Flowers 2007

This orange Kalanchoe grows on the south side of my home, in almost total shade. I bought it last November, in full bloom, but it soon went dormant. I didn't know what to expect this spring, but this plant certainly surprised me. It was three times bigger than last fall and full of blooms. It's June now and it appears to be done blooming for this year. A hardy and tidy plant, definitely a nice addition to the garden.

I found this brocade-leaf geranium, Indian Dunes, at Rockledge Gardens and thought I'd try it. It was small ([picture at left) when I first bought it in February. Now it's this big (picture at right) in June. You can see how much it has expanded. It has coral/red flowers and it sits on the front edge of the bed where it does get afternoon sun. According to the label that came with it, the dried leaves are ideal for sachets and exotic recipes. It is supposed to smell good, too, but I guess I haven't been close enough to notice that.

I have alyssum planted everywhere, in pots, in the ground, in my hanging baskets. I don't know if there is any other flower that is so dependable, so fragrant and so prolific at re-seeding itself than this little beauty. Like lobelia, it looks wonderful planted so it drapes over a decorative rock.

This is the lobelia, and blue is my favorite color. These two plants drape themselves in a center bed in my front yard. Looks absolutely wonderful from the street. These two pictures were taken in March when the plants were young.

And, here is yet another lobelia a month later, in April, next to a yellow bush daisy. Every once in a while, I'll have a lobelia die off and I can never figure out why. Others growing around them are just fine. It's especially noticeable in hanging baskets, but I did have one die in my center bed, planted in the ground. The other plants are pink carnation, yellow bush daisy and tiny white bacopa.

My angel-wing begonia (Torch Begonia) is another reliable bloomer. However, it does need the right spot. First I put it in very deep shade and it just did not do that well. Then I moved it to a pot and put it on the other side of the yard so it got some sun and, wow, it's been blooming ever since. Now I've moved it out to the front of the house where I've removed a batch of Indian hawthorne (a boring plant) and planted a shade garden.

While at Target the other day, I happened to wander through the garden section. I came across this new-to-me caladium, Thai Beauty, and thought it was unique and lovely. I bought one plant, just to see how it does and how quickly it clumps up. I've had excellent luck with other caladiums and hope this one works as well.

For example, this is a clump of Aaron and Rosebud caladiums, two of my favorites. I love the subtle rose coloring of the one and the other is because of my grandson, Aaron. Again, next to a rock. I've found rocks to be quite effective in garden layouts. This big one came with the house. But, others that I've added, as with the alyssum and lobelia, are smaller, decorative rainbow rocks. I'm careful to add only rocks that I can physically move around myself because, in my yard, nothing is static!

This stunning display (to me, at least) is the caladium, Aaron, next to some crotons that are about 8 years old and 6-ft. tall. I've trimmed them at the base and allowed them to grow as small trees.

Taken in April, this picture shows the pot with snapdragons. Now, marigolds have been added for the summer. The alyssum is still draping beautifully, but the snaps are taking a summer vacation.

And, look at the clumps of alyssum at the base of this stump. The pot above also sits on this stump and I've had so much alyssum reseed itself, that I've filled one hanging basket, added 5 clumps to another bed and am letting these flower at will untill I need them to fill in some other space.

For three years I've tried to grow Catlin's Giant (Ajuga reptans) ajuga under the south side of our oak tree. It grows and spreads in the spring and then fades away in the hot summer. About a third of the plants just disappear, I think due to rot because of the heat and humidity. This spring, I was disappointed because they did not spread at all. The plants still there did bloom, but it wasn't the spectacular display of years past. So, I've decided to gradually replace the ajuga with the rosebud caladium. I found a tray of very small plants at Home Depot and brought them home. I try to plant small things around the oak so as to not bother it's roots.

On the other side of the oak tree, bright orange impatiens add a bit of spice to the landscape. Blue torenia (which you really can't see) grow on both sides and in front next to two New Guinea impatiens, also bright orange.

This year's amaranthus is growing in the middle of a bed of blue salvia. It already is looking bright and colorful. In this picture, the plant is about 2 ft. tall. It will grow to 4 ft. or more if not pinched back. Some I do and some I don't. If you do, then you'll have a shorter, even more colorful plant as you'll have 3 or 4 heads like this in a grouping. This is such a great plant. It reseeds itself year after year and when I find the tiny plants, I simply move them to their new homes.

This is an Alternanthera named Joyweed, and is a new-to-me plant that I bought because of it's color. I thought it might prove a striking contrast to the orange impatiens and crossandra in the new shade area. I bought this plant at Target, too, and I had to laugh when I read the label. Across the top is the green band and it's marked Shade. In smaller print off to the right below the green band, it says Full Sun. A quick check on the Internet shows that it grows in partial shade to sun. So, we'll see how it does. This plant is "useful as edging, ground covere or massed." It seems a bit tall for ground cover, but the label does add that one can keep it compact by shearing.

I've got three different varieties of blue salvia in the yard. One is the new Mystic Spires Blue Salvia (Salvia Azul Tallos Misticos). I also have the common variety sold everywhere, but I'm going to stop buying that one because it is very susceptible to powdery mildew. The third variety is the Salvia Black and Blue (Salvia guargantica), which is gorgeous. The flower spikes are taller than the others and they are the most amazing blue/black. All of these salvias come back year after year and are reliable performers (except for the powdery mildew thing).

Oh, make that four varieties. I also have a brand new salvia, Salvia East Friesland (Salvia nemorosa 'Ostfriesland') that I ordered from the Park Seed Catalog online. It's very tiny at the moment, but still putting up the familiar blue stalks. I will add more info about this particular plant when I add another section to this page, which I hope to do in the next few days.

Delphinium is one of my favorites and I can't help myself when I find it at a nursery. I buy a plant even though I know it will disappear once the weather warms. The only blooms I get to enjoy are the buds actually on the plant when I buy it. It comes with a Florida Friendly Plant label, but they must mean northern Florida.

However, this year I plan to leave it untouched in the garden and see if it comes back from the roots next year. Perhaps I've been too hasty to replace it.

One of the best reasons to grow a wide variety of flowers is the bouquets you can enjoy. Plants include the pale lavendar foxglove, creamy- yellow firecracker, sweet-smelling purple heliotrope, white daisies with a blue eye, pink carnations and the bit of yellow you can see is a daylily.