Digital Flower Pictures.com Almost daily informative blog about plants, gardening and photography. Written by a professional Estate Gardener from Connecticut. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 81 10076 30 7781

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Peacock Flower (Dietes bicolor) 2007-09-22 05:57:00 Peacock FlowerDietes bicolor(dy-AY-teez) (BY-kul-ur)Synonyms: Bicolor Iris, Yellow Wild Iris, Evergreen Iris, Spanish Iris, African Iris, Moraea bicolor,This is a very beautiful member of the Iris family (Iridaceae). This South African native is hardy to USDA Zone 8 and I have seen it cultivated around here in pots. It is funny that it’s common name is Peacock Flower because so are several other plants. I guess that is where confusion sets in when speaking of plants with their common names. This is strikingly beautiful plant and if you want more information here is a link to an article written by Marc Stern of Witwatersrand National Botanical Garden.Click HereI went over to ‘my’ rose garden yesterday and worked for a couple of hours. Good news is I had to deadhead several hundred old flowers and there was at least 150 flowers blooming. I hadn’t been over there in about 8 days, which is slightly longer than I had wanted to be away. Things were okay and the cooler weather and fer ...

Black Leaf Millet (Pennisetum glaucum 'Purple Majesty') 2007-09-21 04:38:00 Black Leaf MilletPennisetum glaucum 'Purple Majesty'(pen-ih-SEE-tum) (GLAW-kum)Synonyms: Ornamental Millet, Pearl MilletThis is an interesting accent plant that I am seeing more of. I have grown it before from seed and purchased it in small pots in the spring. This year I cheated and bought some in August for planting with my mums. One thing I liked about getting it later in the season, the plants were a lot shorter. It grows to about 4 to 5 feet in the garden. As I said it is an interesting accent both for it’s color and vertical shape. I never knew the scientific name until I went to write this post. I see it is actually a grass and related to couple of my favorite Ornamental Grasses, Fountain Grass. I especially love Purple Fountain Grass even though it is closer to red. Since this plant is hardy to USDA Zone 8 I grow this as an annual. It last pretty late into the season.I just planted mine in the garden without looking up the cultural requirements and had good luck. For best r ...

Black Leaf Millet (Pennisetum glaucum 'Purple Majesty') 2007-09-21 04:38:00 Black Leaf MilletPennisetum glaucum 'Purple Majesty'(pen-ih-SEE-tum) (GLAW-kum)Synonyms: Ornamental Millet, Pearl MilletThis is an interesting accent plant that I am seeing more of. I have grown it before from seed and purchased it in small pots in the spring. This year I cheated and bought some in August for planting with my mums. One thing I liked about getting it later in the season, the plants were a lot shorter. It grows to about 4 to 5 feet in the garden. As I said it is an interesting accent both for it’s color and vertical shape. I never knew the scientific name until I went to write this post. I see it is actually a grass and related to couple of my favorite Ornamental Grasses, Fountain Grass. I especially love Purple Fountain Grass even though it is closer to red. Since this plant is hardy to USDA Zone 8 I grow this as an annual. It last pretty late into the season.I just planted mine in the garden without looking up the cultural requirements and had good luck. For best r ...

Large-leaf Princess Flower (Tibouchina grandiflora) 2007-09-20 04:49:00 Large-leaf Princess FlowerTibouchina grandifloraSynonyms: Glory FlowerThe color of this flower immediately caught my attention. It is striking and not quite faithfully reproduced by my trusty camera. There is just something, to me, about rich purple flowers. I have grown the Princess Flower (Tibouchina urvilleana) before and seen it growing outdoors in warmer areas but I hadn’t seen this one before. I would characterize it was a smaller more intense Princess Flower. I don’t understand the scientific name of this plant. Grandiflora would indicate large flowers but they are actually smaller than most Tibouchina. That may need looking into and I did find a website that said this plant maybe a form of T. heteromalla. I guess it doesn’t matter because the flower and velvety dark green foliage are beautiful and that is what matters.This plant is hardy to USDA Zone 9 and can get up to 12 feet tall. This particular specimen was growing in a greenhouse and looked very healthy but my attem ...

Large-leaf Princess Flower (Tibouchina grandiflora) 2007-09-20 04:49:00 Large-leaf Princess FlowerTibouchina grandifloraSynonyms: Glory FlowerThe color of this flower immediately caught my attention. It is striking and not quite faithfully reproduced by my trusty camera. There is just something, to me, about rich purple flowers. I have grown the Princess Flower (Tibouchina urvilleana) before and seen it growing outdoors in warmer areas but I hadn’t seen this one before. I would characterize it was a smaller more intense Princess Flower. I don’t understand the scientific name of this plant. Grandiflora would indicate large flowers but they are actually smaller than most Tibouchina. That may need looking into and I did find a website that said this plant maybe a form of T. heteromalla. I guess it doesn’t matter because the flower and velvety dark green foliage are beautiful and that is what matters.This plant is hardy to USDA Zone 9 and can get up to 12 feet tall. This particular specimen was growing in a greenhouse and looked very healthy but my attem ...

Japanese Iris for ABC Wednesday 2007-09-19 04:36:00 Japanese Iris for ABC WednesdayIris ensata(EYE-ris) (en-SA-tuh)If you are here for Wordless Wednesday scroll down to the next post.I originally planned to have Impatiens as my ‘ABC’ photo but I was foiled as when I got to work on Tuesday I found I had forgotten my memory card. Duh! I usually keep extras in the truck but since I have been out shooting a lot they are filled up. The one that I had ‘cleaned’ was sitting on my desk. I might invest in a couple of larger cards so they don’t fill up all the time. Since I do shoot a lot of pictures (shush, I should be working during some of that time) I have to periodically go through my hard drive and get rid of the pictures I am not going to use. That is what happened when I came across this Iris picture. I figure if I haven’t used a picture several months after I shot it then it is toast.My workflow starts with Adobe® Bridge, which now that I have gotten used to it I love it, and I remove any clunkers from the card. I often pick ...

Japanese Iris for ABC Wednesday 2007-09-19 04:36:00 Japanese Iris for ABC WednesdayIris ensata(EYE-ris) (en-SA-tuh)If you are here for Wordless Wednesday scroll down to the next post.I originally planned to have Impatiens as my ‘ABC’ photo but I was foiled as when I got to work on Tuesday I found I had forgotten my memory card. Duh! I usually keep extras in the truck but since I have been out shooting a lot they are filled up. The one that I had ‘cleaned’ was sitting on my desk. I might invest in a couple of larger cards so they don’t fill up all the time. Since I do shoot a lot of pictures (shush, I should be working during some of that time) I have to periodically go through my hard drive and get rid of the pictures I am not going to use. That is what happened when I came across this Iris picture. I figure if I haven’t used a picture several months after I shot it then it is toast.My workflow starts with Adobe® Bridge, which now that I have gotten used to it I love it, and I remove any clunkers from the card. I often pick ...

Wordless Wednesday-Taos Pueblo Cemetery 2007-09-18 19:28:00 ...

Wordless Wednesday-Taos Pueblo Cemetery 2007-09-18 19:28:00 ...

Floribunda Rose ‘Molly McGredy’ 2007-09-18 04:50:00 Floribunda Rose ‘Molly McGredy’Synonyms: MACmoSince I got reviewed in the award-winning San Diego Rose Society’s newsletter ‘Rose Ramblings’ I thought I would post a rose photograph. Plus, Misti, a cool blogger from Florida asked me to keep posting some roses here we go. This is possibly the most interesting rose I saw all summer. There were about 40 plants in various stages of blooming and I found them all amazing. More than a novelty, the colors were gorgeous and fit tighter perfectly. The bush itself was stubby and compact.Bred: 1968 by Samuel Darragh McGredy IVIntroduced: New Zealand by McGredy Roses InternationalFragrance: MildHeight: 36 inchesParentage: Paddy McGredy x (Mme Leon Cuny x Columbine)“My idea for roses in my lifetime is that the gardener may order any colour he wants in any form -- as a bush rose, as a climber, or as a miniature. I would do away with the terms 'hybrid tea' and 'floribunda'. Instead I would classify roses according to use -- for house d ...

Floribunda Rose ‘Molly McGredy’ 2007-09-18 04:50:00 Floribunda Rose ‘Molly McGredy’Synonyms: MACmoSince I got reviewed in the award-winning San Diego Rose Society’s newsletter ‘Rose Ramblings’ I thought I would post a rose photograph. Plus, Misti, a cool blogger from Florida asked me to keep posting some roses here we go. This is possibly the most interesting rose I saw all summer. There were about 40 plants in various stages of blooming and I found them all amazing. More than a novelty, the colors were gorgeous and fit tighter perfectly. The bush itself was stubby and compact.Bred: 1968 by Samuel Darragh McGredy IVIntroduced: New Zealand by McGredy Roses InternationalFragrance: MildHeight: 36 inchesParentage: Paddy McGredy x (Mme Leon Cuny x Columbine)“My idea for roses in my lifetime is that the gardener may order any colour he wants in any form -- as a bush rose, as a climber, or as a miniature. I would do away with the terms 'hybrid tea' and 'floribunda'. Instead I would classify roses according to use -- for house d ...

Round Leaf Beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Rotundifolia') 2007-09-17 04:48:00 Round Leaf BeechFagus sylvatica 'Rotundifolia'(FAG-us) (sil-VAT-ee-kuh)Fagaceae (fag-AY-see-ay)I saw this tree earlier this year at the New York Botanical Garden. I probably would have kept on walking right by it if hadn’t been for the way the light was playing through the leaves. That is when I noticed the leaves were round and upon closer examination the tree was a bit more compact (but still huge) and had a nice ascending branch structure. I have always thought of Beech Trees as kind of a grandfather of trees. They get so big and have such a large spread that I figured they must be long lived. The life span is about 200 years, which is a long time but not as long as I had thought. Some specimens can live up to 300 years. They don’t start to flower until they are around 50 years of age (some earlier, some later).I have planted dozens of Beeches over the years including one, at the Estate, which is about 65 feet tall now. So I guess they grow pretty fast even though that tree wa ...

Round Leaf Beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Rotundifolia') 2007-09-17 04:48:00 Round Leaf BeechFagus sylvatica 'Rotundifolia'(FAG-us) (sil-VAT-ee-kuh)Fagaceae (fag-AY-see-ay)I saw this tree earlier this year at the New York Botanical Garden. I probably would have kept on walking right by it if hadn’t been for the way the light was playing through the leaves. That is when I noticed the leaves were round and upon closer examination the tree was a bit more compact (but still huge) and had a nice ascending branch structure. I have always thought of Beech Trees as kind of a grandfather of trees. They get so big and have such a large spread that I figured they must be long lived. The life span is about 200 years, which is a long time but not as long as I had thought. Some specimens can live up to 300 years. They don’t start to flower until they are around 50 years of age (some earlier, some later).I have planted dozens of Beeches over the years including one, at the Estate, which is about 65 feet tall now. So I guess they grow pretty fast even though that tree wa ...

Modern English Shrub Rose 'Heritage' 2007-09-16 08:21:00 Modern English Shrub Rose 'Heritage'Synonyms: Roberta, AUSblushIn celebration of having my blog reviewed in ‘Rose Ramblings’, the monthly newsletter of the San Diego Rose Society, I have decided to post this photo. The newsletter is available by subscription only so there is no link that I can post. I hope some of the members send me some email. I would love to be able to grow roses in Southern California. They have to grow better than here in Connecticut, with its broiling summer heat and suffocating humidity.The other nice thing that happened to this website was it was awarded a ‘Photo Genius’ award from Mike at Photoxication. The award was created by Ali at A Bit of This and a Dash of the Other! Both Ali and Mike are nice people, people you wouldn’t mind going out with for a few pints at your local pub, although I think Mike drives his motorcycle a little too fast sometimes (just kidding). I am both honored and humbled that he thought my photography warranted this awar ...

Modern English Shrub Rose 'Heritage' 2007-09-16 08:21:00 Modern English Shrub Rose 'Heritage'Synonyms: Roberta, AUSblushIn celebration of having my blog reviewed in ‘Rose Ramblings’, the monthly newsletter of the San Diego Rose Society, I have decided to post this photo. The newsletter is available by subscription only so there is no link that I can post. I hope some of the members send me some email. I would love to be able to grow roses in Southern California. They have to grow better than here in Connecticut, with its broiling summer heat and suffocating humidity.The other nice thing that happened to this website was it was awarded a ‘Photo Genius’ award from Mike at Photoxication. The award was created by Ali at A Bit of This and a Dash of the Other! Both Ali and Mike are nice people, people you wouldn’t mind going out with for a few pints at your local pub, although I think Mike drives his motorcycle a little too fast sometimes (just kidding). I am both honored and humbled that he thought my photography warranted this awar ...