Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Dictamnus alba...

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Now I just have to decide which colour I want, or how I can make room for both. Maybe it's time I retired my 'Becky' and went for something more interesting...

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Perennial Plant List finished

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Last night I finished up my Perennial Plant List. It's longer than I expected. It includes everything hardy on my property that stays outside year round whether in the ground or in containers that I'm growing on purpose.


Iris 'Starship Enterprise'
Iris 'Starship Enterprise' - one of a surprisingly high number of Irises


There are 97 distinct plants (I guess I didn't actually include bulbs... Daffodils & Crocus bring that to 99).


Sempervivum cv.
Sempervivum NOID (Large) - one of 14 hardy Hens-&-Chicks


The largest groups are Sempervivum with 12 (plus two Jovibarba), 11 Irises, 7 Sedum, and 7 Hostas.

There are 9 woody plants and a decent number of evergreens (especially if you include Sempervivum & Jovibarba) - only 2 "traditional" woody evergreens, my Boxwood and Euonymus.


Sedum hispanicum minus 'Blue Carpet'
Sedum hispanicum minus 'Blue Carpet' - one of 7 Sedum varieties.


The largest plant is my Syringa reticulata 'Ivory Silk'. I imagine that Sedum album 'Faro Form' is the smallest, but it's close.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Retro Camera - Succulents and Stuff

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Retro Camera is an Android App that lets you take stylized pictures that resemble the output from four different cameras: The Bärbel, The Little Orange Box, Xolaroid 2000, & The Pinhole Camera. Essentially it's similar to Hipstamatic, and similarly looks best with succulents and other "retro" subjects (Like my air conditioner in Shot #6, or the Parsley or Hosta).

Fun little app, not going to be a staple of mine but fun for the occasional shot. Maybe I'll aim for four shots a and post them as a special weekly feature. Probably won't post them that often though.








(And in case you were wondering, that chicken seared then slow cooked in a Honey Mustard/Balsamic sauce with Thyme and Onions was very good. I'd give you a recipe but I can't say for sure how much of anything I added.)

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Carbon tomato showing colour

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Carbon Tomato


I've had a fair number of cherry tomatoes ripen already but this is the first sign of colour from Carbon. I've already pinched off the growing tips so it can put all its energy into the ripening fruit since I don't think any new tomatoes starting to form now would get a chance to form/ripen before frost. There's a good 15+ tomatoes ranging in size from marble-sized to what I imagine is close to the largest they'll get, just not showing colour yet. There are a few flowers on the tips of the stems but we'll have to have some pretty late frosts to get anything from them.

(Edit - that's a pretty terrible picture. A little surprising how much better the camera on my 3 year old Sony still is compared to the camera on my new Acer. Also I think I'll pretty well exclusively using BlogAway for my mobile blogging. The only real editing I have to do after the fact is centre the pictures and resize. Bloggeroid was very good but there was just more fixing up with formating for the pictures so it was marginally less convenient. At the end of the day I won't be doing a ton of mobile blogging if that's the best picture I can manage.)

Saintpaulia picture, mobile blogging and trying to find the best Android Blogging App.

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I'm now testing Blogaway, it seems more polished than either of the apps I've already tried. Italics and bold are not as easy to use because you have to select the text first.The picture is of Saintpaulia "NOID0022".



Saintpaulia "NOID0022"


(I guess I mentioned in an earlier, now deleted post but basically new phone = blogging on the run, if I can find an Android app worth using. The phone's an Acer Liquid E, the picture above was taken with the built in camera which is really not the best but works well enough in bright lighting.)

I've since cleaned up this post after the fact which I think I'll have to do whichever of the apps i use to get formatting right, I'll probably either use BlogAway or Bloggeroid. I'll keep both for now and see how I like them after using them a bit.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Sedum 'Lynda Windsor' Flowering

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I'm going to have to see this plant next summer to see how it behaves for me. So far it's a little floppy but naturally it's also in its first year so who knows what it'll do next year. If it's floppy next year it's getting replaced by 'Chocolate Drop.'


Sedum 'Lynda Windsor'
Sedum 'Lynda Windsor'


Even floppy it does give some nice leaf colour year round and the flowers are an interesting colour too. More red than a lot of my other not-quite reds without being so different it doesn't fit in.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Upright "tree" for shady corner - ideas? input?

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There's a section of my back yard where I'm planning on taking out an old Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) and replacing it with something with a bit of height. The area gets a few hours of very early sun, generally being fully shaded by 9:30 in the morning. I suppose there's some filtered sun through the afternoon through the fence and it's fairly bright there but I'd still call it very shady. It's also a very sheltered spot that gets reliable, long lasting snow cover.

I wouldn't mind some good height up to 6 feet or so but it really needs to be less than 3' wide - at least at the base. It could get wider higher up but still no more than... I'm not sure here - 5 feet wide?

Neighbouring plants include a Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum) which is staying (Ultimately I'd like it be able to give this a little more room by removing the Ostrich Fern), an Actaea simplex 'Hillside Black Beauty' which is either staying exactly where it is or is switching places with the new plant (putting it directly into the corner and possibly allowing for more width from the new plant), and a pink Turtlehead (Chelone obliqua) which is definitely at least getting divided, may switch places with a white Turtlehead (Chelone glabra) which seems to be a little smaller and slower growing.


Adiantum pedatum
Adiantum pedatum - I wish could still see this as well as i could when this picture was taken!


So far I've considered a few things, such as...

Evergreens. I like that there would be a little bit more interest over the winter, but the plants that would work are not thrilling. Most would involve some shaping (being distinct from pruning here in that it will not have a natural shape) to work.

Boxwoods (not likely, I have another maybe 10 feet away and frankly they're boring. 'Green Mountain' would give the height but would definitely need some shaping to keep it in line and attractive)

Yews (maybe - Taxus baccata 'Fastigiata' is not reliably (or even borderline) hardy though it seems it would be perfect. Hicks or Hills Yews may work... with more pruning for both height and width but I'm less thrilled about the idea)

Standard Euonymus - Would give height, almost no space taken up at the base of the plant, could definitely work.



Purple Rhododendron - Colour is similar to 'Lee's Dark Purple'
(Photo by Sebastian Wallroth used under CC license from here.)


Shrubs pruned into small "trees":

Rhododendron Lee's Dark Purple is absolutely gorgeous and my preferred choice. I'm a little hesitant because I worry about how well it will take to pruning. I'd like to grow it as a small multi-stemmed tree with bare lower branches. Most people here have problems keeping the large leaved Rhodos alive, never mind worrying about having to prune them to keep them smaller. Spring flowering would be very welcome, evergreen is a bonus and I love the colour, I'm just not sure how practical this would be.

Small Trees pruned into even smaller trees:

Redbud - Either straight Cercis canadensis (can easily get smaller specimens relatively cheap) or 'Silver Cloud' (not likely but a prefered option). Would require some staking of young branched to give it a narrower form but after that would not be unmanageable (I think). Third choice, 'Silver Cloud' could make that a higher option on this list. Spring flowers are something badly missing in my garden and the added interest from the leaves would make that a very tempting choice.

Fagus sylvatica 'Dawyck Green/Gold' is definitely narrow enough at the size I'm looking at. These respond well to pruning but in the heavier shade of my garden would likely be slower growing - 'Dawyck Gold' would also not be as "Gold" but I think I'd actually prefer that. Bright green is good enough. This is likely my second choice - it would go in the corner and my Actaea simplex 'Hillside Black Beauty' would move to where the Ostrich Fern used to be. The bright green leaves would be a very attractive backdrop to the black ferny leaves of the Bugbane.

Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) I don't know how well these take heavy pruning but it's a nice tree. Trying to prune to maintain a small size while still getting both flowers and tasty fruit would be a fun challenge. I think fruit may ultimately have to be sacrificed to get a small enough flowering tree.

So... I'm leaning towards the Rhodo, pruned to keep lower stems bare; the Beech, pruned to maintain a narrow form in case any branches start growing outward, eventually to control height as well; or a Redbud, shaped from a young age into a narrowly upright vase shape, later pruned hard each spring to keep it small.

If you can think of a reason why I should avoid any of the above options, or maybe I've missed something that might be a good option? Are any of the plants I've mentioned not really practical to try and maintain at a relatively small size?

Saturday, August 21, 2010

More Bougainvillea pictures

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Sorry to those who can grow these outdoor for whom this is nothing special but for me this plant keep exceeding my expectations so you get to keep hearing about it.


Bougainvillea Flowering mid-branch
I did not expect blooms mid branch. I'm am surprised and thrilled by this discovery! So far a few branches have two of these side shoots, another has three. More flowers and fewer bare green leafy stems wins this plant even more points.

Bougainvillea
As a bonus you get a larger shot showing three branches in full bloom.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Haworthia seeds

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Apparently Haworthia limifolia var. limifolia can self polinate, but rarely. This plant has literally had flowers on it all summer. It's currently got three bloom stalks going at once and has produced hundreds of flowers (likely near or over 100 per stalk total, two or three per day per stalk - the third stalk only started a few weeks ago though), and I have a single fruit developing to show for it.


Haworthia limifolia var. limifolia developing fruit
Haworthia limifolia var. limifolia developing fruit

Haworthia limifolia var. limifolia
Bonus - check out this colour it's gotten in full sun this summer.


Will be interesting to see what I can get to grow from these seeds.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, August 2010

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My garden is slow to get started in the spring, but as you can see on this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day it definitely makes up for it now when most gardens are slowing down. Many of my favourite plants are actually those that flower in late summer.


Streptocarpus 'Laura'
Streptocarpus 'Laura'

Monarda 'Fireball'
Monarda 'Fireball' - to be honest I'm a little bit disapointed. I expected it to be red but it isn't. If I were going to be planting a pink Monarda there are nicer varieties, more compact varieties or frankly varieties that aren't even pink. Like 'Purple Rooster' or 'Raspberry Wine'. At least the colour matches my Clematis (The petals turn more pink/red as they age) and Bougainvillea.

Toadlily 'Tojen'
Tricyrtis 'Tojen' will continue to flower for a long time, and will soon be joined by an even more hardcore fall flowering perennial, my Turtlehead (Chelone obliqua).

NOID Red Rose
My Red Rose only has a few flowers on it right now, but many buds getting ready to open any day now. It's rambled its way up into my so called "dwarf" Banana (I'll post a picture once the rose starts to open - hint, it's gotten huge).


In the front yard my Hydrangea seems to be holding down the fort, while my Roses out front and my 'White Clips' Bellflower have a few flowers off and on.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you've enjoyed seeing some of the plants I have flowering this month.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Sansevieria trifasciata 'Moonglow' new growth

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Sansevieria 'Moonglow'
Sansevieria trifasciata 'Moonglow'


This started shortly after I got the plant - I noticed the pot starting to stretch into a football shape as new growth started on opposite sides of the pots. The new growth of this cultivar is amazing. I hope it takes a very long time for the new shoots to darken like the older ones so I can enjoy the colour longer.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Bougainvillea in flower

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Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea


My Bougainvillea is making an excellent case for making itself a permanent member of my plants that will fill my house when the weather gets cold. It's putting on such a great show I think it would be a real shame to get rid of it at the end of the summer.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Tricyrtis 'Tojen' flowering

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Tricyrtis 'Tojen'
Tricyrtis 'Tojen'


My toadlily is flowering around the same time as usual, apparently, even though I always think of it as a fall flowering plant. Shh, fall isn't that close...

This year it hasn't even been plagued by lily beetles so it's stayed a very attractive plant up to where it starts flowering, and of course just a little bit bigger and more impressive than ever.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Pictures from earlier this year

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Three pictures I'd taken earlier this spring but never got to posting.



Digitalis 'Pam's Choice'


Acer japonica aconitifolium - A really cool tree. Wish I had space.


Belamcanda chinensis

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Pretty picture: Sweet Potato Vine flowers

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Saw this at work. Nice enough flowers though not typically grown for them. I don't actually think I'd seen them in person before this. Very clear that its more closely related to Morning Glories than to regular Potatoes.




I hope I get flowers on my own plants this year, and that they're a similar light colour against the dark leaves of 'Blacky'.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Monarch Butterflies at work

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AKA Part 2,

I generally dislike having a closing shift followed by a morning shift the next day but I got lucky last week. At the end of my closing shift I went to check on the Monarch pupa and was excited to see it should be hatching the next day. The chrysalis had darkened considerably and the wings could be seen through it. I checked on it first thing the next morning and found it out drying its wings.




Monday, August 2, 2010

More shade container combinations.

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I love how this container has come together. The Impatiens are fairly boring, I'll admit, but I mostly just added them (two cell packs) for a bit more colour and they've filled in very nicely. It was also my first time using 'Diamond Frost' Euphorbia which has also impressed me. For perennials I used Heuchera 'Cinnabar Silver', Carex 'Evergold', Athyrium otophorum ‘Okanum’ (I should have used a larger plant, it's grown in well but hasn't been able to keep up with the Impatiens so it's sort of lost in the whole thing), and a Toadlily (barely pictured here) to replace an Astilbe that had finished flowering. I think there's some Ivy in there somewhere too.






Monarch Caterpillars at work

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One benefit to carrying Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata ‘Soulmate’ at work is getting to see this as it happens. I hope I'm able to catch it emerging, it should be any day now.