Wordless Wednesday: Violas

Violas

Wordless Wednesday: Pups

Wordless Wednesday: Rose

Tournament of Roses, Floribunda Rose

Wordless Wednesday: Crinum

Crinum 'Walter Flory'


I know this is wordless Wednesday but I have to say this. I had written the name of this Crinum down and typed in the computer as water foly...which I found nothing when doing a search. After looking for pink Crinums I found that it must be Walter Flory. I wonder if I wrote it down wrong or if the Botanical Gardens plaque is wrong.

Wordless Wednesday: Pomegranate

Pomegranate

Super Late Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Purple Fountain Grass

Wow I am late with Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. Really I was prepared on July 15th but for some reason my motivation has been slacking in all aspects of life. I need a nice vacation with no stress, like that is possible. Better late then never right? Carol from May Dreams Gardens created Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. Garden Bloggers from all over the world share their blooms every 15th of the month. Go and visit Carol and all the wonderful bloggers who participated in GBBD.


Lobelia Crystal Palace


Campanula Deep Blue Clips


Balloon Flower


Candytuft


Mexican Heather


Gaillardia Razzle Dazzle


Vinca


Weeping Drawf Crape Myrtle Sacramento


Juanita Hatten Bougainvillea


Barbara Karst Bougainvillea


Chenille Firetail


Cocktail Vodka Begonia


Gaillardia Razzle Dazzle


Gaillardia Razzle Dazzle


Abutilon Bella Red Grapefruit


Gaillardia Razzle Dazzle


Sweet William Pinocchio


White Pentas

Wordless Wednesday: Succulent

Succulent Unknown

Get Up Close

Black Sweet Potato VIne

I like getting up close to my plants. Seeing the mixed colors in the leaves and the texture is something special. Even though I'm not getting a degree in an art related field any more I still have an artistic eye. See my plants through the eyes of the camera really makes me see them better. I appreciate things that I normally wouldn't see. Macro are my favorite since every little detail is shown. I'm sure everyone has had those times that a bug shows up in your photo that you didn't even see was there.


Black Sweet Potato Vine

I like to try and get more abstract photos of my plants. Getting the abstract shots I see shapes and colors that I don't normally see just looking at the plant. When normally looking at the color of a plant you can name it's overall color like for blackie it's a dark purple near black. But once you get up close to it you see all the different colors mixed in like the red and the tinge of blue maybe even a tiny bit of orange in there. I personally have a hard time drawing and painting abstract. I like to do my artwork realistically. To make artwork of plants look realistic as possible you have to see all those underlying colors to get the full effect.


Variegated Sweet Potato Vine

As you can tell I'm having an art withdrawal. I haven't really painted or drawn anything for a very long time since school has been out. Art School was really draining for me that I took a year after I dropped out and just didn't draw but did crafts instead. I often everyday get those feelings when I see certain plants or take certain pictures that I want to pick up the paint and get going.


Purple Fountain Grass

It gets hard doing all the hobbies I like to do. Right now I'm devoting all my time to work, school, and learning more about plants. Really I procrastinate for most of my day with my face stuck to the computer screen. I need to learn to let go of the computer.

Anyone else out there have a bad addiction getting in the way of things they normally love to do?

Wordless Wednesday Surprise Columbine

This is my Blue Star Columbine. Notice I said blue star. I was surprised to see the outer petals are also white. I wonder what happened?

Wordless Wednesday Cocktail Vodka Begonia

Cocktail Vodka Begonia

Wordless Wednesday

Grape Hyacinths and more...

Grape Hyacinths

Recently I complained that my Grape Hyacinths (muscari armeniacum) had no signs of flowers yet just foliage. Well yesterday while inspecting seedlings up close and personal I saw the signs! Quite a few of my Grape Hyacinths have the flower scape peaking up out of the center of their foliage. I purchased these in November or December maybe even Jaunuar I really don't remember. I got them on sale at lowes. Purchase them to force inside but had so many that I planted tons in any free space in my pots that I had. So I have tons of grape hyacinths to enjoy. The photo above are grape hyacinths I planted for forcing inside but put outside to receive more light. I never realized my apartment didn't receive that much light until these started yellow at the ends.

Muscari armeniacum (Grape Hyacinth)
fragrant
4-8 inches tall
deep cobalt blooms
flowers in mid spring
attracts bees
Great for indoor forcing, borders, cut flowers, rockgardens, beds, borders, and under shrubs and trees.

There are different varieties of Muscari armeniacum. There are the muscari armeniacum which is cobalt blue also the one normally called Grape Hyacinth. Album is white, Blue Spike has double florets and is flax blue, Cantab is sky blue with a slightly larger bloom, and Fantasy Creations double flowers with blue blooms that gain green with maturity. These are all fragrant.

There are over 30 different species of Muscari.


Today I have an interview/meeting to more then likely get started doing merchandising for a large wholesale nursery. Well the merchandising is at home depots I believe and lowes and those other stores. This is only for the spring. After the spring in May I'll start an internship and that I'm more than positive is a sure thing.

After my meeting when my husband gets home we'll be going to the Home and Garden show at the Alamodome. I'll be bringing my camera in hopes of great things to photograph.

Hyacinth Woodstock

Hyacinth Woodstock

My hyacinth woodstock looks like it should be blooming soon. I orginally bought these to force indoors. The container I had didn't fit all the bulbs so half went outside. I planted 3 inside and 3 outside. The other one outside is in another container and is not as large as these. The ones inside are outside right now getting some sun.


Photo from www.dutchgardens.com


Woodstock Hyacinth is a fragrant hyacinth with burgundy purple blooms. Some vary from a deeper wine purple red to a light reddish purple. They grow 8-12" high and can be grown in sun to partial shade. This hyacinth would be great for forcing indoors with the wonderful fragrance. I can't wait to smell it when mine bloom. The Woodstock Hyacinth is also good for containers and borders. They are deer and rabbit resistant. Their blooms last 3-4 weeks in mid spring.

Wordless Wednesday

I wish my walls looked like this.

Garden Blogger Bloom Day

Buds on my Snapdragon

Today is my first garden blogger bloom day. I've never been able to participate because I never have any blooms. Carol at Maydreamsgardens is the wonderful person that created Bloom Day. Go visit her blog and see other bloggers who blogged today about their blooms.


My snapdragon getting ready to bloom.


Another bud on my Snapdragon

First I'll start with my Snapdragon. I have been awaiting these flowers since i purchased the plant in December i think. This snapdragon was bought as a small plant with one bud. It has grown and grown taller since then and produced another bud. Now I await for the blooming.


Purple/white Candytuft

This Candytuft I accidentally left after doing my cleaning out the candytufts from the planter. Now it is blooming! I love candytufts but have many seeds to try. They grow fast and with no trouble at all for me. It's not a problem if I want some back again I'll just plant more seeds. I do have some candytufts growing that were from the seeds of the last ones that bloomed. Nothing blooming yet though for those.


Knotweed Blooms


Pink Knotweed Flower

This was a plant that I got from an older women who allowed me to take cuttings from her over grown unkept yard. She didn't know what it was neither did I. My many searches resulted in nothing. Eventually the curiosity started to kill me so I asked on GardenWeb if anyone knew. Of course they did and responded with Knotweed. I really like this vine weed groundcover whatever it is. It has interesting leaves, grows and spreads nicely in and out of it's container, and has cute round blooms in white and pink.


Cocktail Vodka Begonia blooming


Cocktail Vodka Begonias in container blooming nicely

My last bloom are my Cocktail Vodka Begonias. I planted these in a larger pot last week I believe. They were in individual peat pots before and it was a pain to keep them watered right. I gave in and spent my money on some much needed bigger pots. They look great clumped together! I love these so much and see them everywhere around here. Their foliage is a nice change from the normal green on my balcony.