridioides, African iris is at least as resilient, reliable and easy to propagate, so is therefore very common. Whenever we have use for more, we simply split big colonies.

3. Canna X generalis ‘Mango’ canna performs very well and proliferates very efficiently. It begins its bloom before any other canna here. I just am not so keen on its floral color.

4. Echinops ritro, globe thistle looks like an Allium in this closeup picture. You might be able to guess where it is from. It is the first that I have grown since the summer of 1986.

5. Crinum bulbispermum, Orange River lily typically does not bloom quite like this. The florets should have darker pink or red centers. Could this be another species of Crinum?

6. Hemerocallis fulva ‘Flore Pleno’ daylily has been growing like a weed. We relocated a few only a few years ago, and must already relocate some of their now crowded progeny.

Anyone who would like to participate in this meme should peruse this participant guide for Six on Saturday.

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Six on Saturday: Foliar Closeups

All six here this week are foliar, without flowers. I suppose that floral subjects would be more appropriate for June; so, perhaps next week.

1. Ilex aquifolium, English holly certainly looks vicious up close. It grows wild from seed in the landscapes. I canned several as if we might find a use for them, which is unlikely.

2. Abies grandis, grand fir was collected from the wild near Smith River. A few are now canned here, although we have no idea what to do with them. They are such grand trees.

3. Picea sitchensis, Sitka spruce came with the grand fir from near Smith River. It is also difficult or impossible to accommodate in the landscapes here. Collection is a bad habit.

4. Heliconia psittacorum, parakeet flower is considerably more useful than the previous three. For now, though, it remains canned on a silly shelf outside my bedroom window.

5. Saccharum officinarum ‘Pele’s Smoke’ sugarcane came with the parakeet flower from Brent’s garden in Los Angeles. It is almost too easy to propagate, so we have quite a few.

6. Saccharum officinarum ‘Purple Ribbon’ sugarcane is an old heirloom cultivar. It was acquired after ‘Pele’s Smoke’, but already has as much potential to propagate too easily.

Anyone who would like to participate in this meme should peruse this participant guide for Six on Saturday.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 20 Comments

Six on Saturday: Exotic & Native

The first three were recently added. The second three were already here. That makes for Six on Saturday.

1. Opuntia, prickly pear, of an unidentified species, was collected from the wild near the original Bat Cave, which is really the Bronson Caves, in Los Angeles. It is overly prickly.

2. Echinocereus, hedgehog cactus, also of an unidentified species, was collected from the wild in Buckeye, near Phoenix, in Arizona. It is even more prickly than the prickly pear.

3. Agave filifera, thread agave was salvaged from a planter box outside a barber shop in downtown Felton. The planter box needed to be dismantled, so the agave came with me.

4. Salvia, sage, also of an unidentified species, is part of a pattern of unidentified species here this week. It is native, though, so was here prior to the arrival of the previous three.

5. Whatever this is, it is also unidentified and native. The flowers resemble onion flowers in blue. I think that it might be Triteleia laxa, Ithuriel’s spear, but I really have no idea.

6. Achillea millefolium, common yarrow is native here, but may be descendents of some that were seeded here nearly twenty years ago. I do not remember any prior to seeding.

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/