New orchid - Encyclia

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I think promising myself not to buy any more succulents until next spring may prove... expensive.







The Pseudo-bulbs are almost more colourful than the flowers! The flowers are sometimes fragrant though, and attractive in their own special way. Definitely like the form of these though and the colour is interesting.

Update - it's an Enc. cordigera x Epi. floribundum 'Chief'

Astilbe flowers

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Just a quick post with some of my favourite flowering plants for shade. Too bad they don't flower for very long but they definitely put on a good show when they do flower.


Astilbe x arendsii 'Snowdrift'


Astilbe x rosea 'Peach Blossom'

On bees and flowers

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Via Not Always Right:

At a nursery

Customer: “Excuse me, but do you have anything I can spray on my flowers to keep the bees off them?”

Me: “You want to keep the bees off your flowers?”

Customer: “Yes. Do you sell that?”

Me: “Do you understand how flowers work?”



Bumblebee on Salvia nemerosa 'Rhapsody in Blue'

Fortunately there are some customers who actually ask what flowers attract bees. Thanks to Greensparrow Gardens I'll now have a better answer for people who don't like them.

Half a year in succulents.

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I was January 25, 2010 that I first mentioned I didn't have any succulents. In a followup I decided that Sansevieria, Haworthia, Sedum morganianum, and Echeveria were basically what I was looking to get - and I did (among other things)



Echeveria cv. - one of the newest.

Aeonium 'Kiwi' / Aeonium haworthii f. variegata
Crassula ovata 'Gollum'
Echeveria 'Perle von Nurnberg'
Echeveria cv.
Echeveria cv.



Echeveria cv. - one of the first and doing very well actually.

Faucaria tigrina
Haworthia limifolia var. limifolia
Haworthia retusa (or H. turgida)
Kalanchoe 'Pearl Bells'
Kalanchoe sp.
Sansevieria cylindrica
Sansevieria trifasciata 'Moonglow' (?)
Sansevieria trifasciata ID (Dark leaf)
Sedum burrito



Sansevieria cylindrica

I even ended up with some cacti - the first by accident, the next two by choice.

Echinocactus grusonii
Echinocactus horizonthalonius
Mammillaria prolifera



Aeonium (?) 'Kiwi' (?) - tiny shoots above dying leaves on a broken stem. Hopefully it'll pull through.

And that's to say nothing about the hardy succulents I got! I will say that from here until I have successfully kept these plants alive and doing well through the rest of the summer, successfully overwinter them and get them going again in the spring. At that point I should have a decent idea of what I'm able to grow and how soon I need to move to California to be able to grow the rest of them. I will not turn down freebies / cuttings / divisions though but no more purchases at least.

Musella lasiocarpa growth

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Was looking through some older pictures and noticed how much my Musella lasiocarpa has grown.


May 21, 2010


June 25, 2010

The largest leaf a month ago was 13" long (not including the petiole) and 5" wide. The largest leaves now are 21" long and 8" wide.

More new plants - part 3

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A few oddballs in this group like this interesting succulent:



Faucaria tigrina

I picked this one out for its spotting and long "teeth" - others were in slightly better condition but there was variation in the batch and this was the most interesting, and with 3 shoots and fullest (1.5") pot. The flash picked up more blue colour in the spots than there really is.

While I was at it I couldn't ignore this Golden Barrel Cactus for only $4.



Echinocactus grusonii

My mom picked up this African Violet (NOID 0028)



Saintpaulia "NOID 0028"

While I got a new Sansevieria, probably S. cylindrica (no picture, it's small in a 4" pot and hardly exciting right now).

I think that's about all that followed me home over the last week. Going to have to go easy on any more plants for a little while now until everything gets sorted out and finds a new home.

More new plants - part 2

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Bought these two plants because they were interesting and different (and likely to stay relatively small).


Potentilla hyparctica - fantastic fuzzy leaf. Don't really remember the flowers offhand but the leaves are reason enough for me to grow this.


Primula marginata ‘Mauve Mist’ - I would never guess by looking that this was a Primula (unless I saw the flowers). Nice typical Primula flowers in the spring over neat evergreen succulent foliage.

More new plants - Part 1

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This batch of plants were rescued on their way to the compacter. Basically just plants that had been in for months not selling, taking up much needed space needed for newer, nicer looking plants and generally needing more care &/or time to get them back up to prime condition. Very little actually got thrown out, most plants were adopted. Here's what I got:



Asplenium sp. - Needs some fertilizer and a small trim of some of the oldest leaves but otherwise in good shape, nice and healthy. I've had good luck with my other two Asplenium species so I imagine this should be happy for me as well.


Chlorophytum x 'Fire Flash' - This plant is actually in excellent condition. I trimmed off some developing seed pods and gave it a quick shower but more cleaning is needed to make it into an overall attractive plant again. Absolutely love the colour on the petioles.


Aechmea fasciata - Healthy plant though it is well past flowering. Three large vigorous pups tell me this should be no problem though.


Sansevieria trifasciata

This one only came to me in a roundabout way. It had been written off but they were in prime condition and basically the only reason they weren't selling was that they were $80 a pop (!). Sure they were a good full 8" sized pot, in attractive ceramic containers growing in passive hydroponics but I can't see anyone spending that much for them. Instead they were divided, repotted and planted up and priced to sell, I presume the ceramic containers will be priced separately as well and at the end of the day we'll get our money for them - I was given a division of this one which is basically my favourite Sansevieria trifasciata cultivar I've seen.

Anyone have any idea on which cultivar it actually is? It's a very light coloured almost silver/gray with darker banding. Exact colours vary from branch to branch as you can see in the picture but it is a very striking unique looking snake plant.

A few things

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NOID Red Rose

I promised you pictures of my NOID Red Rose when it was open and putting on a good show and now it is. It's even slightly fragrant, though beside my Hall's honeysuckle and at only 2' tall it's hard to tell.



Mammillaria prolifera

I must have missed my Mammillaria prolifera flowering because I have 5 new fruit ripening on it. Apparently they taste good? Maybe I'll try harvesting one soon to see. The fruit are definitely longer lasting and showier than the flowers though from the pictures I've seen.



Sedum ewersii

It's official, I have a problem. I can't help myself when it comes to small Sedum like Sedum ewersii. I'm not even sure if I want to. Cute blue leaves edged in pink gave me no choice on this one. Pink flowers in the fall sound nice too.



Kalanchoe sp.

This Kalanchoe came home with my dad today. I think it's because my mom got a new African Violet and I got a Sansevieria cylindrica a few days ago.

Saintpaulia 'Sergeant Pepper' flowering

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Saintpaulia 'Sergeant Pepper'

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, June 2010

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On the whole my garden sits waiting through the spring into June when it starts to take off. Here's a few quick shots of what's flowering for me on this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.

Of note as well are the Iris & Ivory Silk Lilac which both managed to start and finish flowering between the May Bloom Day and today. Honestly the Lilac can't finish fast enough. The entire front garden is covered in a disgusting mulch of brown finished flowers, mimicking the same colour in the tree. It's much too large to try and deadhead so it will stay looking terrible for a little while longer. By the time it finishes flowering as well the strong fragrance becomes a little too strong and a little too much.



Calamint (Calamintha grandiflora) - The larger pink one is almost finished, the dwarf white one will soon start and go until a hard frost.


Hosta 'Tiny Tears' is a very cute dwarf hosta I've recently bought.


Siberian Bellflower (Campanula poscharskyana) needs to get cut back hard and divided once it stops flowering, that won't be for a while though.


Dahlia 'Louisiania' is really starting to pick up. Maybe I will try keeping this one over the winter.


My NOID Red Rose will be stunning this year. Each stem has 25-30 buds on it. I'll replace this picture with one of it open in a little bit.


The 'Tumbler' Tomato - brought home an unhappy looking plant from work. May or may not make it but it's covered with unripe fruit. I imagine all it needs is a good amount of fertilizer and it should be fine.

And that's just a quick sampling of everything I have flowering outside this Bloom Day.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hall's Honeysuckle - Lonicera japonica 'Halliana'

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Lonicera japonica 'Halliana'

Fragrance did not used to be a priority for me. It was something that some plants had and that was fine. Now I'm not sure I'll ever be without this plant as long as I have a garden.

New Plant: Iris sibirica 'Ruffled Velvet'

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A beautiful blue Iris from a distance...


Filled with a rich blend of colours and textures up close.

Iris sibirica 'Ruffled Velvet'

Dahlia 'Louisiana' flower

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Dahlia 'Louisiana'

This plant sits beside my larger planter with its annuals. The pinks will tie in with the pink in the Geranium, the Darker pinks with the Sweet Potato Vine and a yellow eye will be visible once the flower opens completely, to tie it in with the Mandevilla and Million Bells. That's the idea anyway. Not sure yet if I'll try keeping the bulb over the winter or not.

Pretty pictures: This year's annuals.

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I don't do many annuals, just realistically what I need to fill my container in the front yard and that's it. These are most of my picks this year.


Ipomoea 'Blacky' with Calibrachoa cv.


Mandevilla cv.


Pelargonium Americana® Pink Mega Splash

These are the annuals in my main container which I'll get a shot of once things have filled in a lot more. I have a second smaller container beside this with a Dahlia that just needs a few more days for all its buds to open. Maybe by tomorrow it'll be ready for its closeup.

Helictotrichon sempervirens (finally) flowering

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Helictotrichon sempervirens

I've had my Blue Oat Grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) for maybe 6 years now? It's always been very nice, and blue, and evergreen but has not once flowered. It has moved around the yard a time or two and that may have something to do with it. It hasn't moved recently and is apparently now well established. It is making its first show a big one too, 30+ gracefully arching flower spikes that catch the light beautifully against when seen against a dark background and move gently in any breeze.

This grass looks best as a specimen, surrounded by lower growing plants where it can be appreciated fully.

Geranium sanguineum 'Max Frei' Flowering

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Geranium sanguineum 'Max Frei'

There's never really any doubt that this Geranium will perform but it's always nice to see.

This would be perfect to pair with the Geranium but unfortunately it's only hardy to zone 7. I will stick to just the Geranium I suppose.

It's certainly nice to see this again on a cold rainy morning anyway.

Syringa reticulata 'Ivory Silk' Flowering

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Syringa reticulata 'Ivory Silk'


Syringa reticulata 'Ivory Silk'

The start of June is always marked by the flowering of the Ivory Silk Japanese Lilac, a considerably later flowering lilac than most. This tree is fast becoming a street tree locally - It's very low maintenance (without deadheading it tends to alternate between light and heavy flowering years - this year is a heavy one for my tree) once established, grows relatively quickly but doesn't get huge the way many street trees do. Flowering is impressive but fairly short, it's an attractive tree even when out of bloom though. Seems to be at least somewhat pollution tolerant too?

My tree has grown large enough I can see it easily peaking out above the bottom of my window a foot or two right outside my window.

New Plant: Sempervivum 'Cherry Tart' & Twitter

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Picked this up a few days ago.



Sempervivum 'Cherry Tart' - Picture doesn't show how dark this one really is.

I imagine I'll be spending every spring from now on dividing and cutting back all these little filler plants I'm getting this year. Look for a post on some of my new tiny hostas coming soon when I can get some pictures.

I've also (finally) signed up for Twitter. You can find me here. I'll likely use it for little things that don't generally warrant a full blog post, or things I feel like mentioning but don't have a good picture to go along with etc...

Irises Flowering

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June is when my garden jumps into full bloom and it is safe to say I will have flowers from now until the snow falls.

I have a huge patch of Irises that has all come into bloom over the past week. It will be divided and thinned once they finish flowering but for now my yard is filled with colour.



A very simple blue Iris but I love it. This makes up the bulk of the collection and we'll only be keeping one (large) clump of it.


Iris 'Starship Enterprise' is a stunning plant. Only one flower stalk from it this year though. It's relatively new and we'll be giving it more space after the cleanup.


This yellow Iris is nice enough but I find it a little boring. A small patch of this will be kept.


The first year this one has flowered. The base of the leaves also has a very interesting purple cast to it. It's an intermediate sized Iris and would likely bridge the gap in flowering time between the dwarf Irises and the super tall ones but it had been kept in the shade then moved this spring when a sunny area opened up. It may actually move to the front yard.


I also have two patches of Siberian Iris, this one is beside a bird bath, the other in the front yard that is not flowering.


I was really happy with where this one ended up. Didn't know what colour it was at the time but it should work well with the plants around it (not that there's much overlap in flowering time anyway...)


And there's also this one. Not really a huge fan... Oh well. I guess it's not terrible.

Also very happy with the heavy rain we have finally started to get. Extremely dry winter and spring, barely any rain in April, nothing of value during a hot and generally dry May and now finally a week with rain and cooler temperatures is very welcome.