tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208319492024-02-11T03:13:57.119-04:00Bloomingwriter: Gardening in Nova ScotiaThe ongoing adventures of gardening in Nova ScotiaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.comBlogger719125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-80823385633576198172017-02-27T11:43:00.001-04:002017-02-27T11:43:21.193-04:00Pansies, milkweed & daffs, oh my! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yes, it's been a while since I've posted. All is well...just very, very busy. There isn't a lot of time these days to post free stuff, or even to donate a column to LocalXpress, so we have to make do when we can. I trust everyone is getting through the winter without too much distress. We've just had a very welcome few days of unseasonably warm weather, which melted a great deal of the heaps of snow we got the week before. And as always, every day marches us closer to spring. </div>
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Every year, the <a href="http://ngb.org/">National Garden Bureau</a> in the US announces the perennial, annual, bulb and edible of the year; and the <a href="http://www.perennialplant.org/">Perennial Plant Association</a> also chooses a Perennial of the Year. The NBG's annual of the year this year is the lovely pansy, in its large-flowered form. But in my garden, all types of violas, from the sweetly scented to the pansies to the petite and boisterous Johnny Jump Ups, are more than welcome.</div>
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While I always purchase a few named cultivars of pansies, Johnnys and violas every spring, I also have volunteers pop up around the yard, and I encourage those as well. There were even flowers in December last year! </div>
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The PPA's perennial of the year is an excellent choice this year; <a href="http://www.perennialplant.org/index.php/component/k2/item/190-2017-perennial-plant-of-the-year">Asclepias tuberosa</a>, aka butterfly weed, which is a superb plant not only for Monarch butterflies but for many other butterflies, bees and numerous other pollinators. Best suited for a sunny, well-drained spot, this native North American plant is drought tolerant once established, long blooming, and gorgeous, and generally left alone by deer and other pests. What's not to love?</div>
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The bulb of the year is the <a href="http://ngb.org/year_of/index.cfm?YOID=47">glorious daffodil</a>, which I have adored since I was an elementary student and introduced to Wordsworth's poem of the same name. Deer resistant, tough, and gorgeous, daffs and narcissus come in a wide range of varieties, featuring bicolours, doubles, singles, some with large trumpets, others with more subdued centres. They all tend to be fragrant, long-lived cut flowers, and look spectacular planted in drifts. </div>
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One useful tidbit you may not know--daffs should never be put in cut flower arrangements with other types of flowers, as sap from the daffodils will kill other flowers. So do a big massed vase of daffs and narcissus, and put other types of spring flowers in other vases to enjoy.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-17044035881264331772016-07-04T10:30:00.000-03:002016-07-04T10:42:37.965-03:00To our American Neighbours--Happy Independence Day! <br />
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Yes, I know our neighbours to the south spell neighbours as 'neighbors'. That's not the point...<br />
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Wherever you are today, whether travelling or at home, celebrating with friends and community, on vacation or at work (not everyone gets a holiday), </div>
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Here's wishing you a joyous, safe, and peaceful Independence Day!</div>
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Three cheers for the Red...</div>
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White...<br />
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And blue!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-26790250998466670482016-06-29T22:55:00.001-03:002016-06-29T22:55:15.728-03:00Mostly Wordless Wednesday: Catching up with closeups<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Suddenly, it's the end of June, and it's been almost two months since I've posted. Good reasons for that--it's gardening and nature photography time! Plus it's a busy time of year for work. So today, you get only a bit of a slide show, with captions and a couple of info notes:<br />
1. I continue to donate a column to <a href="https://www.localxpress.ca/columns/that-blooming-writer-with-jodi-delong">Local Xpress</a>, the news website set up by the striking journalists of the provincial newspaper, the Chronicle Herald. I don't wish to have my name affiliated with what is left of that paper, so I write a column for my friends who were forced out nearly six months ago. Since I AM donating, it only gets done when I have time, but you <a href="https://www.localxpress.ca/columns/that-blooming-writer-with-jodi-delong">can find them here.</a><br />
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2. This is going to be the last year for Canning Daylily Gardens to be open, as Wayne is retiring. I'll have more to say about that soon, but in the meantime, he's having a real sale at the nursery. The <a href="http://canningdaylilygardens.yolasite.com/">nursery website is not updated</a>, but you can find contact information on it.<br />
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That's it for this time! Now to the photos:<br />
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Clematis 'Diamantina'.<br />
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Echium 'Red Feathers'.<br />
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Asclepias 'Monarch Promise'.<br />
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One of several currently unidentified penstemons. I'm working on figuring them out.<br />
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Finally blooming, yellow Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa)<br />
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Petunia 'Picasso in Purple'. A vast improvement over 'Pretty Much Picasso.'<br />
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Primula vialii with stupid white crab spider. Soon to be ex crab spider.<br />
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White, nightblooming angel trumpet, Datura. </div>
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Oh, and at the top? Meconopsis x, aka the Himalayan blue poppy. Of course. :-)</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-55631784702693953982016-05-03T21:07:00.001-03:002016-05-03T21:07:30.078-03:00Succulents don't suck! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's been close to 40 years since I first fell for succulents in a big way. Probably the first one I ever saw would have been the common but beloved Jade tree, Crassula argentea, although I cannot be sure of this. I know I was smitten with them when I was in my first year at the Agricultural College, and that smitten-ness has never waned. Back then, there were a number of succulents including several massive jade trees growing in one of the greenhouses, and I learned how to propagate these easy, colourful and rewarding plants for myself. </div>
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I remember the challenges I had finding a lot of different types in stores, and the challenge of finding just the right container to make a 'dish garden' of succulents and cacti. It was also a challenge to grow these plants in a dorm room, but since I usually had dozens of plants in my room, I persevered. Some died. Some prospered. </div>
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Flash forward to today, and the popularity of succulents has come surging back in recent years. There are so many genera, and species, and varieties, so many colours and textures and forms...they're hard to resist! Or so I tell myself as I look around my house, where dozens of plants are waiting for warm weather so they can bask outside for a few months. </div>
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Here's an example of some of the great colours--succulents aren't 'just' green! This is related to the faithful jade tree, a different species, cultivar 'Campfire'. Look at that colour...</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IEqa4psziow/VyktmjWF2xI/AAAAAAAANoo/OnOktJPFXREWTFDo7_Pojxma-lnKK5tUgCLcB/s1600/babytoes_fenestraria-0885.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IEqa4psziow/VyktmjWF2xI/AAAAAAAANoo/OnOktJPFXREWTFDo7_Pojxma-lnKK5tUgCLcB/s320/babytoes_fenestraria-0885.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The big secret to growing succulents well? Plant them in a well-draining medium (extra perlite or coarse sand is helpful) and don't plant them too deeply. Most importantly: Do not overwater them. They contain moisture in their leaves and related structures, and if they get too much water, they will rot and collapse, and that will make you sad. I tend to water mine about once a month in winter, and they do very well for me. This is Fenestraria, also known as babytoes, which is one of the odder looking species.<br />
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I also love cacti, although I don't have nearly as many as I do succulents. All cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti--the term 'succulent' refers to any plant with the ability to store water in specialized tissues for long periods of time. And although you may think of succulents and cacti as being plants of deserts and other hot, dry areas, the truth is there are species found in many different climates, and numerous species that are hardy to Atlantic Canada. I have an opuntia (prickly pear) cactus that is hardy here, and numerous sedum and sempervivum varieties grow outside in my gardens. But I find the more exotic and tender species more alluring, which is why I have a houseful of them. </div>
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Several of my cacti are flowering at the moment, which pleases me greatly. What does NOT please me, however, is the penchant that some succulent growers have for gluing strawflowers onto their cacti to make it look like they are flowering. Then there are the dyed ones, but that's just so appalling I can't even rant about it. </div>
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The yellow-flowered succulent in the clay pot (photographed last year) is a Aichryson laxum, tree of love. Apparently, this plant is a biennial and dies after flowering unless deadheaded. The plant I have has not got that memo, because it has never stopped flowering since last summer, and today I trimmed all the scraggly flowers off it and put it outside for a few hours to wash it off and rejuvenate it.<br />
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Who needs fake flowers when the blossoms of succulents and cacti are so gorgeous? Mine flower quite faithfully, like this Pachyveria 'Claire', which is just starting its bloom cycle. Pachyveria? What's that? It's apparently an inter-generic cross between Echeveria and Pachyphytum. There are also Graptoveria, (cross between Echeveria and Graptopetalum) and Graptosedum (cross between Sedum and Graptopetalum). And probably more inter-generics coming down the pike, too!<br />
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This is Kalanchoe tomentosa, also known as the panda plant, which is one of those succulents I've known and loved forever. I try to keep it far away from my cats, or else it will become the cat-hair-panda-plant! </div>
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One of the many charms that succulents hold for me is their patterning. They grow in spirals, called Fibonacci spirals or the golden spiral, due to some mathematical stuff that makes my head hurt, so I just say they grow in spirals and aren't they awesome? Other plants exhibit this as well--think of the seeds in a sunflower, or the cones of evergreens, the petal arrangement of a double rose, and so on. They please me--maybe if someone had pointed this out to me when trying to drill math and geometry into my head, I would have done better at it! </div>
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It has been many years since I've had a grafted cactus (the orange and green one on the right of the photo. I succumbed to one a couple of weeks ago in part for use in my talks on succulent container gardening at Saltscapes Expo, and I'll use it at other talks coming up at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Bloom-Greenhouse-Garden-Centre-193621900661978/">Bloom</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ScotianGoldCountryGarden">Scotian Gold</a>. The colourful cactus on top is a Gymnocalycium, commonly called a Moon Cactus, and can be red, yellow, or orange like mine. The bottom is usually a section of Hylocereus, one of the less spiny, night-blooming cactus. It is vital not to overwater these plants, and to remember that if the top dies, it will NOT grow back, as with any grafted plant.<br />
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This tree of succulents is on display in the greenhouse at my friend Alice's <a href="http://www.ouestvilleperennials.com/">Ouest-ville Perennials</a>, and is made up of a number of different succulents, planted into moss wired around an inverted tomato cage. I love it, although it has to be freshened up in the spring as the large echeveria rosettes can get straggly looking over winter.<br />
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About the only problem I sometimes have with my succulents is some aphids, but they are easily enough controlled with some insecticidal soap or a good bath of cool water over the plant (then making sure it is well drained and dries back out quickly. In the winter, some of them get stretched looking but I move them from window to window to make sure they all get plenty of light, and that gets them through. Another couple of weeks and I will move them outside, and put them on a wire shelf unit with no saucers under their pots, so that if it does rain, they drain out quickly. And I'll be dividing some of them to share with fellow succulent fans!<br />
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What about you? Do you have a fondness for succulents?<br />
<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D20831949%23editor%2Fsrc%3Dheader&media=https%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-r5uGqNHtEuc%2FVyktqqsUiGI%2FAAAAAAAANpY%2FBC4TueXlFvoKUKxaubJJ4JYYjNouRVh4gCLcB%2Fs320%2Fzwartkopf-2841.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.37.01&xuid=yLKpdkjGzQsY&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 246px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 4781px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D20831949%23editor%2Fsrc%3Dheader&media=https%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-r5uGqNHtEuc%2FVyktqqsUiGI%2FAAAAAAAANpY%2FBC4TueXlFvoKUKxaubJJ4JYYjNouRVh4gCLcB%2Fs320%2Fzwartkopf-2841.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.37.01&xuid=yLKpdkjGzQsY&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 246px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 4781px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-74105601510313913962016-04-17T18:54:00.002-03:002016-04-17T18:54:54.645-03:00Local Xpress, Expo, and plants galore<br />
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We are only a few days away from our <a href="http://www.saltscapes.com/expo/">12th annual Saltscapes East Coast Expo,</a> so it's really, really busy in my world. More on the Expo later.<br />
However, I had to catch up with a blog post both to tell you that and to tell you about my <a href="http://www.localxpress.ca/news/2016/4/17/jodi-delong-new-under-the-gardening-sun">column in the Local Xpress.</a><br />
Here's the thing. I don't belong to a union, never did and never will. However--I support the journalists who are out on strike at the 'paper of record' in Nova Scotia (which I will not name nor link to, but I have written a column there for many years). As long as my friends and colleagues are out on strike, I am withholding writing for the paper. I did, however, offer to provide columns to the web-based paper the journalists have formed, <a href="http://www.localxpress.ca/">the Local Xpress</a>, for the duration of the work stoppage.<br />
Now, I am tremendously busy, and gardening season is begun, so I don't know how often I will be able to do these columns. But the first one is up today and I wanted to include hotlinks to the nurseries involved in the first story, plus more photos. I've decided to link to their Facebook pages because they're all on there, and some don't have regular websites anymore.<br />
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The photo above is of hellebores, and one of the best selections you'll find anywhere is at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBriarPatchFarmNurseryLtd/">Briar Patch Farm and Nursery in Berwick</a>.<br />
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Arkansas bluestar (Amsonia) was perennial of the year a few years back, and rightly so. This is 'Blue Ice', a cultivar of amsonia that looks fabulous in mass plantings, with its pale blue, starry flowers. It's a favourite at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Oceanview-Home-Garden-219668024711100/">Oceanview Home & Garden in Chester</a>. </div>
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I acquired a very fine plant of Bear's Breeches last year from a private collector, and when my friends from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ouestvilleperennials/?fref=nf">Ouest-ville Perennials </a>in West Pubnico saw it they had to add it to their nursery offerings. </div>
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I've shared my enthusiasm for Bidens 'Fireburst' in the past, and I'm very pleased that several nurseries have it this year, including <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Bloom-Greenhouse-Garden-Centre-193621900661978/?fref=ts">Bloom Greenhouse and Garden Centre</a> in Hammonds Plains.<br />
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It's also very well known that I adore echinaceas, and many nursery operators share that enthusiasm, too. One of those is Lloyd Mapplebeck at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Hillendale-Perennials-594361150577238/">Hillendale Perennials in Truro</a>, who thinks that the All Americas Selection 'Cheyenne Spirit' is simply fantastic. All the flowers in the above photo, except the double in the background, are from several plants of this echinacea. You can see why it's a winner in our books! </div>
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Several of the nursery owners are excited about baptisias, and I love their gorgeous, elegant flowers and foliage so this is just a gratuitous chance to share another image of Baptisia 'Dutch Chocolate'.<br />
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Here's a unique, hardy and beautiful tree that we're seeing in more streetscapes as well as gardens. Ginkgo is an ancient species and a gorgeous one, with elegant foliage that turns butter yellow in fall. It's a favourite and new-to-<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ScotianGoldCountryGarden/">Scotia Gold Country Garden in Coldbrook</a>. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6obTiuYfZyc/VxP8Hsa37XI/AAAAAAAANoM/4rS9a0t4mTgWzhdRE1upe-xH3l5fMrqVQCLcB/s1600/sourwood.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6obTiuYfZyc/VxP8Hsa37XI/AAAAAAAANoM/4rS9a0t4mTgWzhdRE1upe-xH3l5fMrqVQCLcB/s320/sourwood.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Oxydendron, also known as sourwood tree, is native to eastern North America and related to rhododendrons, pieris, and blueberries. It has cascades of lily of the valley-like white flowers in summer, then its foliage turns incandescent in the fall. It's no wonder that Jill at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ScotianGoldCountryGarden/">Bunchberry Nurseries in Upper Clements</a> is enthusiastic about it. </div>
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Yellow Waxy-bell is a gorgeous and late-blooming perennial, with soft yellow, nodding flowers. It likes a little shade and good moisture, and does well in my garden--and now is available at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BaldwinsNursery/?fref=ts">Baldwin Nurseries</a> in Falmouth. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oHLFSaQWsjQ/VxP8Ho9WWiI/AAAAAAAANoI/NttToF_izfsBCR1x_lUscm9xMTDPihvnwCLcB/s1600/silversand.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oHLFSaQWsjQ/VxP8Ho9WWiI/AAAAAAAANoI/NttToF_izfsBCR1x_lUscm9xMTDPihvnwCLcB/s320/silversand.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is a unique and very attractive annual called Silver Sand, (Calocephalus), which I first saw at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GladGardens/?fref=ts">Glad Gardens in Waterville</a> some years back. Daina was not able to source seed for a few years but has it again now. Glad Gardens reopens for the season this Thursday, but I'm going to get my plant tomorrow...because I need it for this weekend!<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oAHvInV3i-U/VxP8H9nR16I/AAAAAAAANoQ/cQL7Jf3kfcYYCLNUKSxsd2eV6E-FAFuagCLcB/s1600/tufa%2Bsucculents.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oAHvInV3i-U/VxP8H9nR16I/AAAAAAAANoQ/cQL7Jf3kfcYYCLNUKSxsd2eV6E-FAFuagCLcB/s320/tufa%2Bsucculents.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Daina at Glad Gardens and I share a deep and abiding love for succulents and cacti, especially in container plantings. One of the talks I'm doing this weekend is about gardening with succulents in containers, so I'll be toting a variety of plants with me to Halifax Exhibition Centre to show to others. I'm really pleased to let you know that there will also be gardening talks by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Bloom-Greenhouse-Garden-Centre-193621900661978/">Cathy of Bloom Greenhouse</a>, Allan Banks of <a href="http://harbourbreezes.ca/">Harbour Breezes Daylilies and Japanese Irises</a>, and Carol Goodwin of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Beneath-the-Boughs-Woodland-Plant-Nursery-and-Pottery-996264067115283/?fref=ts">Beneath the Boughs Woodland Plant Nursery and Pottery</a>. Hurray for the gardening season. </div>
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One final note: There are many other nurseries in Nova Scotia, but I didn't hear back from several of them, and some of them I just didn't have time to contact before deadline. But hopefully I'll have more to say about those soon. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-32191218017946570232016-04-02T22:55:00.002-03:002016-04-02T22:55:33.771-03:00Spring is springing in Nova Scotia!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c0Uy82Anbis/VwBxO3FPSPI/AAAAAAAANmw/8K3CJrCW-1ImS6WPhGKGm0yuB5aD3XhMQ/s1600/alices_snowdrops-0619.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c0Uy82Anbis/VwBxO3FPSPI/AAAAAAAANmw/8K3CJrCW-1ImS6WPhGKGm0yuB5aD3XhMQ/s320/alices_snowdrops-0619.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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So I missed a blog post earlier this week, but with good reason--we're getting ready for our 12th <a href="http://www.saltscapes.com/expo/">Saltscapes Expo</a>, April 22-24 at Halifax Exhibition Centre (the former Exhibition Park), and to say we are busy is an understatement. We're also busy getting the magazine ready to go to press. For those who have never been to an Expo, it's kind of like the magazine comes to life at the Park. Here's a short video to explain it a little. </div>
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<br /><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SS4NEvGgTjU/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SS4NEvGgTjU?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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For more information, tickets, etc, you can <a href="http://www.saltscapes.com/expo/purchase-tickets-online/purchase-tickets-online">check our our website.</a> </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6H59nvZT404/VwBxPvb2RZI/AAAAAAAANnE/UkA78lA821kDq75b2RB0px6pdaR6TjA7Q/s1600/daffodils-0607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6H59nvZT404/VwBxPvb2RZI/AAAAAAAANnE/UkA78lA821kDq75b2RB0px6pdaR6TjA7Q/s320/daffodils-0607.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'll have more to say about Expo probably next week, (a teaser about my seminars at the show, but now, let's get back to plants. I've mentioned before that we've had a relatively sensible winter, and we've had some very mild spells. So it's beginning--spring is unfolding slowly outside. If you go inside greenhouses, like I did today, it's unfolding a little more quickly. Let's take a peek indoors and out! </div>
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I took today off from fact-checking, copy editing, social media work, newsletter writing...in fact, I took off, first for West Pubnico and <a href="http://www.ouestvilleperennials.com/">Ouest-ville Perennials</a>, my friend Alice d'Entremont's wonderful nursery. As soon as I got there, spring greeted me (even more quickly than did Alice and her cats!). The first thing I saw was the quilt of spring bulbs, primarily snowdrops and crocuses, in the front yard.<br />
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This Corkscrew Hazel (Corylus avellana 'Contorta') is in full glorious catkin production. I noticed some trees alongside the road earlier today also in catkin, probably poplars. Hurray for spring!<br />
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One of the hellebore species, I think the so-called stinking hellebore (Helleborus foetidus), and so-called because the flowers can be fragrant, but the foliage smells pretty skunky when it gets crushed. We can deal with that with such striking flowers. </div>
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In Alice's rock garden, a cluster of dwarf iris (probably I. reticulata) are guarded by a stone cat (as opposed to the real ones who live there).</div>
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I confess to a small bit of winter-aconite-envy, as I have never been particularly successful in getting these to grow for me. Alice has the right idea--she has them planted in her rock garden, where they get good drainage. Note to self for this fall...try, try again. They are such dainty little bulbs and so cheerily yellow. It was raining today but I didn't care--I was just happy to be out among plants! </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H-6e0SL9CDo/VwBxRXCSZ2I/AAAAAAAANnM/q7E1NnywMaUXyED91n4tDBrXsj_f3-VLA/s1600/yellow_primula-0610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H-6e0SL9CDo/VwBxRXCSZ2I/AAAAAAAANnM/q7E1NnywMaUXyED91n4tDBrXsj_f3-VLA/s320/yellow_primula-0610.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Several years ago, the Nova Scotia Rock Garden Club had Pam Eveleigh of <a href="http://www.primulaworld.blogspot.ca/">Primula World </a>for workshops and presentations. Some of us came away completely smitten with primula, and those of us who attended her workshops also came away with plants and seeds. Alice has propagated quite a few of them, including the gorgeous yellow auricula...</div>
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And this species, which I bought but which is still out in the car and it's raining too hard for me to go back out there tonight! </div>
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And another auricula primula. These three all came home with me (they insisted--but in my defence, I will use them at Expo in a couple weeks time.) There were a bunch of other plants that followed me home because I also stopped to see my friend Jill Covill at <a href="http://bunchberrynurseries.ca/">Bunchberry Nurseries</a> in Upper Clements, but those will have to wait for the next post. </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-9933822029137110342016-03-21T23:32:00.001-03:002016-03-21T23:32:49.336-03:00Interlude: My fondness for old buildings (& other things)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cNIYdf3dkVU/VvCpHqxhd0I/AAAAAAAANmI/icV1nUuNECk1cpU0xw5KHlGOexy3tIZYQ/s1600/halloween_scene-0160.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cNIYdf3dkVU/VvCpHqxhd0I/AAAAAAAANmI/icV1nUuNECk1cpU0xw5KHlGOexy3tIZYQ/s320/halloween_scene-0160.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Long ago, I lived in a farmhouse with a huge, round-roofed barn in the back yard. The barn was in tender shape, gradually worn down over the years of use, elements and neglect. One day, it collapsed in on itself, and that was that. I wrote about that barn, and it was well-photographed in its day. </div>
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I'm not sure if that's where my fascination with old buildings began, but it was certainly nurtured by that event. </div>
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So I've been spending a fair bit of time in the past number of months making pictures of various buildings. Many are abandoned, and gone beyond help, like the famous one in Earltown in the photo above. Some are conserved by local groups, and some are well kept but elderly, with stories to tell.<br />
Truthfully, they ALL have stories to tell, although I'm not sure who is around to share those stories.<br />
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Look at this house with the carefully built railing. Someone loved this place once. Now it, and its half-dozen outbuildings, stand empty, or at least uninhabited.<br />
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There was a time when many of us went to small schools such as this one (now, I believe, used as a hall, but possibly in private hands). My late grandfather owned a former schoolhouse in his community for many years before he finally sold it. Today it is a home, and well cared for by the look of it. So old schoolhouses draw me in. </div>
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I know nothing about architecture. Zip, zilch, nada. I have an appreciation for older, well built buildings in part because they do stand the test of time. This barn further down the Valley is a beautiful thing, well cared for and still used, although I'm not sure for what. </div>
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When I go on my jaunts around the province, I tend to go down sideroads just to see what's there. Sometimes, I find real gems, like this tiny crooked house at the end of a lane. Is it for kids to stand in and wait for the bus? Just an attractive thing to mount a civic address on? I don't know, but I do like it. </div>
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I will never be a wildlife photographer. I don't have the patience, nor the gear nor the ability to trek off through the wilds looking for wildlife. I do, however, have the ability to see eagles on a daily basis, and with a good lens and a fast shutter speed, I can get fairly good captures. </div>
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Water soothes me, being a child of the Fundy/Atlantic as I am. I'm learning to shoot moving water in a number of ways, and it's a lot of fun--on a decent day when the wind isn't screaming sideways, of course! This is a waterfall at Baxter's Harbour, going through a man-made culvert under a road and then cascading down the rocky face to the beach. It's always a fascinating place to make pictures.<br />
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To go along with the old buildings, I have a fondness for old equipment, be it rusting cars, or farm gear like this ancient rake. This would NOT be a fun thing to ride on a hot summer's day!</div>
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An old pump, someone told me this was. I was just charmed by the name. Darling pump. At an old farmstead. I'm surprised it hasn't been toted off and sold for scrap metal.<br />
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One of the oddest things I saw on my trip back to Newfoundland last summer was the abandoned Trinity Loop amusement park. I'll do a whole post about that in the future, but had to share this image of the Trinity Loop railroad track that used to run to the local communities off the main railroad line. When Hurricane Igor blew through the area in 2010, the flooding washed out the track quite badly, and further degraded the once busy park. It's kind of surreal to go back this road and find the remains of a ferris wheel, train cars, and other oddities. </div>
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Another place I got to explore, although briefly, last summer was the Iles de la Madeleine, aka the Magdalen Islands. I fell in love with the place and the people, and want to go back. Soon. It's an incredibly beautiful place, part of the province of Quebec, and well worth the 5 hour ferry ride there to spend a few days.<br />
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To wrap up this little essay of randomness, I always tell people it's good to keep your camera on hand at all times. You never know when you are going to discover a piece of 'found art' like the ice sculpture around this well. You just never know. Keep your eyes open and your camera close, and have fun--at least, that's my motto! </div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-48837099647757938202016-03-14T12:19:00.003-03:002016-03-14T12:19:56.032-03:00In the Pink (mostly)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's a brand new week, and we're thinking about spring. This past month has been pretty gentle, weather wise, with nothing like the snowstorms we had last year. Last winter, the mantra was, 'If it's Wednesday, there will be a storm'...for weeks on end! But as always, it eventually melted.<br />
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This week we're celebrating some of the many shades of pink that we enjoy in our gardens. I have been known to say I'm not really a fan of pink flowers--then I look at what I have in my own garden, and how many I take photos of, and I have to change my mind about that statement. It all comes down to the flower and the colour in question, doesn't it? Like peonies--I don't care what colour they are, I love them. All of them. All the peonies. All the time.<br />
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Campanula 'Cherry Bells' is considered a bit of a thug by some gardeners, but I've never found it hard to control. I love its long bloom period and its ability to cover itself in pink, nodding flowers. </div>
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I have told this story before, and I'll share it again as I told it recently on my personal FB page.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823;">My late beloved husband used to argue with me about purple coneflowers. "They're not purple they're pink!" </span><br style="color: #141823;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823;">"I know, dear."</span><br style="color: #141823;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823;">"So why are they called purple? What about the white ones? Are they white purple coneflowers?"</span><br style="color: #141823;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823;">"Don't ask me. I don't make up the names." </span><br style="color: #141823;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823;">And so on.</span><br style="color: #141823;" /><span style="color: #141823;">And as the variety of colours available increased, it grew more hilarious. "That orange-purple-coneflower-t</span><wbr style="color: #141823;"></wbr><span class="word_break" style="color: #141823; display: inline-block;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823;">hat-ain't-purple is bloom!" </span></i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">And I love all the coneflowers, including those fabulous cultivars, but the basic, straight up, pink coneflower that isn't purple is still the very favourite. </span></span><br />
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This clematis was growing beautifully in a yard on a garden tour in Chester last summer, and I really enjoyed its vigour. I suspect it is 'Nelly Moser' although the gardener didn't know the name. My own collection of clematis is gradually increasing, and they make me extremely happy. </div>
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Although I personally prefer blue mophead or lacecap hydrangeas if I have a choice, the pink ones are pretty fabulous, too. I actually bought a dwarf one at the grocery store this week, pre-Easter, and it's a pink/green one that is pleasing me greatly. This photo, however, is a mophead outdoors at a nursery, name unknown. Incidentally, I don't bring lilies into the house ever, because of the cats, but I love having a small hydrangea inside as we lurch toward spring. </div>
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The luna hibiscus variety 'Cherry Cheesecake' gobsmacked me last summer with its brilliant colouring and the way the colour flows into the veins of each petal. I did not purchase this one--not yet, anyway--but the hardy hibiscus varieties have been doing well for me here in Wolfville so I think this summer I'll add this one.<br />
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Another hardy hibiscus shrub, but I couldn't find the name of this variety in my notes. Normally I can figure out where it was based on where it is in my photo library, but I was visiting someone else's garden (again on a tour) so it remains a mystery. It's inching towards lavender in colour, especially as the petals age, but it's a beautiful thing. </div>
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All the hollyhock relatives like mallow and lavatera make me happy, like this annual variety blooming its face off in another private garden. Some of them selfseed, but I've never found them probelmatic. Pollinators also love them so that's another great reason to embrace them in your pink plantings. </div>
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This portulaca relative is called Purslane, and this is one of the Yubi series of cultivars. I love the incandescent colours of portulaca and purslane, and plant them in containers for brilliant pops of colour throughout the garden. </div>
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This is an old photo, but I wanted to include it, speaking of flamboyant flower colours. This is annual ice plant (Mesembryanthemum), also known for its iridescently gorgeous flowers. Gotta love those African daisy species. It's a bit fussy in growth habit and behaviour but I have to grow it every summer for those colours! </div>
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Pink isn't just for flowers--there are plants with pink in their foliage, perhaps the most commonly known being the dappled willow, Salix 'Nishiki'. But there are also houseplants that feature amazing pink in their foliage, like the bloodleaf in this container planting. It perfectly echoes the hot pink impatiens, and is more gently echoed by the softer pink flowers of the pennesetum grass (likely 'Fireworks'). I really like this container (it was in a public planting in Mahone Bay, NS.)<br />
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Wait a minute. These aren't pink. </div>
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No, they certainly aren't. They're snowdrops. And they're blooming now, and have been for several weeks. </div>
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Definitely an easier March than we had last year! Last year we never saw the snowdrops before mid April--and even later in some areas. </div>
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We'll take this weather. </div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-65176194413794434302016-03-06T12:49:00.001-04:002016-03-06T12:49:56.413-04:00Fleur Photos du Jour: Spike, spike, Baby!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-db9bluR9wow/VtxWmCc2guI/AAAAAAAANjw/P2eAq2OUabA/s1600/phlomis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-db9bluR9wow/VtxWmCc2guI/AAAAAAAANjw/P2eAq2OUabA/s320/phlomis.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Want to add some height and drama to your plantings? Select some plants that hold their flowers on tall stems, or spikes. These generally include many flowers arranged either individually or in clusters around the stem. I like them in drifts when possible, but depending on your choice, one plant may put up a multiple of spikes. Above is yellow Jerusalem Sage (Phlomis), an elegant relative of bee balm. I am hopeful mine will finally bloom this year. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JrGI_Gdzd9M/VtxWlQ-pWlI/AAAAAAAANjg/si1dKAEBG1U/s1600/deep_purple_delphinium-9157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JrGI_Gdzd9M/VtxWlQ-pWlI/AAAAAAAANjg/si1dKAEBG1U/s320/deep_purple_delphinium-9157.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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One thing that needs to be addressed off the bat--many perennials with tall spikes of flowers need to be staked in order to keep them upright and tidy during bloom time. I always say that the blooming of the delphinium and peonies coincides with the annual Delphinium and Peony Wind and Rain Storm, which of course tends to knock them down. I have both species planted in among shrubs, to help protect and support them, but I do have to resort to stakes sometimes.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sOkeVWOyzjo/VtxWlOGHtlI/AAAAAAAANjc/E1KuLfrt_7o/s1600/aconitum%2Bwhite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sOkeVWOyzjo/VtxWlOGHtlI/AAAAAAAANjc/E1KuLfrt_7o/s320/aconitum%2Bwhite.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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I love the elegant stems of Monkshood in my garden, which also are much more reliably perennial for me than their relatives the delphinium. They also bloom at different times; this white one comes in mid summer, but I have two fall-blooming varieties as well, in deep blue and bicolour blue and white. They offer a nice, cooling counterpoint to the normal autumn palette of golds, reds, oranges and bronzes. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IZqMrZaOJlQ/VtxZW8Yz7vI/AAAAAAAANkI/MPcJxaCR_J8/s1600/foxglove_digiplexis-8937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IZqMrZaOJlQ/VtxZW8Yz7vI/AAAAAAAANkI/MPcJxaCR_J8/s320/foxglove_digiplexis-8937.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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I've mentioned this plant before but it bears repeating. New in my garden last year was Digiplexis, a cross between Digitalis (foxglove) and a non-hardy tropical relative. This won't be hardy here, but it bloomed like crazy and in different hues than the traditional foxglove, so I hope to find it again next year. Maybe it will self-seed but if it does it will likely revert to Digitalis form. We'll see!<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5uIH21GUnnw/VtxWluGdyGI/AAAAAAAANjk/CtI-VCxO2T0/s1600/dictamnus_seedhead-7276.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5uIH21GUnnw/VtxWluGdyGI/AAAAAAAANjk/CtI-VCxO2T0/s320/dictamnus_seedhead-7276.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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I like to tell people not to be too hasty to deadhead their perennials, because some have very nice seedheads. Dictamnus, the dittany or gas plant, is a good example of this with its star-shaped seedheads.<br />
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Here's the Dictamnus (the white form) in flower. Not only are the blooms lovely, they are extremely fragrant with a lemony scent. Slow to establish but worth waiting for. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2behA7FZR30/VtxWlN9dmLI/AAAAAAAANjY/LE6F0rGKeQM/s1600/Knifophia-9535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2behA7FZR30/VtxWlN9dmLI/AAAAAAAANjY/LE6F0rGKeQM/s320/Knifophia-9535.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Here's a striking perennial that ought to be grown more often: Kniphofia, also known as red-hot poker, foxtail or torch lily. Most varieties come in shades of yellow or orange, with some colour changing as the flowers age. It is drought tolerant once established which also means you need to plant it where it will have great drainage. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--prGFqsh2fc/VtxWmI-wrmI/AAAAAAAANjs/GYjHFWgIG7s/s1600/penstemon_dark_tower-6527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--prGFqsh2fc/VtxWmI-wrmI/AAAAAAAANjs/GYjHFWgIG7s/s320/penstemon_dark_tower-6527.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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I used to be rather neutral about penstemons, because 'Husker Red' did not thrive for me in my former garden. Then I tried a couple of annual varieties that flowered like crazy, which prompted me to try a perennial form or two again. This was fed by friends who are very fond of penstemons and grow numerous species. Now I have...a bunch of penstemons. This one is called 'Dark Tower.'</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IaxkTg0QpVw/VtxWlMvJ0KI/AAAAAAAANjU/XfOQHbZXeyY/s1600/blue_penstemon-7152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IaxkTg0QpVw/VtxWlMvJ0KI/AAAAAAAANjU/XfOQHbZXeyY/s320/blue_penstemon-7152.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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And this is one of the species, Penstemon strictus, Rocky Mountain penstemon. With those colours in the flowers, it's no wonder I'm fond of it! </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xAJyFPgFvaA/VtxWmZqJZbI/AAAAAAAANj0/K12Ar0IxZww/s1600/stachys_byzantina-9850.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xAJyFPgFvaA/VtxWmZqJZbI/AAAAAAAANj0/K12Ar0IxZww/s320/stachys_byzantina-9850.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Lambs ears (Stachys byzantina) may be an 'old fashioned' perennial, but it's one everyone should include in their gardens. For starters, it's deer-resistant, for those plagued by bambi-itis. For seconds, its foliage is grey-green and fuzzy, adding a distinct colour and texture to your garden as well as the vertical effect. And if you do plant it, don't cut the flowers off--maybe they aren't the most showy, but pollinators LOVE them. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W7m0lFjTyBk/VtxWmuPm_xI/AAAAAAAANj4/P3dL3O_UCNg/s1600/wild_lupines-1578.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W7m0lFjTyBk/VtxWmuPm_xI/AAAAAAAANj4/P3dL3O_UCNg/s320/wild_lupines-1578.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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There are many different types of lupin and their relatives out there. Here in Atlantic Canada, we have lupins growing wild in many places, along roadsides, in meadows, and of course we grow them in our gardens, too. They are imprinted as one of the first flowers I learned the name of, in part because my maternal grandmother grew them in her garden. There are numerous hybrids and colours now available, but I find the unusual colours like red and yellow don't tend to last. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tgwBalwlKl8/VtxWm3I9TRI/AAAAAAAANj8/Rx3q8D05niU/s1600/yellow_thermopsis_other_species-7550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tgwBalwlKl8/VtxWm3I9TRI/AAAAAAAANj8/Rx3q8D05niU/s320/yellow_thermopsis_other_species-7550.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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To get around that problem with yellow lupins that don't act perennially, I grow two different types of Thermopsis, or yellow false-lupins. They are related, obviously, and as an added bonus, the species I grow produce rather handsome black seedheads which look quite striking in flower arrangements or just standing in the garden. </div>
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This has highlighted just a few perennials with spiky stems--there are many, many more, and of course there are annuals too, and I didn't even touch the grasses! What's your favourite for adding vertical accents to your garden? </div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-75904494688850344492016-02-29T22:27:00.000-04:002016-02-29T22:27:25.439-04:00An interlude: Taking my camera for drives<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aSOpfcn7JpU/VtTl5AtlXAI/AAAAAAAANic/Tncw_LZwfyk/s1600/blomidon_winter-9347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aSOpfcn7JpU/VtTl5AtlXAI/AAAAAAAANic/Tncw_LZwfyk/s320/blomidon_winter-9347.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Early last year, I decided it was time to challenge myself in new directions. I decided to learn to be a better photographer, learning my camera and lenses and settings, learning to use Lightroom and Photoshop for image storage, organization, and editing. To learn to go beyond taking photos of only plants (and occasionally cats) and to expand my areas of interest. </div>
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I will never be a professional photographer the way some of my heroes are--<a href="http://www.freemanpatterson.com/">Freeman Patterson</a>, <a href="http://www.ernestcadegan.com/pans2013/">Ernest Cadegan</a>, <a href="http://www.johnsylvester.com/">John Sylvester</a>, among others--but I learn from each of them from studying their work. I have learned to see in a different way than I once did. And I find the joy not in exotic locales, but around me. I derive enormous pleasure out of exploring my local world. Just shunpiking my way down back roads in Kings County, where I live, or other counties in the province, has yielded me much in the way of photographic delights, adventures and learning. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P-WgZ5lo15c/VtTl7EkIRJI/AAAAAAAANi8/e7O_GVTpTEI/s1600/storm_day-2475.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P-WgZ5lo15c/VtTl7EkIRJI/AAAAAAAANi8/e7O_GVTpTEI/s320/storm_day-2475.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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What makes a great photo? It's the photographer's eye, to begin with, not the tools. I took the above photo on a cold, blustery day about a month ago--with my iPhone. From my car window. I shared it on Facebook to rave reviews from friends, who loved the mood of it. Which is what I was going for, not technical perfection. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tMfBI51RJdw/VtTl5H55JnI/AAAAAAAANig/YAuffXxQFeo/s1600/baxterstoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tMfBI51RJdw/VtTl5H55JnI/AAAAAAAANig/YAuffXxQFeo/s320/baxterstoo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This, on the other hand, was taken with tripod, my Canon 70D, ND filter, etc...it also captures a mood. I had just as much fun making one as the other.<br />
What I tell people is this; the camera is like the oven, the photographer is the cook. You create the image, and the camera captures it. Don't think you need a dozen lenses and an expensive camera to have fun and make beautiful pictures.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5yKMHx3hxco/VtTl5KC4XYI/AAAAAAAANiY/0UK1ia7vmjY/s1600/cape_st_marys-3958%2Bcopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5yKMHx3hxco/VtTl5KC4XYI/AAAAAAAANiY/0UK1ia7vmjY/s320/cape_st_marys-3958%2Bcopy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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There are certain things in my world that I have a deep and abiding love for. Living in Canada's Ocean Playground, on the mighty Bay of Fundy, I am part water creature, and love being near the shore. I adore lighthouses. All lighthouses. This one is at Cape St. Mary's, Digby county, with a little fog playing with the atmospherics.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AdfJZtZtPng/VtTl5dCCiAI/AAAAAAAANik/orE24cLPhaQ/s1600/crow%2Bon%2Bcrosssign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AdfJZtZtPng/VtTl5dCCiAI/AAAAAAAANik/orE24cLPhaQ/s320/crow%2Bon%2Bcrosssign.jpg" width="229" /></a></div>
I am very fond of crows and ravens, which are extremely clever birds. I caught this one sitting on the fencepost leading to the French Cross in Grand-Pré, and just had to preserve the moment. The crow graciously stayed put for me to get a few pictures before soaring off on important crow duties.<br />
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We have a group of artists in Kings County who every year throughout the summer do an outdoor show around the county called <a href="http://www.uncommoncommonart.com/">Uncommon Common Art</a>. Every piece is different, in different media, from fibre to metal to found objects and more. This is part of a recent installation, also in Grand-Pré, which is left standing over winter. Can't wait to see what goes up this year.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b7FlEKKuqeM/VtTl6UzMsmI/AAAAAAAANi0/LQMNQI-8eQ4/s1600/huntington_point-8081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b7FlEKKuqeM/VtTl6UzMsmI/AAAAAAAANi0/LQMNQI-8eQ4/s320/huntington_point-8081.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Naturally, being a gardener, I am very fond of trees, and I find them moody and rewarding subjects any time of the year. During a recent autumn storm, the surf was rocking and rolling along the shore by Halls Harbour, and I loved the steadfast trees, unphased by the weather. </div>
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Another day took me further down the shore into Annapolis County, on a summer day of torrential rainfalls and thunderstorms, resulting in streams full to overflowing and cascading off the rocky cliffs like some sort of a tropical other-worldly place. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TTpWJAKLyD8/VtTl7SRolgI/AAAAAAAANjA/-LsO9ov6IRc/s1600/northville_abandoned-9194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TTpWJAKLyD8/VtTl7SRolgI/AAAAAAAANjA/-LsO9ov6IRc/s320/northville_abandoned-9194.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Taking photos of people doesn't really interest me because I'm not good at it and people puzzle me rather a lot. But things that people MAKE is quite another story. Specifically, buildings. Old buildings. Abandoned or otherwise falling-down buildings. I have a huge affection for them, whether it be a seemingly nice, but very much abandoned house like this one, or some of the huge barns that are found all around the province (and elsewhere, but most of my building capturing has been in Nova Scotia. Some in Newfoundland last summer and a little in Iles de la Madeleine, but we'll get to those in due course.)</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gnWQ1s93RO0/VtTl54CHqTI/AAAAAAAANio/1liJiWAORuw/s1600/crows-6756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gnWQ1s93RO0/VtTl54CHqTI/AAAAAAAANio/1liJiWAORuw/s320/crows-6756.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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So, because this is my blog and I can post what I want, some images of life in my part of the world. I'll do this from time to time, and hope you'll enjoy--and more importantly, that you'll be encouraged to take your camera for a walk, or a drive, and see what you can find that makes your heart glad.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-43773808097464737892016-02-22T19:19:00.000-04:002016-02-22T19:19:05.322-04:00A Post-Valentine Chocolate Treat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vsb7XZXWWL8/VsuKUVSl-6I/AAAAAAAANhk/lZM3xurO5V4/s1600/chocolate%2Bfoxglove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vsb7XZXWWL8/VsuKUVSl-6I/AAAAAAAANhk/lZM3xurO5V4/s320/chocolate%2Bfoxglove.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
First, a weather report. Last year this time we were buried in snow, and we remained that way for the better part of two months. Today--there is only snow in the plowed piles, in ditches and woods and places like that. The back yard is bare. The birds are singing like crazy. The cats are starting to shed--and they're indoor cats so I am a little surprised. We know full well we're not out of the woods yet, weather wise, but we'll take this little hiatus and be happy with it.<br />
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Now, on to the weekly gathering of Fleur photos. Last week was preempted by posting about the orchid show so we're doing the Valentine's post the same way some people buy chocolate and flowers--after the event. But these aren't plants from the half-price bin. Not at all.<br />
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Because I love chocolate, and because I love unusually-coloured flowers, I am naturally drawn to have a collection of chocolate-coloured perennials. I don't have Akebia, the chocolate vine, but I have a number of plants that are either chocolate-y in colour, or include the word in their name, or both. We'll start with the photo at the top of this post, Digitalis 'Milk Chocolate'. I haven't had this plant since moving to Wolfville, but a friend has told me of a mutual acquaintance who will happily share seedlings with me. Happy day!<br />
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There are a number of daylilies that include chocolate in their name, but I don't have any of them. So the closest I can offer from my personal collection is 'Black Arrowhead', which I quite love. A friend has 'Teddy Bear's Picnic', which is described as having light chocolate flowers with a deeper colour. I'll stick with mine, floriferous and easy going as it is. It looks great with the orange Asclepias, too. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iqzdGVgLWKw/VsuKUlRg66I/AAAAAAAANh0/lr8Jt2X3Wd8/s1600/chocolate_baptisia-1766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iqzdGVgLWKw/VsuKUlRg66I/AAAAAAAANh0/lr8Jt2X3Wd8/s320/chocolate_baptisia-1766.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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I love the ease of baptisas: they are deer resistant, for those troubled by Bambi, they don't get aphids the way their relatives the lupins do, and they make a shrub-like plant with glossy foliage and great seedheads. This variety is called 'Decadence Dutch Chocolate' and I had to have it when I found it last year. You probably will, too. Just be patient with it--Baptisias can take a couple years to settle in unless you buy 2nd- or 3rd-year plants.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-az43TEEoYNM/VsuKUXI_eZI/AAAAAAAANho/MOLnZjZ9KsU/s1600/Black%2BDiamond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-az43TEEoYNM/VsuKUXI_eZI/AAAAAAAANho/MOLnZjZ9KsU/s320/Black%2BDiamond.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This hellebore is one of the so-called 'black' ones, and it is just gorgeous. I believe this is 'Onyx Odyssey' but there are at least several others that are equally dark and delightful. My hellebores are all sleeping quietly beneath some evergreen boughs, but I did notice buds forming before I mulched them. Something to look forward to!<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VunBdBMl25M/VsuKUw-k4HI/AAAAAAAANhw/P7xmAbn89zw/s1600/chocolateboneset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VunBdBMl25M/VsuKUw-k4HI/AAAAAAAANhw/P7xmAbn89zw/s320/chocolateboneset.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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You're no doubt wondering why this white-flowered perennial is part of the mix. It's 'Chocolate' boneset (Eupatorium), so called because its foliage is a bronzy-chocolate-green shade. It's a late, late bloomer, often the last perennial to flower in my garden. Late pollinators love it, too.<br />
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The chocolate cosmos is a delightful thing that actually does smell of chocolate! It's an interesting annual that forms tubers in the soil, and can be overwintered and planted the following year. It blooms and blooms and blooms, especially if you remember to deadhead the spent flower stems. And yes, the scent is lovely.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1rlL7UAQi_I/VsuKV5QtLhI/AAAAAAAANh8/xQLIHBxYQQU/s1600/chocolatesalpiglossis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1rlL7UAQi_I/VsuKV5QtLhI/AAAAAAAANh8/xQLIHBxYQQU/s320/chocolatesalpiglossis.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Despite its gorgeous deep chocolate colour, Salpiglossis 'Chocolate Royale' does not have any fragrance. But we'll forgive it because of that striking colour (and it loks so great with the kangaroo paw planted beside it). </div>
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The name of this sunflower wasn't attached to the photo when I went searching through my files, but it is either 'Chocolate Cherry' or else just 'Chocolate'. I don't have it anymore, and haven't seen seeds locally, but since I never met a sunflower of any colour that I didn't adore, it's okay. I haven't looked too hard for seeds since I am so busy there's not a lot of time for planting seeds!<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LwyMcRKSWXo/VsuKWKBvm2I/AAAAAAAANiE/mjhVkaff1YM/s1600/oncidium_sharry_baby-9475.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LwyMcRKSWXo/VsuKWKBvm2I/AAAAAAAANiE/mjhVkaff1YM/s320/oncidium_sharry_baby-9475.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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With last week's <a href="http://bloomingwriter.blogspot.ca/2016/02/in-lieu-of-herald-column-orchids-for.html">post about orchids</a>, I put up a photo of Oncidium 'Sharry Baby' orchid, and mentioned that it is definitely chocolate scented. Several friends have been here while it's been blooming and now can attest for themselves the divine fragrance of the plant. </div>
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That's all for this week, as we're really busy getting the next issue of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Saltscapesmagazine">Saltscapes magazine</a> ready to go to print. Also, we're only two months away from the 12th annual <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS4NEvGgTjU">Saltscapes East Coast Expo</a>, so there's lots going on. Before we know it, it really WILL be spring. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-20253109930022933142016-02-14T14:18:00.001-04:002016-02-14T14:18:47.734-04:00In Lieu of Herald Column: Orchids for the Midwinter Blahs<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RDsLb5UoAtQ/VsC4DxjRFwI/AAAAAAAANgg/IxG4l2ujTyM/s1600/cattelya%2Borchid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RDsLb5UoAtQ/VsC4DxjRFwI/AAAAAAAANgg/IxG4l2ujTyM/s320/cattelya%2Borchid.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>A note to my readers: Normally, I write a gardening column for the provincial paper of record, the Halifax Chronicle Herald. I've been doing this for probably 12-15 years (I can't honestly remember when I started). However, though I choose to be a freelancer rather than an employee, I am also electing not to file my column to the paper while the regular journalists, including editors and photographers, that work at the paper are out on strike, due to a draconian and poorly-thought-out attack by the owners and management of the paper. So I'm posting my column here, instead.</i></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X_NWV0-QeeQ/VsC4FEY-FvI/AAAAAAAANg0/WwTahegMHnM/s1600/orchidsacadia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X_NWV0-QeeQ/VsC4FEY-FvI/AAAAAAAANg0/WwTahegMHnM/s320/orchidsacadia.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I will never been an expert in or specialist about any particular type of plants. There are far, far too many that fascinate me, both outdoors and as houseplants, native and exotic. Especially, I will never be an expert on orchids. But I do love them in their myriad forms, colours, shapes, species, hybrids...I love the native and hardy varieties that we can grow outdoors in our gardens, like Cypripedium lady slippers and Bletilla hyacinth orchids. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cQvzC11ixwg/VsC64KnE9oI/AAAAAAAANhU/JDfbkv8Kfoo/s1600/yellow_ladyslipper-2398.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cQvzC11ixwg/VsC64KnE9oI/AAAAAAAANhU/JDfbkv8Kfoo/s320/yellow_ladyslipper-2398.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">(yellow lady slipper, native to NS) While this is gorgeous, it is not suited to every garden, and it's recommended that you consult a good greenhouse before trying one in your own garden. </span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f7w_mkW9-lU/VsC4FHKGJBI/AAAAAAAANg8/x9JPdgGqPxk/s1600/phalanopsis_small-9899.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f7w_mkW9-lU/VsC4FHKGJBI/AAAAAAAANg8/x9JPdgGqPxk/s320/phalanopsis_small-9899.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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But I do profess to be rather besotted with the exotic orchids that we grow in our homes, or sigh over in other people's homes. And I can tell you, they are worse than potato chips, because you really, really cannot have just one. </div>
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Like many others, I used to think I couldn't grow orchids--that they were highly demanding, requiring just the right amount of heat and light and special growing media and pots and if you looked at them sideways they would die. Okay, there are certainly some that are particular, but there are many that are quite happy, or at least tolerant, of most home growing conditions. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0JEUkqSES24/VsC4Fgh1ENI/AAAAAAAANhE/Tp9oglNJ18E/s1600/white_phalaenopsis-9887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0JEUkqSES24/VsC4Fgh1ENI/AAAAAAAANhE/Tp9oglNJ18E/s320/white_phalaenopsis-9887.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>
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I'll always be grateful to the acquaintance who was an orchid expert--a judge, breeder, and seller of these glorious plants--and who gave me a small, tough, and interesting orchid. This was about the time that moth orchids, (Phalaenopsis), became widely available and dropped in price accordingly. Suddenly, they were worth trying because they were no more expensive than other flowering plants and if they throve, fabulous. If they went to sleep, I could deal with that, too. Turned out they liked my growing conditions and they did rather marvellously. I was hooked. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZSztIedmcR4/VsC4DXMn7HI/AAAAAAAANgY/1EffgSNYmXA/s1600/gorgeous%2Bpaph%2Borchid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZSztIedmcR4/VsC4DXMn7HI/AAAAAAAANgY/1EffgSNYmXA/s320/gorgeous%2Bpaph%2Borchid.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Getting braver, I consulted with another orchid enthusiast and bought my first Paphiopedilum, one of the non-native genera also given the common name of ladyslipper orchid. I nurtured it with care and when it flowered for me the next winter, I was so proud of myself. And got a little more daring as a result. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ew0ypbbuXLg/VsC4FkgbbjI/AAAAAAAANhA/cHSg7N6iHzQ/s1600/sharry_baby_orchid-9893.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ew0ypbbuXLg/VsC4FkgbbjI/AAAAAAAANhA/cHSg7N6iHzQ/s320/sharry_baby_orchid-9893.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>
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Now I also have a couple of Oncidiums, also known as 'dancing lady' orchids. This is the chocolate-scented 'Sharry Baby', which is a delightful plant both for all its flowers and for that fragrance. </div>
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One of the most important things when growing orchids is to make sure to use filtered water from the tap, or rainwater. Filtering tap water is important because some natural sources of drinking water can be alkaline, which affects the available nitrogen orchids need for healthy growth. Don't use bottled water, which can have high levels of salt, definitely not good for orchids! And don't overwater your orchids, which will kill them quite quickly. I give mine a drink, then let the water drain away from the pot, so that standing water doesn't cause root rot. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KhF6wHAopkQ/VsC4D7xI12I/AAAAAAAANgk/OoGZhPu1jfs/s1600/green_cymbidium-9886.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KhF6wHAopkQ/VsC4D7xI12I/AAAAAAAANgk/OoGZhPu1jfs/s320/green_cymbidium-9886.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My fondness for green flowers is well known, so it's no surprise that I would have green orchids--both a moth orchid, and this fabulous Cymbidium. At one time I had a green-flowered lady slipper orchid, but it succumbed during the transition from one place to another til I finally landed here in Wolfville. Oh well. Plants come and go, as a wise gardener once told me.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qv4frnsJ7a4/VsC4EZt4ZEI/AAAAAAAANgs/59gKrBN5htg/s1600/moreorchids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qv4frnsJ7a4/VsC4EZt4ZEI/AAAAAAAANgs/59gKrBN5htg/s320/moreorchids.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It is important to match your home's light and heat conditions with the right type of orchids. Many enthusiasts have an attached greenhouse, solarium, or a special room dedicated to growing the more tropical types that require higher temperatures and humidity than the average home can offer. If you can find a local enthusiast and ask questions, these folks are very generous with advice, tips and suggestions. They often have plants for sale as well, which is an added plus! You can buy moth orchids at department and grocery stores as well as at florist shops, but finding more unusual species may be a little more challenging.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VwDuhSTGoeA/VsC4Fb_b-lI/AAAAAAAANg4/nIlIQjAP5zc/s1600/rob%2527s%2Bpaph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VwDuhSTGoeA/VsC4Fb_b-lI/AAAAAAAANg4/nIlIQjAP5zc/s320/rob%2527s%2Bpaph.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ask orchid enthusiasts about what they grow their plants in, and you'll get a variety of opinions on the best medium. Orchids in stores are often potted up in sphagnum moss, which can stay soggy and cause root rot, or dry out and be hard to rewet. Either way, it's only good for about a year before it has broken down completely. If you're going to use bark, order or purchase bark that is FOR orchids, not bark out of the mulch in your hard. Some growers are now using coir fibre (coconut husk fibre) but before transplanting their orchids into this medium, they treat it with epsom salts and calcium nitrate to remove naturally-found salts that can cause root burn. I have no experience with this product, but I bought a bag of bark sold by a reputable potting medium company which I have just used to pot up a couple of my plants. We'll see how they do before I mention the name. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jPLLeMg3jx4/VsC4DkHzg5I/AAAAAAAANgc/PHi0tmfiuMw/s1600/Brookside%2BBLC%2BWanda%2527s%2BFire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jPLLeMg3jx4/VsC4DkHzg5I/AAAAAAAANgc/PHi0tmfiuMw/s320/Brookside%2BBLC%2BWanda%2527s%2BFire.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
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If you want some inspiration and to be able to pick the brains of experienced orchid growers, do check out the Orchid show at the <a href="http://botanicalgardens.acadiau.ca/event-reader/annual-orchid-show-and-sale-at-the-harriet-irving-botanical-gardens.html">KC Irving Environmental Science</a> on Saturday, February 20, 1030am-4 pm. This annual show includes some breathtakingly gorgeous plants, and hopefully there will be vendors this year after a hiatus last year. This show is a photographer's dream and the perfect antidote to the winter blahs.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W240bl7rPig/VsC4EjFS9PI/AAAAAAAANgw/b9cAiQyqliQ/s1600/orchiddisplay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W240bl7rPig/VsC4EjFS9PI/AAAAAAAANgw/b9cAiQyqliQ/s320/orchiddisplay.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-37327522929348412712016-02-07T11:07:00.000-04:002016-02-07T11:07:09.821-04:00The green, green fleurs of home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--ehKF4jfiwI/VrdRIOMLqEI/AAAAAAAANe0/7oc_2DFx5OQ/s1600/green_cymbidium-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--ehKF4jfiwI/VrdRIOMLqEI/AAAAAAAANe0/7oc_2DFx5OQ/s320/green_cymbidium-.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I've been trying to remember when my fascination with green flowers began. It's a very polarizing colour, in that people either love it in flowers, or they don't. Some don't think there is enough contrast between the green of the flowers and that of the foliage. To which I say: there are myriad different greens, and enough of these varieties have contrasting colours in them to make them even more striking. But each to their own. </div>
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The above is a Cymbidium orchid at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HarrietIrvingBotanicalGardens/?fref=ts">Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens</a>, part of the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kcirvingcentre/?fref=ts">KC Irving Science Centre</a> at Acadia University in Wolfville. This is a reminder that the annual orchid show will be held on Saturday, February 20, 1030am-4 pm at the Centre. You should visit. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u0kZDAG7E10/VrdRG7YbSvI/AAAAAAAANfQ/BdKQd9EN1lk/s1600/acanthus_species-3024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u0kZDAG7E10/VrdRG7YbSvI/AAAAAAAANfQ/BdKQd9EN1lk/s320/acanthus_species-3024.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Some flowers listed as green will have white, pink, or other hue in them as well. This is an Acanthus (Bear's Britches), with a lot of green in the flowers as they begin. Gradually they flush with more rose to them, but the green remains, at least in the plant I trialed last year. I'm hopeful it will overwinter, as the man I purchased it from said it's more reliably hardy here than others. We'll see! </span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IP7BVxQGb7Q/VrdRI8ucrII/AAAAAAAANfE/P1AO-U5t9Rs/s1600/phlox_green_-9302.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IP7BVxQGb7Q/VrdRI8ucrII/AAAAAAAANfE/P1AO-U5t9Rs/s320/phlox_green_-9302.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This tall phlox is called 'Jade', although it might more accurately be named Jade Tips. I really like it and keep it in my garden, along with 'Sherbet Cocktail', which has pink, green and white in its flowers, because both bloom very well for me and have shown no signs of reversion. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8At7cyUjVbM/VrdRHJJqUwI/AAAAAAAANeg/GOj3BR9_sSU/s1600/amaryllis_papillon-5209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8At7cyUjVbM/VrdRHJJqUwI/AAAAAAAANeg/GOj3BR9_sSU/s320/amaryllis_papillon-5209.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Amaryllis. I love them in any colour, including the so-called 'common' orange, white and red varieties. But this is 'Papillon' and really, really rocks my world with its striking green-and-red flowers. Anyone who has grown this variety tends to cherish and keep it indefinitely. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zPoAZ4fpnIY/VrdRG-r9YrI/AAAAAAAANek/BBQDJ4yheLA/s1600/astrantia_with_green-6591.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zPoAZ4fpnIY/VrdRG-r9YrI/AAAAAAAANek/BBQDJ4yheLA/s320/astrantia_with_green-6591.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I know I've waxed on about <a href="http://bloomingwriter.blogspot.ca/2007/12/top-ten-plants-perennials.html">Astrantia in the past </a>but if you've not begun growing this perennial, we need to have a talk. It's been one of my top ten perennial choices since I first discovered it, and continues to stay there. Masterwort, as it is commonly called, is related to sea holly and carrots (same family, Apiaceae, aka the dill family). Flowers feature a ruffled, papery bract around them which holds its colour for a long time. Florists apparently love to use masterworts, but my main reason for loving them is their irresistible nature--pollinators adore them. My friend Lloyd Mapplebeck of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Hillendale-Perennials-594361150577238/?fref=nf">Hillendale Perennials</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/594361150577238/photos/a.594876407192379.152142.594361150577238/1250507124962634/?type=3&theater">loves this perennial too</a>, and carries several varieties. Most of them come in shades of red or pink, but there are several that are white, and have enough green in their flowers to be included in this post. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1Nr7syyfw7g/VrdRHh5I_NI/AAAAAAAANeo/NBFdzhg32sk/s1600/eryngium_miss_wilmott-0228.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1Nr7syyfw7g/VrdRHh5I_NI/AAAAAAAANeo/NBFdzhg32sk/s320/eryngium_miss_wilmott-0228.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Another of my top ten perennials is Eryngium, or sea holly. Most of them have highly showy cones of petite flowers surrounded by a spiky, ruffled bract, and most are blue; but many of them start out green and flush to blue as the flowers get mature. This variety, Miss Wilmott's Ghost, has very large flowerheads, and the flowers gradually turn silvery green to silver before fading to tan shades once it has finished blooming. Oh, how I love it! </div>
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One of the absolute greenest of green flowers is 'Francesca' primula, which I finally got my eager hands on several years ago. The sunny yellow centres of the flowers just causes the green to look even fresher and more delicious, and I have mine planted near pulmonaria and brunnera, so the lacy blue flowers and silvery foliage makes an extra effective backdrop. I have another green primula, an auricula variety called 'Green Meadow', which I bought from <a href="https://www.wrightmanalpines.com/all-plants/primula-auricula-green-meadow">Wrightmans Alpines</a> last year when they were at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/acraups/?fref=ts">Rare and Unusual Plant Sale in Annapolis Royal</a>, and which I absolutely adore. Primulas could become an obsession for me...</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0cRLaExl5ss/VpFwzJTPFPI/AAAAAAAANWc/aPZhksXwfhg/s1600/Green%2Bprimula.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0cRLaExl5ss/VpFwzJTPFPI/AAAAAAAANWc/aPZhksXwfhg/s320/Green%2Bprimula.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Primula 'Green Meadow'. Isn't it a dandy?</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RmYQ7JCOJNM/VrdRIGyBbKI/AAAAAAAANe8/bjHRCEZnj6Y/s1600/green_jewel_-2238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RmYQ7JCOJNM/VrdRIGyBbKI/AAAAAAAANe8/bjHRCEZnj6Y/s320/green_jewel_-2238.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My fondness for coneflowers is also very well known, and I was so very pleased when the first green cone varieties, 'Jade' and 'Green Envy' appeared on the scene. Both of those pale, however, in comparison to 'Green Jewel' which is a more compact variety than some but so very, very green. Those dazzling centre cones hold their colour for a very long time, and the flowers are also fragrant, so the pollinators also adore it. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7SZSui3fLVM/Vrdag53OePI/AAAAAAAANfY/xaLGeX9DV9o/s1600/little_lime_hydrangea-3150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7SZSui3fLVM/Vrdag53OePI/AAAAAAAANfY/xaLGeX9DV9o/s320/little_lime_hydrangea-3150.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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When I moved to a smaller place several years ago, I knew I'd have to scale down the garden and thus also the number and size of shrubs I added. So I was very, very happy when 'Little Lime' hydrangea appeared on the scene. It's a smaller version of my beloved 'Limelight', which gets quite large, and its flowers are delicately green, flushing to a bit of rose and then tan as they age. Happily, I cut down an annoying poplar last summer so I've decided I CAN also have 'Limelight', as it will grow quickly quite large and provide some shade for a part of the garden that is missing shade in the heat of the afternoons. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qvNi5yquptc/VrdRIjzQkDI/AAAAAAAANfA/qBCOE7xhmRM/s1600/nicotiana_langsdorfii-7331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qvNi5yquptc/VrdRIjzQkDI/AAAAAAAANfA/qBCOE7xhmRM/s320/nicotiana_langsdorfii-7331.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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I don't focus much on annuals in this post although there are a few great green-flowered varieties, like Bells of Ireland, and some of the petunia cultivars that are green-and-fuchsia/pink. But my favourite annual with green blooms is Nicotiana langsdorfii, which has many sprays of petite green trumpet-shaped flowers and is quietly showy--if that makes sense. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qW1t4_-AAB8/VrdRJMccl6I/AAAAAAAANfI/foI5t8Of4Wo/s1600/silver_lace_hellebore-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qW1t4_-AAB8/VrdRJMccl6I/AAAAAAAANfI/foI5t8Of4Wo/s320/silver_lace_hellebore-.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The snow melted so much this past week that my hellebores emerged from hiding and were showing buds--so I quickly mulched them with evergreen boughs to lull them back to sleep. This hellebore variety, 'Silver Lace', has green flowers with silvery-green foliage, and is very attractive. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4Rha4Gf-d0Y/VrdRIWpLWqI/AAAAAAAANe4/sqoAIxezjdc/s1600/my_green_oncidium-9662.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4Rha4Gf-d0Y/VrdRIWpLWqI/AAAAAAAANe4/sqoAIxezjdc/s320/my_green_oncidium-9662.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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And to conclude this ode to green flowers, a green cymbidium similar to the one I showed at the beginning of this post. That one, however, belonged to someone else. This one is MINE, all mine. </div>
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So, where do you fall in the green flower fan club? Adore or abhor? </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-2228375259999165782016-01-31T13:28:00.001-04:002016-01-31T13:28:09.611-04:00When colour descriptions fail, make up your own: Porange!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Flower colours sometimes defy easy description. Some plants have blooms that start one shade then turn to another, or varieties that come in numerous different shades, or that have multiple hues in the same bloom. Shades of pink, orange, and red. So I simply call them Porange, or Poranged, depending on what colours are in the flowers. When the language fails you, make up your own words, right? </div>
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Echinaceas are in my top five perennials, and always have been, but ever since the newer shades of yellow, orange, red, green came into being, I've really embraced them. I'm not sure how many different cultivars I have now, but quite a few, both doubles and singles, in every shade conceivable. Some of them, like 'Hot Papaya', really do change colours as the flowers mature, and epitomize the Porange colour. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pqlREbKvOKM/Vq43UC4CeDI/AAAAAAAANdE/DgsqwBVFSXY/s1600/bidens_fireburst-8035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pqlREbKvOKM/Vq43UC4CeDI/AAAAAAAANdE/DgsqwBVFSXY/s320/bidens_fireburst-8035.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Normally, I am not a fan of bidens--the common one is a <a href="http://bloomingwriter.blogspot.ca/2016/01/fleur-photos-du-jour-yellow-time.html">shade of yellow</a> that doesn't really work for me, even though there are other flowers in a similar shade that do. But last spring, <a href="http://www.provenwinners.com/">Proven Winners</a> sent me some new annuals to trial, including <a href="https://www.provenwinners.com/videos/campfire-fireburst-bidens">Bidens Campfire 'Fireburst'.</a> I am a fan! It has bronzy dark green foliage and flowers that epitomize Poranged: they have pink, orange, red and a little yellow thrown in for good measure, and the flowers change colour as they mature. It also bloomed its face off all season long, until I finally consigned its containers to the compost heap in early November. You can bet I will plant it again this spring.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4ZXM2iYU7AA/Vq43UEirCrI/AAAAAAAANdA/Yp92Wsc7FMU/s1600/bouganvillea-9017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4ZXM2iYU7AA/Vq43UEirCrI/AAAAAAAANdA/Yp92Wsc7FMU/s320/bouganvillea-9017.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I do confess to having bougainvillea envy, because I have never tried to grow one, both because they get quite large and also because they are apparently toxic to cats. While my cats seem to have a sense about what not to bother, I don't like to take chances. Just LOOK at this, though--the flowers are luminescent shades of pink and orange together in this cultivar.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g3lkjrIKvng/Vq43UgClmBI/AAAAAAAANdM/AIh8fhgkHdY/s1600/coreopsis_red_chiffon-2954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g3lkjrIKvng/Vq43UgClmBI/AAAAAAAANdM/AIh8fhgkHdY/s320/coreopsis_red_chiffon-2954.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Of equally delightful colouring are some of the coreopsis varieties. Many of them are still that school-bus yellow that isn't all that, at least in my colour preferences, but there have been many new colour breakthroughs in recent years. Some of them aren't reliably hardy here in my zone, but if they bloom their faces off all season long, I'm of the opinion that they are worth planting if they're reasonably priced. I only put Coreopsis 'Red Chiffon' in last season, so I don't know yet if it's hardy or not. We'll see come spring! </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cBsF195_JVs/Vq43U1S134I/AAAAAAAANdQ/UFA4JV9K_qA/s1600/foxglove_digiplexis-8937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cBsF195_JVs/Vq43U1S134I/AAAAAAAANdQ/UFA4JV9K_qA/s320/foxglove_digiplexis-8937.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Digiplexis burst on the scene locally last year, and very glad we were that it did! This is a cross between the Canary Island foxglove (Isoplexis) and our good old stalwart Digitalis purpurea, producing flowers that have a slightly different shape and come in some glorious shades. This one is 'Illumination Flame'. It's not hardy here but it flowered really well so I will likely plant it again this spring. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IIQCX428dAQ/Vq43VZk_iCI/AAAAAAAANdo/XWVy1EnrNA8/s1600/parrot%2Btulips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IIQCX428dAQ/Vq43VZk_iCI/AAAAAAAANdo/XWVy1EnrNA8/s320/parrot%2Btulips.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I love tulips in pretty much any shade and form except common red and yellow--and I'll take those in winter as cut flowers! But my favourites are a tie between the viridiflora, the green-flowered tulips, and the parrots, which have flouncy, frilled petals in gorgeous shades. Of all the parrots, I think Apricot Parrot is my favourite, changing shades of pink-orange-apricot as it does--and with touches of green in the flowers, how could I resist? You'll see this photo again a little further down.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GOb4Fq0YCFg/Vq43VSycyrI/AAAAAAAANdk/mhU7gxur4r8/s1600/nasturtiums-8959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GOb4Fq0YCFg/Vq43VSycyrI/AAAAAAAANdk/mhU7gxur4r8/s320/nasturtiums-8959.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Although these particular nasturtiums and geranium might not really be Porange, taken all together they are. I don't care if nasturtiums and zonal geraniums, better called pelargoniums, are considered common. I love them in all their happy shades.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--CjNW1gnRoY/Vq43VnJ0RBI/AAAAAAAANds/7gbfCH6fpAw/s1600/porange_poppy-3022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--CjNW1gnRoY/Vq43VnJ0RBI/AAAAAAAANds/7gbfCH6fpAw/s320/porange_poppy-3022.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Although I'm fond of all poppies, the Icelandics are a favourite because they bloom like mad maniacs all summer long--and generally self sow a few of themselves for next year. I hope this one does, because it was simply stunning. It was a little hard to capture its gorgeous shades, but those crumpled-silk petals? Irresistible! </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cwQs3xYQQJA/Vq44guW5eJI/AAAAAAAANeM/nTsz2zQ2E3Y/s1600/Jodi%2BDeLong%2Bdaylily-0932.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cwQs3xYQQJA/Vq44guW5eJI/AAAAAAAANeM/nTsz2zQ2E3Y/s320/Jodi%2BDeLong%2Bdaylily-0932.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
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My friend <a href="http://harbourbreezes.ca/content/jodi-delong">Allan Banks of Harbour Breezes Dallies and Japanese Iris</a> in Jeddore, NS, paid me an enormous complement two years ago, by registering a daylily in my name. He also named one for my buddy and fellow <a href="http://harbourbreezes.ca/content/robert-w-h-baldwin">plant nut Rob Baldwin</a> of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BaldwinsNursery">Baldwin's Nurseries</a>, too. Both of them have shades of Porange in them. (Mine is better because it also has a green throat, and I love that in daylilies. Hee hee. )</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Caxe1B33k2I/Vq43UwKLbNI/AAAAAAAANdY/a184_984OJs/s1600/lowells_flowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Caxe1B33k2I/Vq43UwKLbNI/AAAAAAAANdY/a184_984OJs/s320/lowells_flowers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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To wrap up...a photo that only contains one porange flower, but is special in other ways. Yesterday, it was four years since my beloved husband passed away. I shared this collage and post on my personal Facebook page, and I'll share it here: </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; text-align: start;">When we got together, he didn't know a lot about flowers by name, but he learned and had his favourites. So here is a bouquet of them, and for those who have missed my Lowell-stories, </span><br style="color: #141823; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; text-align: start;">He loved sunflowers, and I still smile thinking of him making up stories/poems about this huge one outside our bathroom window. He really, really liked tulips and poppies but he invariab</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #141823; display: inline; text-align: start;">ly called the poppies tulips and the tulips, poppies. And would laugh in that huge joyful way about it.<br />He was fascinated by my orchids, especially the green paphiopedilum I had with its china, alien beauty. He was afraid to touch it--he did have a knack for breaking things like pottery, so he would come in the office and look at it then look at me and shut his eyes and say, "not touching!" (he did the same thing with my Nova Scotia Crystal single malt glasses, too!)<br />In the late winter/early spring, he would burst in the house and though he could never remember the name 'hepatica' he would remember it had something to do with liver and he'd announce "that liver-flower is in bloom already!"<br />But his favourite was the wild red trillium, which he rescued some of from a woodlot nearby and helped me plant in our garden. And in the spring of an evening, we'd go down to the woods and we'd count how many trillium were in flower. He would get so excited and he'd call them 'he' or 'she' as in, 'he's going to have quite a few blossoms in a couple days," or, 'she's growing well but she's not going to flower this year.'<br />I miss him. With every breath I take. But "and now I'm left without, but you're here within."</span></i></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-40389864677311529682016-01-24T09:30:00.000-04:002016-01-24T09:30:00.147-04:00Love is Blue...Flowers<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-caSlMFk4Jfw/VqRFCY82WjI/AAAAAAAANcE/U9mcCvQ5pho/s1600/borage%2Bwith%2Bpollinator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-caSlMFk4Jfw/VqRFCY82WjI/AAAAAAAANcE/U9mcCvQ5pho/s320/borage%2Bwith%2Bpollinator.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
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Of all the colours of flowers out there, the ones that make me the happiest are always some shade of true blue. I say true blue because so many flowers that are described as being blue have actually some tint of purple to them. But there are all kinds of plants with flowers in shades of blue from pale to deep cobalt blue. This week's Fleurs du Jour celebrate those true blue delights. To lead off, one of the many members of the Borage family that boasts blue flowers, in this case, the actual herb borage itself. (With some sort of pollinating fly/bee mimic hanging from one flower.)</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8vs3IOALZW4/VqRFB-6VWiI/AAAAAAAANb0/oiBDICcQukE/s1600/blue%2Bdelphinium1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8vs3IOALZW4/VqRFB-6VWiI/AAAAAAAANb0/oiBDICcQukE/s320/blue%2Bdelphinium1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Of course, one of the showiest of perennials, regardless of colour, is the delphinium. I love its tall, elegant spikes of flowers, even if their bloom tends to correspond with the annual peony and delphinium wind and rainstorms! I like to plant my delphinium near something like a sturdy shrub to help prop them up without a lot of stakes...</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lHvBOH0EfY0/VqRFCpcliQI/AAAAAAAANcQ/8yVkbzgj9nI/s1600/chinese_delphinium-5944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lHvBOH0EfY0/VqRFCpcliQI/AAAAAAAANcQ/8yVkbzgj9nI/s320/chinese_delphinium-5944.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
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Another answer to stake-avoidance is to plant the dwarf Chinese delphinium cultivars, which aren't as stately but tend to flower quite profusely. My biggest problem with these is that they don't live as long for me as do the standard varieties, but I love them anyway.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RR1MGT5Rv6o/VqRFBn3FiBI/AAAAAAAANbw/Fk5oWB5Cm1k/s1600/agapanthus%2Bwith%2Bpollinator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RR1MGT5Rv6o/VqRFBn3FiBI/AAAAAAAANbw/Fk5oWB5Cm1k/s320/agapanthus%2Bwith%2Bpollinator.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Some years ago, I got an agapanthus, aka lily of the Nile, from a now-closed nursery. I have two different varieties now--this one, with its delft blue and white flowers, reminiscent of the lovely striped squill (Puschkinia) that blooms in spring. I've divided and shared this agapanthus with a number of friends--it rests in my basement all winter, and in spring comes up to spend the summer outside, charming pollinators and people alike.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-POXEzSPj0AM/VqRFCBq4MTI/AAAAAAAANb8/lR11FfXNgk8/s1600/blue%2Blacecap%2Btwist%2Bn%2Bshout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-POXEzSPj0AM/VqRFCBq4MTI/AAAAAAAANb8/lR11FfXNgk8/s320/blue%2Blacecap%2Btwist%2Bn%2Bshout.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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You can see the purple creeping into the blue florets of this 'Twist and Shout' lace cap hydrangea, but the predominant colour stays blue in my garden. I love the elegant look of lace cap hydrangeas, more so than mop head forms, and the fertile, less showy flowers attract pollinators, too.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-za-v_79NQSw/VqRFB_pZWmI/AAAAAAAANb4/NH04K43psoI/s1600/Eryngium_Big-Blue-5325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-za-v_79NQSw/VqRFB_pZWmI/AAAAAAAANb4/NH04K43psoI/s320/Eryngium_Big-Blue-5325.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Everyone has their top-ten perennial species that they can't be without, don't they? Sea holly (Eryngium) is one of mine: long blooming, pollinator-attracting, and many different species and cultivars to choose from. This is 'Big Blue' which has large cone-shaped flowers surrounded by metallic blue, ruffled bracts. It adds great texture to any perennial planting. </div>
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While I still grow a few blue poppies (Meconopsis), they drive many gardeners to distraction with their diva-like behaviour. For a truly blue, and less troublesome, perennial, try Gentiana (gentians) instead. Their flowers are gorgeous, many with striped buds that open to cobalt or gentian-blue flowers, and with a little planning, you can have species that bloom in mid to late spring, summer, and well into autumn. I think I have...ten or so different species now. My fondness for collection cultivars and species of a particular genus never changes!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pkFzm5-cejQ/VqRFDSfNpqI/AAAAAAAANck/5IjXSpAI4WI/s1600/pulmonaria-9761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pkFzm5-cejQ/VqRFDSfNpqI/AAAAAAAANck/5IjXSpAI4WI/s320/pulmonaria-9761.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Pulmonaria is another of my top-ten perennials, and warrants an entire post a little later this year. Whether you call them lungwort, Bethlehem sage, lords and ladies, William and Mary, or by some other name, these borage relatives are fabulous. They bloom early in the spring--some of them are hardly out of the ground before they're in bloom--they have silver-splashed or spangled markings on their foliage, and their pink buds open to blue flowers. Some few varieties have white or red or rosy pink flowers, but the blue ones are my favourites.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y4Q0CGWCFU8/VqRFDfcZFLI/AAAAAAAANcg/Weqt3cDE56Q/s1600/salvia_black_and_blue-9201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y4Q0CGWCFU8/VqRFDfcZFLI/AAAAAAAANcg/Weqt3cDE56Q/s320/salvia_black_and_blue-9201.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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To wind up this ode to blues, let's have one of the annual salvias. 'Black and Blue' is well named for its black stems and buds and its cool blue flowers. It also has fresh bright green foliage. I've been growing it for years, and while it pouts in the spring if the temperatures are too cool, once it settles in it blooms all summer and well into autumn. I especially love blue flowers in late summer when so many others flowers are int he red, gold, copper and orange colour palette. </div>
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Hopefully you're inspired to add some blue to your garden colour scheme, if you haven't already! Tell me about your favourite 'true blues' in the comments below. </div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-33870659785568684732016-01-17T12:59:00.000-04:002016-01-17T12:59:23.931-04:00Fleur photos du Jour: Yellow Time! <div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8gxrKDtizAU/Vpu_YjovhOI/AAAAAAAANYA/jljemVyerkQ/s1600/sunflowers_for_winter-2412.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="258" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8gxrKDtizAU/Vpu_YjovhOI/AAAAAAAANYA/jljemVyerkQ/s320/sunflowers_for_winter-2412.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yellow is a fascinating colour in the spectrum. It can be soothing, cheery, brassy, over the top or just simply lovely. I remember the yellow kitchens of my childhood, where the paint was a lemon-pie yellow--ugh. Where I live now is painted all through in a soft yellow not unlike the colour of the sunflowers of this image, and it's calm but cheery. On sunny days, my place is warm and bright; on dull days like today (recuperating after the snowstorm of yesterday), it's still bright and cheering. </div>
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This rudbeckia is a little harsher yellow, (I believe it's 'Prairie Sun') but it pops magnificently against the tangle of roses behind it. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NIvR0Xgi2jk/VpvAUNA6PgI/AAAAAAAANYY/hq805_I--OI/s1600/agastache.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NIvR0Xgi2jk/VpvAUNA6PgI/AAAAAAAANYY/hq805_I--OI/s320/agastache.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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There has yet to be a yellow agastache developed that is hardy for my garden. Despite this, I faithfully buy them as annuals every year because I love all agastaches, their flowers and lemony scent, the way the pollinators flock to them. This is 'Summer Glow'. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gJGEI10NvWA/VpvAUBAdPOI/AAAAAAAANYg/avEzIDtQjMc/s1600/nemesia-6075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gJGEI10NvWA/VpvAUBAdPOI/AAAAAAAANYg/avEzIDtQjMc/s320/nemesia-6075.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Nemesia is an annual that is growing in popularity every year, and I'm pleased to see that. Some cultivars are fragrant, like 'Opal Innocence', but this one is 'Sunsatia Mango' and I don't remember any fragrance, just floriferous enthusiasm. </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iJJW8VFMEDg/VpvATmB8eNI/AAAAAAAANYU/rm0HBUw-SWI/s1600/oenotheramis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iJJW8VFMEDg/VpvATmB8eNI/AAAAAAAANYU/rm0HBUw-SWI/s320/oenotheramis.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Some of the evening primroses (Oenothera) are quite brilliantly yellow, including this Missouri sundrop (O. missouriensis). It has large flowers that were a favourite of my beloved and much-missed mother. So they will always be in my garden. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nfNE9CJyWvk/VpvAUFtaopI/AAAAAAAANYc/PHHSaSxfvy0/s1600/pride_of_canning_daylily-3113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nfNE9CJyWvk/VpvAUFtaopI/AAAAAAAANYc/PHHSaSxfvy0/s320/pride_of_canning_daylily-3113.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Of course there are a bajillion yellow daylilies, and they all have their charms. My personal favourite, however, comes from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/canning.daylilygardens">Canning Daylily Gardens,</a> bred by the late Wayne Storrie. I know I've mentioned this plant before, called 'Pride of Canning'. It is vigourous and prolific, producing buds well into the fall; somewhere, I have a photo of it pushing buds with frost on them, taken in November of that year. I'll be able to split and share mine this year, the way it grew last year! </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zu6C3-_8Jp4/VpvAUgzcv6I/AAAAAAAANYo/FDLIzMunbI4/s1600/wild_potentilla-3071.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zu6C3-_8Jp4/VpvAUgzcv6I/AAAAAAAANYo/FDLIzMunbI4/s320/wild_potentilla-3071.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yellow is an important colour in wildflowers, too, and no less beloved because it's commonly seen in buttercups, dandelions and wild mustards. This plant is a cinquefoil, (potentilla) blooming in the <a href="http://botanicalgardens.acadiau.ca/">Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens</a>, one of my favourite places in Wolfville. I am not certain which species it is (I only took a closeup of the flower and not the whole plant) but it could be P. canadensis, the dwarf cinquefoil.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NgetUWN9y7c/VpvAUvlp1HI/AAAAAAAANYs/foYBnsRQsEE/s1600/yellow_belamcanda-3300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NgetUWN9y7c/VpvAUvlp1HI/AAAAAAAANYs/foYBnsRQsEE/s320/yellow_belamcanda-3300.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I love the blackberry lily (Belamcanda, which has apparently been reclassified as Iris domestica, which I don't much like). Normally, it's a cheery orange with red markings on it, but last year I got my hands on a new one 'Hello Yellow', which boasts cheery yellow flowers. IF it survives (I didn't plant it in the ideal location), I will move it to be with its common relative this spring, which has been vigourous and hardy.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzIUWUZeipI/VpvAU-lrfmI/AAAAAAAANYw/bY9SAAfs6ig/s1600/yellow_opuntia_flowers-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzIUWUZeipI/VpvAU-lrfmI/AAAAAAAANYw/bY9SAAfs6ig/s320/yellow_opuntia_flowers-.jpg" width="234" /></a></div>
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It was a surprise some years ago to find out that we can grow Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia) here in Nova Scotia without any problem. The display at the <a href="http://www.dal.ca/about-dal/agricultural-campus/about/gardens/rock-garden.html">NSAC Rock Garden</a> (which is now Dalhousie Agricultural Campus but I went to NSAC, dammit!) of various opuntia species is fantastic--with flowers in shades of yellow, pink, red, and probably more to come. I have only one--so far. My friend Rob of <a href="http://baldwinnurseries.com/">Baldwin's Nurseries in Falmouth</a> is propagating a number and has them for sale. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-blUz_APfr4w/VpvGIRFCrNI/AAAAAAAANZg/IaUO4rH6eY8/s1600/tricyrtisgoldenfest.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="258" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-blUz_APfr4w/VpvGIRFCrNI/AAAAAAAANZg/IaUO4rH6eY8/s320/tricyrtisgoldenfest.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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When we think of toad lilies (Tricyrtis) we generally think of flowers in shades of purple, white, pink, with spangles and speckles and splotches. Meet 'Golden Festival', which has yellow/purple flowers. It blooms earlier (in my garden) than do the cultivars like 'Taipei Silk' and 'Empress', by about a month. I find they want good drainage for overwinter, but give them that and they do well. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-weNFhhiDpy0/VpvAVHZzMZI/AAAAAAAANY8/-zGUSpV5CKc/s1600/yellow_tree_peony-0299.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-weNFhhiDpy0/VpvAVHZzMZI/AAAAAAAANY8/-zGUSpV5CKc/s320/yellow_tree_peony-0299.jpg" width="301" /></a></div>
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To wrap up this week's yellow love-fest, one of the tree peonies in brilliant yellow. I have a yellow tree peony, but I moved it twice before landing here at my current abode, so it's been growing but not flowering. I'm hoping this will be the year for it to bloom, and join the other riot of peonies in my garden. </div>
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That's it for this week. Tell me what some of your favourite yellow flowers are! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-72595741334228402222016-01-09T17:13:00.001-04:002016-01-09T17:13:51.533-04:00A new year...but no new resolutions! <div style="text-align: center;">
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Welcome to 2016! I realize it's over a week old already but life is busy for all of us and this is the first chance I had to collect up some thoughts and prepare to wake up the blog again. Life has changed and gotten even more busy in the past 18 months or so, and something had to give; so my free time shifted from writing posts about gardening to studying the art of photography a little more intensely. </div>
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You will see some of the results of my explorations with photography in coming posts, and hopefully those posts will please you. They won't all be about gardening, although that will continue to be a vital part of this blog. One of the things I discovered last year was that learning to use my camera better meant learning to see differently; not just when studying plants, but when looking at the world around me--be it an old barn, a piece of rusting machinery, a waterfall, a beloved landmark. But there will still be plenty of plant photos, and plant talk. As time permits, of course.</div>
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Although I don't make resolutions, last year I decided that one of the ways I would help myself and others get through the winter--which as many of you know was the worst winter in much of Atlantic Canada, especially here in NS, in many, many years--was to post a daily meme of my own on my personal Facebook page, and (when I remembered) on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Bloomingwriter">open Page as well</a>. I call it my Fleur Photo du Jour, and of course it entails posting photos of various plants, especially flowering ones, every day through the winter and spring. I don't think I missed very many days, and some days I did multiples so it evened out. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lqpB2w-c7tU/VpF3myAk23I/AAAAAAAANXw/OsG48rJptPY/s1600/cranesbill%2Bsummer%2Bskies.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lqpB2w-c7tU/VpF3myAk23I/AAAAAAAANXw/OsG48rJptPY/s320/cranesbill%2Bsummer%2Bskies.jpg" width="316" /></a></div>
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What was delightful was the number of messages and notes and comments I received from others, telling me how much those photos brightened their days. Which was, of course, the reason for posting them. It inspired some folks to try new or new-to-them plants in their gardens or in their homes, as we often had conversations about growing the particular plant. And others often shared their stories about a particular plant. Which is part of the bliss of gardening--sharing stories as much as we share plants and seeds. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OSoAy3ethqc/VpFyhxOhfJI/AAAAAAAANW8/180G3xtdyPA/s1600/Alice-2700.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="259" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OSoAy3ethqc/VpFyhxOhfJI/AAAAAAAANW8/180G3xtdyPA/s320/Alice-2700.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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One thing I do plan to do more often this year is post reviews of books here on the blog. There are still a plethora of very <a href="http://www.timberpress.com/">fine gardening books</a> coming out on a regular basis, and I've seen some of the new releases scheduled for this year and am excited about them--including at least <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pollinator-Friendly-Gardening-Butterflies-Pollinators/dp/0760349134/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452280510&sr=1-1&keywords=pollinator+friendly+gardening">one about pollinators</a>. Regular readers know I was going on about pollinators long before it became trendy. And will continue to go on about them, too. </div>
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While I'm not much of a traveller outside my own province, I did get out and about several times last summer--once to my home province of <a href="http://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/">Newfoundland and Labrador</a>, and once to <a href="https://www.tourismpei.com/">Prince Edward Island</a> and the <a href="http://www.tourismeilesdelamadeleine.com/en/">Iles de la Madeleine, Quebec</a>. While those weren't for gardening activities, they were both for <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Saltscapesmagazine">Saltscapes-related projects</a>, as so much of what I do is for Saltscapes, but there were glimpses of gardening in the trips, so they'll likely pop up here now and again. I visited some great gardens IN Nova Scotia last year, including the wonderful <a href="http://historicgardens.com/">Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens</a> (right when the rose garden was at its peak), and took part in the <a href="http://Annapolis Royal Rare and Unusual Plant Sale">Rare and Unusual Plant Sale</a>, too. </div>
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I wish you all the very happiest of New Years, and here's to lots of great gardening adventures this year. I'll let e.e. cummings wrap this up for me with one of my favourite lines from his work:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">(now the ears of my ears awake and</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">now the eyes of my eyes are opened)</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-62093081944149819302015-07-12T08:33:00.000-03:002015-07-12T08:33:06.937-03:00Touring our local gardens...<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PeDt6CPrEZM/VaJO-pv9hZI/AAAAAAAANVk/khbEqe1djMc/s1600/tourposter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PeDt6CPrEZM/VaJO-pv9hZI/AAAAAAAANVk/khbEqe1djMc/s320/tourposter.jpg" width="252" /></a></div>
The only thing I like better than playing in my own garden? Visiting other people's gardens! The annual <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chester-Garden-Tour/116219278413310">Chester Garden Tour</a> is happening next weekend in <a href="http://vic.chesterchamber.ca/">beautiful seaside Chester, NS,</a> and I'm going to be there!<br />
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It's going to be a full day of activities, starting with a talk about mid-season plants and planting at <a href="http://www.plantcrazy.ca/">Oceanview Garden Centre & Landscaping</a> first thing in the morning, then going from garden to garden, then a Q & A back at Oceanview after the tour wraps up. I can hardly wait! </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GvhXJLzpVRc/VaJPygA1EQI/AAAAAAAANV8/-ijtvx2z00s/s1600/agastache1-6492.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GvhXJLzpVRc/VaJPygA1EQI/AAAAAAAANV8/-ijtvx2z00s/s320/agastache1-6492.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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If you haven't been to Chester or even if you have and are wanting to see some fabulous gardens around the community, you really ought to check it out. It's going to be a great day!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-33799654995862485322015-06-12T11:14:00.003-03:002015-06-12T11:14:56.801-03:00The BEST season for gardeners<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ep2yOCE2Yug/VXrn2PhA24I/AAAAAAAANVM/-D0erK9S64E/s1600/Francesca%2B15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ep2yOCE2Yug/VXrn2PhA24I/AAAAAAAANVM/-D0erK9S64E/s320/Francesca%2B15.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Life is never boring in my world. It's suddenly nearly the middle of June, almost summer, and I haven't posted here at all of late. There are good reasons for this, none of them alarming--I'm simply so busy with work projects that I haven't had time to do the stuff that doesn't pay me. Plus it is the season for playing in the dirt, so when I'm finished my writing, photo and editing work for the day, I head for the garden; sometimes with camera in hand, of course, so I can catch delights like 'Francesca' primula in bloom! </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-atYIQ6RideU/VXrn14_Kn-I/AAAAAAAANVE/H3ryYJlFeMo/s1600/openhouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-atYIQ6RideU/VXrn14_Kn-I/AAAAAAAANVE/H3ryYJlFeMo/s320/openhouse.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>
Tomorrow I'm doing a talk at <a href="http://compostinglpeastriver.ca/">Louisiana Pacific's East River Plant</a> during their Composting Facility's open house, and I'm looking forward to that. Afterwards I'll be heading to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oceanview-Garden-Centre-Landscaping/219668024711100?fref=ts">Oceanview Garden Centre</a> in Chester (in case I need more plants) before returning to my own garden.<br />
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At the moment, the chief scent in my yard is alfalfa hay from the field behind me and lilacs from beside the house, but the lavenders are also starting to bloom, and that makes me very happy. Isn't it just the best time of year?<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-4310390545669109282015-04-01T09:02:00.001-03:002015-04-01T09:02:50.966-03:00Those rare blue flowers<br />
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For those of you wondering where I've gotten to...I'm here, and I'm fine, just really, really busy as we get ready for our 10th anniversary <a href="http://www.saltscapes.com/expo/">Saltscapes Expo</a>. Lots to tell you about while we're also still waiting for the 87 feet of snow that fell in the past two months to melt, but for now, a blast from the past....<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TVxu1ylqZh0/S7QN_euQKlI/AAAAAAAAIbg/Lz9DiCRXfbM/s1600/bluepop.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TVxu1ylqZh0/S7QN_euQKlI/AAAAAAAAIbg/Lz9DiCRXfbM/s400/bluepop.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455000432882494034" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
We all know that in flowers, blue is the rarest colour. Which means some of us go koo koo for cocapuffs over it. Quite a few of us, actually. That number would include me, of course. From the glorious of the difficult, divaesque, but oh-so-beautiful blue poppy...<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TVxu1ylqZh0/S7QOJsTlz3I/AAAAAAAAIbw/I5nNKuOSBhI/s1600/bluedelph.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TVxu1ylqZh0/S7QOJsTlz3I/AAAAAAAAIbw/I5nNKuOSBhI/s400/bluedelph.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455000608327454578" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a><br />
To the stately cobalt splendor of blue delphinium...<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TVxu1ylqZh0/S7QOJTCyc6I/AAAAAAAAIbo/UR99cWxQnVk/s1600/scilla+excellent.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TVxu1ylqZh0/S7QOJTCyc6I/AAAAAAAAIbo/UR99cWxQnVk/s400/scilla+excellent.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455000601546093474" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 338px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>And even the dainty, delicate, spring chorus of scilla drive mere mortals to frenzies of bountiful blue blossom blissdom.<br />
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Well, you know how plant breeders are. They're never content to rest on their laurels, and they've been at work developing some more blue flowers for us to enjoy. The following stealthy, shaky, grainy photos are of a few cultivars that your intrepid correspondent risked life and limb to get photos of for your viewing enjoyment.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TVxu1ylqZh0/S7QRRbH1VLI/AAAAAAAAIcA/9fMpdtHl0JE/s1600/bluecookie.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TVxu1ylqZh0/S7QRRbH1VLI/AAAAAAAAIcA/9fMpdtHl0JE/s400/bluecookie.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455004039688574130" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>For those who are thwarted by growing blue poppies, perhaps you'd like to try this dandy geum, 'Til I'm Blue Cooky'. I think it would work particularly well, like most geums, in full sun with well-drained soil. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TVxu1ylqZh0/S7QRRH3wuDI/AAAAAAAAIb4/C_TdG_nVHEY/s1600/crazius+ivannus.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TVxu1ylqZh0/S7QRRH3wuDI/AAAAAAAAIb4/C_TdG_nVHEY/s400/crazius+ivannus.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455004034520889394" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>We're always taught that hemerocallis come in every conceivable shade except black and true blue. Well, we can cross the latter off the list with 'Crazy Iovanni', which to the best of my understanding was created by genetical manipulation, introducing the DNA from the blue April Fish into one of the showier of yellow daylilies, 'Fools' Gold.' I wasn't able to ascertain, from my lofty perch in a truffula tree, whether the foliage of this new hemerocallis was evergreen or not.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TVxu1ylqZh0/S7QRRuaxeqI/AAAAAAAAIcI/3FK8iX2TfGg/s1600/harison+blue.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TVxu1ylqZh0/S7QRRuaxeqI/AAAAAAAAIcI/3FK8iX2TfGg/s400/harison+blue.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455004044868287138" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 375px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>Ah yes, the blue rose. We've all heard about how some things are as 'rare as blue roses.' Well, once again, the GMO wizards have been at it, splicing some DNA from that blue delphinium with multiple excited protons from the Large Hadron Collider, and zapping them into a pimpernelifolia rose. Meet 'Harison's Blue.'<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TVxu1ylqZh0/S7QRRx1a0wI/AAAAAAAAIcQ/INpQZ8NmWX0/s1600/bluenose+echinacea.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TVxu1ylqZh0/S7QRRx1a0wI/AAAAAAAAIcQ/INpQZ8NmWX0/s400/bluenose+echinacea.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455004045785355010" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>And apparently pollen from the bluebanded bee, when stolen from a blue Eryngium planum and dipped onto a double white coneflower, yields this blue eyed beauty, 'April BlueNose.' Because I was in deep ninjacover while clambering around in trees, I couldn't hear the breeder say when any of these blue beauties would be released, but I suspect it will be probably around June 31st of next year. </div>
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Whew. It's sooooo good to be out of March, isn't it? </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-84529819593821156152014-12-28T14:52:00.000-04:002014-12-28T14:52:21.398-04:00End of year roundup--favourites and more<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WyGFFk8rVvI/VKA4BZK4oSI/AAAAAAAANPw/RA_4ocgdmVo/s1600/Cheyenne%2BSpirits%2B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WyGFFk8rVvI/VKA4BZK4oSI/AAAAAAAANPw/RA_4ocgdmVo/s1600/Cheyenne%2BSpirits%2B.jpg" height="260" width="320"></a></div>
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Slightly belated Christmas greetings to all--we had not a drop of snow in Nova Scotia, and in fact had record breaking mild temperatures and torrential rains this year. It made travel easy, and we spent a very happy Christmas day with family. Since then I've been on an actual time-off from work, allowing myself a few days of just doing whatever I want, which has mostly been playing with photography, sorting through my image libraries, reading, and catching up with people I care about. </div>
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We often have end-of-year retrospectives on many topics, including, of course, on gardening. I decided to do one primarily because most of my favourite plants this year, with one or two exceptions, have been around for a while and still remain some of my favourites. </div>
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Let's start with the photo above, which is mostly of Echinacea 'Cheyenne Spirit'. There is a double flowered form in the background so that's why I say mostly. Otherwise, all those blossoms in the foreground, the orange, the yellow, the deep red-pink, are all from Cheyenne Spirit plants. These were planted in 2013, sailed through the winter, and bloomed their faces off this season, in these and other hues. I like them so much I bought several more, and now have no less than 8 different hues from the one cultivar. The only drawback, of course, is that you have to wait until they flower if you have a specific colour in mind. Hardy and vigourous and highly recommended. </div>
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<a href="http://bloomingwriter.blogspot.com/2014/12/end-of-year-roundup-favourites-and-more.html#more">Read more »</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-72352433796226794812014-12-15T12:00:00.000-04:002014-12-15T12:00:02.098-04:00Gold foliage for brighter gardens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hM5fL0NrRDo/Tf4EZln2BoI/AAAAAAAAKz8/cyqOG7iHNNk/s1600/hakenechloa%2Ball%2Bgold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hM5fL0NrRDo/Tf4EZln2BoI/AAAAAAAAKz8/cyqOG7iHNNk/s400/hakenechloa%2Ball%2Bgold.jpg" height="364" width="400" /></a></div>
Hello, fellow gardeners! Where have I been, you ask? Well, it's been a busy, busy few months, with lots of projects on the go. Now, with only 10 days til Christmas, the main deadlines are under control so I can do some catchup tasks, including updating my neglected blog. It's like that for gardeners, though, so often: during the main gardening months we're outside in our gardens, planting, weeding, harvesting, puttering, designing. Now that frost has come and things have stopped growing and we've gotten our bulbs planted (yes! I did! Before December, even!) we turn to the season of indoor gardening, which includes, of course, planning for next year.<br />
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When I was a plant science student at the Agricultural College, to see yellow in foliage often suggested a nutrient deficiency or other problem. It took me a long time to embrace the colour gold, or cream, or yellow, in ornamental plants, but here's what turned the tide for me:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BGpF-dlum7c/Tf4EXqUvdHI/AAAAAAAAKzc/nPJl_tSBIQY/s1600/shade%2Bhostas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BGpF-dlum7c/Tf4EXqUvdHI/AAAAAAAAKzc/nPJl_tSBIQY/s400/shade%2Bhostas.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
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Hostas. Of course it would be hostas, with their splendid foliage that utilizes only a few colours--cream, green, yellow, blue--in such dramatic ways. I love the flowers of hostas, too, but the fresh, perfect foliage is what really does it for me. They are calming plants with their tidy clumps of leaves (especially if they're slug-resistant or you've done battle to keep slugs at bay), and if you have a shady spot, they really brighten it up. It's true that deer adore hostas so if you live in an area where deer are a problem, you may have to opt for hostas only in containers out of reach of hungry bambis. </div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gommdvtsj-M/Tf4EHhggfzI/AAAAAAAAKy8/Aich-6vyTxI/s1600/Dickson%2527s%2BGold%2BCampanula.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gommdvtsj-M/Tf4EHhggfzI/AAAAAAAAKy8/Aich-6vyTxI/s400/Dickson%2527s%2BGold%2BCampanula.jpg" height="400" width="310" /></a><br />
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Pretty much any plant with gold foliage is best suited for a partially shaded site; from a practical point of view, many need some protection from full sun sites because their foliage will otherwise burn. The golden colour just glows in a shaded garden, as demonstrated with this 'Dickson's Gold' campanula. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mb8nxqVJY-0/Tf4EHRyyMGI/AAAAAAAAKy0/pNQ3I8NAWkw/s1600/gold%2Baruncus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mb8nxqVJY-0/Tf4EHRyyMGI/AAAAAAAAKy0/pNQ3I8NAWkw/s400/gold%2Baruncus.jpg" height="318" width="400" /></a></div>
Many gold-foliaged plants include the name 'aurea' in their botanical or cultivar names. This is a golden form of meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria 'Aurea'), which does well in dappled shade in my garden.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0__8kk6AKT0/Tf4EIbNnCiI/AAAAAAAAKzM/SIe8f7rloKM/s1600/aztec%2Bgold%2Bveronica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0__8kk6AKT0/Tf4EIbNnCiI/AAAAAAAAKzM/SIe8f7rloKM/s400/aztec%2Bgold%2Bveronica.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
Because I went to the Agricultural College where the school colours were blue and gold, I do have a particular fondness for that colour combination (even when the blue is more lavender, but you get the point). This is creeping speedwell Veronica prostata 'Aztec Gold', which has been a good performer for me.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nLtIPE8FTq4/VI7_sN6UnvI/AAAAAAAANPI/P6QwhICkdsc/s1600/bluegold%2Btradescant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nLtIPE8FTq4/VI7_sN6UnvI/AAAAAAAANPI/P6QwhICkdsc/s1600/bluegold%2Btradescant.jpg" height="320" width="250" /></a></div>
This is the spiderwort Tradescantia 'Blue and Gold', also sometimes also called 'Sweet Kate'. It was one of the first replacement plants I purchased to put in my new garden because I so love it.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1tCw4yeYcI/VI7_4LugD3I/AAAAAAAANPQ/TmDS0WnJzIg/s1600/brunnera_dianes_gold_1b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1tCw4yeYcI/VI7_4LugD3I/AAAAAAAANPQ/TmDS0WnJzIg/s1600/brunnera_dianes_gold_1b.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
And this is Brunnera 'Diane's Gold'. I had it for several years but didn't take it with me when I left my former home, and haven't sourced it again. I miss it, as it did very well under the azalea where it was planted.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3McQ0Da7BuU/Tf4EI24nZbI/AAAAAAAAKzU/1KV9WEIQi7o/s1600/Golden%2Btansy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3McQ0Da7BuU/Tf4EI24nZbI/AAAAAAAAKzU/1KV9WEIQi7o/s400/Golden%2Btansy.jpg" height="278" width="400" /></a></div>
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Plants that are bombastic or invasive in one area of the country (and beyond) are not necessarily so in other areas. This is Tansy 'Isla Gold', a golden leafed form of the common wildflower tansy. It is a vigourous grower but easy to control, and it's deer resistant to boot. Some like to dry the flowers to use in arrangements and wreaths. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nV8tdsbYxT8/Tf4EYcltP7I/AAAAAAAAKzs/D0jviijKPbg/s1600/geum%2Beos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nV8tdsbYxT8/Tf4EYcltP7I/AAAAAAAAKzs/D0jviijKPbg/s400/geum%2Beos.jpg" height="400" width="351" /></a></div>
Sometimes, new cultivars of a perennial or shrub fail to perform up to a gardener's standards, and disappear quietly from catalogues after a couple of years. I was initially suspicious of 'Eos' geum, but it has done very well for me--I had it in my previous garden and planted it again last year in my new yard, and it grew beautifully. The bright orange flowers contrast fantastically with the gold-green foliage.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6VUtshAK4i4/Tf4EX9bwCLI/AAAAAAAAKzk/Wdnz6QOaACE/s1600/weigela%2Bgolddust.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6VUtshAK4i4/Tf4EX9bwCLI/AAAAAAAAKzk/Wdnz6QOaACE/s400/weigela%2Bgolddust.jpg" height="400" width="384" /></a></div>
I really like weigelas, although I have yet to add any here in my new garden. When I do add one next year, it will be this golden-leafed form, 'Rubidor', which I had in the past and absolutely loved. You'll also find several other cultivars available, including 'Jean's Gold' and 'Ghost', depending on where you live, and where your nurseries source their plants.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WG-ZcyyPTNI/Tf4EYx4yrII/AAAAAAAAKz0/2edErSrYs0c/s1600/gold%2Bdawnredwood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WG-ZcyyPTNI/Tf4EYx4yrII/AAAAAAAAKz0/2edErSrYs0c/s400/gold%2Bdawnredwood.jpg" height="340" width="400" /></a></div>
To wrap up this post on gold foliage, I leave you with one of my favourite trees: Metasequoia 'Ogon', aka 'Gold Rush', the golden dawn redwood. The dawn redwood is a star in my books in its normal, green foliaged form, but this one leaves me breathless at its beauty. It absolutely glows, and it can take full sun, to boot.<br />
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Where do you fall on the spectrum with golden leafed plants? Love or not?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-88776283235671491882014-09-22T12:02:00.002-03:002014-09-22T12:47:16.992-03:00Falling into autumn...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Suddenly, it's September 22 and I haven't posted for a month. Why is that, you ask? Well, for sure I'm always busy and never bored, but there was a lot going on in August, some of it personal in support of a friend, and given that my friends have always been there for me when I need them, I pay it forward gladly. And the days are getting shorter, and suddenly, autumn is but hours away. (Top photo is of blue leadwort, <i>Ceratostigma plumbaginoides</i>, a terrific groundcover with gorgeous fall colour).<br>
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Autumn is not without its beauty, to be sure--some would say that the coming month or so is the most radiant in the natural world, for the explosion of foliage colour, the brilliant last blooms of the season. I agree with all that--and love the cooler night temperatures now that the worst of summer heat and humidity is gone. The shorter days, longer nights, and the knowledge of what is coming in a couple of months? Not so much.<br>
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<a href="http://bloomingwriter.blogspot.com/2014/09/falling-into-autumn.html#more">Read more »</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-43503408465230802792014-08-22T10:55:00.001-03:002014-08-22T10:55:41.350-03:00A Midsummer Miscellany of Colour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's now beyond 'Half Past August' and I thought you might need some encouragement because this is the time of year that I hear "there's no colour in my garden" from some folks. Sure there is--and you can add more! I keep adding as I see things I want to change or acquire plants that I have been looking for.<br>
You may remember I talked about plants that I purchase and treat as annuals, including this 'Cherry Brandy' rudbeckia. THIS is why I buy this plant every year if need be--look at that colour. Nothing else quite like it.<br>
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Amazingly, all the buddleia I had planted in my garden last year survived the winter, probably thanks to the six foot snowdrift on top of that garden. Thus encouraged, I bought two more this year, including this gorgeous 'Bicolour' which I found last week at <a href="http://www.ouestvilleperennials.com/">Ouest-ville Perennials</a>. As the clusters of flowers open, you can really see a difference in the individual florets--younger ones don't have as much gold-orange. It's striking and beautiful. </div>
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Much more after the jump. </div>
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<a href="http://bloomingwriter.blogspot.com/2014/08/a-midsummer-miscellany-of-colour.html#more">Read more »</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20831949.post-11738867387597949632014-08-12T12:04:00.000-03:002014-08-12T12:04:55.172-03:00It's easy loving green...flowers! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Perhaps no colour in the floral world is more polarizing than the colour green. Many people dislike green flowers, saying they don't show up well enough--others adore them. Put me firmly in the 'adore' camp. Let's kick off the festival with one of my favourite coneflowers, 'Green Jewel'--which is fragrant as well as gorgeously green.<br>
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<a href="http://bloomingwriter.blogspot.com/2014/08/its-easy-loving-greenflowers.html#more">Read more »</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107236871193698777noreply@blogger.com4