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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Cut-leaf Lilac (Syringa laciniata) 1969-12-31 17:59:59 Cut-leaf LilacSyringa laciniata(si-RING-gah) (la-sin-ee-AY-tuh)Oleaceae (oh-lee-AY-see-ay)You don?t see this plant too often (well I don?t anyways) and I often wonder why. It has been a welcome addition to the garden. I originally bought 3 plants but only 2 made it. The two that did make it have really turned into handsome plants, although one is getting a little crowded by a Sargent?s Crabapple (Malus sargentii). I planted my Cut-leafs on either side of a broad Granite staircase. It has been nice to enjoy the fragrant flowers and unusual foliage up close. They are quite vigorous and I have started to prune them a bit more. I have been holding mine at 4.5 feet but have read that 6 to 8 feet is a more normal height. The foliage seems fairly resistant to the dreadful Powdery Mildew but it can get it. Overall I am extremely happy with my Cut-leaf Lilacs. I have been fooling around a bit with the Monochrome setting on my D70s, which is a lot of fun. Actually the best picture I took of the ...

Rhododendron 'Dexter's Spice' 1969-12-31 17:59:59 Rhododendron 'Dexter's Spice'The Rhododendron Collection is really starting to bloom. I worked most of the day sprucing up the plants and planting some of the new ones (see list below). I loved the way the light played over the flowers and new growth during the day; it was an ever-changing show. I am adding a lot of compost to the beds and fertilizing. I also made a couple of tough choices with the chain saw. Especially in the area that the treetop came down and smashed everything. Besides crushing several Rhododendrons, it sheared a 25-foot Bloodgood Japanese Maple in half. The tree is actually on the mend, it just looks a little funny. A couple of large hybrid Rhodos had been knocked flat and I decided to cut those branches and add some new plants. The existing Rhododendrons were not as bad as I thought when I made a closer inspection yesterday. There is going to be more flowers than I thought, but it isn?t going to be like a couple of years ago when I had 78 varieties bloom durin ...

Columbine 1969-12-31 17:59:59 ColumbineAquilegia(a-kwi-LEE-jee-uh)Ranunculaceae (ra-nun-kew-LAY-see-ay)I haven?t really done too much work with all the different Columbines, even though I am growing about a 1,000 of them this year. I haven?t bought any in a long time and I think they have been hybridizing amongst themselves. In one area I have a dark purple strain of Columbine that returns from seed each year. This white one was growing in the middle of all of the purples. It seems like a different type as it is much lower growing and has different foliage. As a matter of fact this is the only Columbine of this type in the whole garden. So naturally I had to take a picture of it. It was real sunny so I couldn?t get a good picture of the border. I am surprised that I didn?t blow out the whites on these pictures. Here is a picture of the purple strain. I almost didn?t take this picture because I knew with the sun the camera would have a little trouble with the color. I just wanted to show how different the white one ...

Variegated Weigela (Weigela florida 'Variegata') 1969-12-31 17:59:59 Variegated WeigelaWeigela florida 'Variegata'(wy-GEE-la) (FLOR-id-uh)CaprifoliaceaeJust a quick post for I am off to work today. These are a couple of shots from the Estate?s Weigela Collection. I am not even bringing my camera to work today, as I know I will be too busy to shot any pictures. I have decided to take Sunday off so maybe I will go to Wave Hill or the NYBG for a few snaps. I usually like to have everybody gardens open by Memorial Day but it just isn?t going to happen this year. I should be able to get it done by next week and then I will have some time to concentrate on some of the new work I have on tap. It has been a heck of a season so far. I just wish I had more time to photograph it. The various Weigela have been blooming for a few weeks. It is one of my favorite shrubs because all it needs is a bit of pruning and it is very reliable for blooming every year. This is 'Pink Princess'Here is a short list of the cultivars I am growing (there are others but I can?t thi ...

Magician Deutzia Buds (Deutzia 'Magician') 1969-12-31 17:59:59 Magician Deutzia BudsDeutzia 'Magician'(DOOT-zee-uh)These are the buds of Magician Deutzia. I never noticed the star shaped design until I went to photograph the buds. I found several scientific names listed for this plant and couldn?t decide which one was correct. I have two of these growing in two different areas and the only complaint I have with them is they try and grow too big. It is partially my fault for planting them where I did. I had room for about a 5-foot shrub and these seem to want to grow taller than that. I think I may try and move one of the plants to an area where it will have a little more room to expand. They seem to be pest and disease free, which is always a plus. The flowers are unusual with pink underside and a white reverse. They seem a little bigger than the other couple of Deutzias types I grow. There will always be room in my shrub border for Deutzia gracilis 'Nikko'. I often use it as a groundcover or in combination with upright Japanese Maples. I will ...

A Few Wave Hill Iris 1969-12-31 17:59:59 A Few Wave Hill IrisI went to Wave Hill yesterday and of course saw a lot of neat and strange plants. I have been there about a hundred times before but I always see a couple of new things. I am talking trees and established plantings so I don?t know how I missed them but I saw a couple of things I hadn?t noticed. I hadn?t really seen their Iris blooming before. There weren?t a lot of cultivars but what they did have was interesting and unusual. I didn?t spend a lot of time taking pictures of them because I find it a difficult flower to photograph. The rest of the gardens had really taken off since the last time I had been there in April. I will probably post a few more pictures of my trip during this week. I have 58 hours of work planned for this week and it shouldn?t be a problem if the weather cooperates. I am working today even though it is a holiday here in the United States. I don?t mind working on holidays because the traffic is so light. I can get to work in 40 minutes instead ...

Manchurian Lilac (Syringa patula 'Miss Kim') 1969-12-31 17:59:59 Manchurian LilacSyringa patula 'Miss Kim'(si-RING-gah) (PAT-yoo-luh) Oleaceae (oh-lee-AY-see-ay)I have to admit to trying to take this picture a couple of days ago and when I wasn?t happy with the first results went back and took this picture (which still isn?t as I wanted it but not bad for running around during lunch). My ?Miss Kim? lilacs have been steadily improving over the years and have turned into beautiful shrubs. They require a good bit of water, I found out, and even the group I have growing in a little more than part shade is blooming this year. The ones that have more sun are flowering very heavily. They are not that great for cut flowers, because of the short stems, but they are of good size and very fragrant. I like them because they grow more compactly than most Lilacs. The foliage is for the most part disease and pest resistant and it turns fabulous colors in the fall. This is a bud of Kalmia latifolia ?Elf?. It is a short growing, heavy blooming cultivar of Mountain ...

Hybrid Tea Rose 'Double Delight' 1969-12-31 17:59:59 Hybrid Tea RoseRosa 'Double Delight'(RO-zuh)I went to get a few roses yesterday. The nursery had them but after waiting 25 minutes for a salesman (and having two people in front of me still waiting) I abandoned the idea. They had a nice selection of varieties. I took a couple of pictures while I was waiting. This one of ?Double Delight? came out the best, even though the flower is going by. It is a classic Hybrid Tea Rose with a strong fragrance and great colors. It hasn?t been disease resistant for me in the past. Roses are the only plant that I break my no-preventive pesticide applications on. It is virtually impossible to grow roses in Connecticut without a spray program. I take care of 3 small rose gardens (24, 20, 12 plants, respectively) and I have been using the Bayer All-in-One instead of spraying. In one garden not only am I battling black spot and aphids but deer too. They love to strip the buds right before they bloom. I remember one time the owner of the garden had been ... Hybrid

Snow-In-Summer (Cerastium tomentosum) 1969-12-31 17:59:59 Snow-In-SummerCerastium tomentosum(ker-RAS-tee-um) (toh-men-TOH-sum)Caryophyllaceae (kar-ree-oh-fil-AY-see-ay)My little patch of Snow-in ?the-Summer returns every year. I don?t know how it grows in the gravelly backfill of a loose stonewall but it does. The gray foliage and white flowers are a real treat this time of year. A few years ago it was looking a little ratty and I cut it back hard and it has been fine ever since. It is planted in a 2 foot by 2 foot pocket above the wall which is very dry. I wasn?t familiar with the Caryophyllaceae family but found out that it is Carnation or Pink family.Of course I had to try a closeup. I used the flash on this picture if you can believe that.This is a snapshot of a symbiotic relationship. For shots like this I really wish I had the 105mm macro lens. The 60mm Nikkor-Micro is great for flowers but falls a little short on insects. There is some folklore associated with the ant/peony relationship. Some people still believe that the buds won?t op ...

Indigofera ?? 1969-12-31 17:59:59 About ten years ago I got this plant at the Wave Hill plant sale. I hadn?t seen it before and it looked a little scrawny so I planted it behind the tennis court. There are a few other interesting plants out there but for the most part the plants need to be really tough to survive. This is the first time, I think, that it has bloomed. I don?t remember the species and the answer to that is on my old computer (maybe). When I switched computers the Estate?s database didn?t switch over. The program was too old so I have to boot the old Blue & White and copy it into FileMaker Pro. I wish I had done that before. Well anyway I was really excited to see it bloom, as the flower is nice. Of course I had forgotten my camera, which necessitated about a half-mile walk back to get it at the shed (uphill most of the way). I will post the name when I find it or maybe someone tuning in will know it. I thought it was a species of Indigofera but after looking up a few dozen of them I am not so sure. Most ...

Busy day again today, some day I will have a job... 1969-12-31 17:59:59 Busy day again today, some day I will have a job that I don't have to work every Saturday. I have decided to take tomorrow off. This is a Dahlia and an abstract of a Chive flower (Allium schoenoprasum), which incidentally did not keep Black Spot from my Roses. I don?t know the cultivar of Dahlia bit it is a pretty one with purple edges and a bit of yellow in the middle. Here is a picture of the whole flower. I have featured Dahlias before:Shannon DahliaWildwood MarieMom's Special and ProcyonThis is the Chive flower. It is kind of hard to mistake it for a Dahlia. ...

Irish Roses 1969-12-31 17:59:59 Irish RosesI have been reminiscing about my trip to Ireland last summer. Especially since someone who went with us is ill right now. I have been going over a few photos and found these pictures of Irish roses. The first one is from a hopelessly beautiful garden in front of some modest townhouses (not sure what they call them over there). If I could cultivate a little more of this type of action I would be a rich man (not only monetarily). Some other photos I took during the trip can be found here:Ireland AlbumI have some correspondence to send out today. I have been woefully lax in emailing friends and family. There are a couple of business emails to go too. I have to explain to everyone how far behind I am. The 1 to 2 inches of rain we are expecting from the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry isn?t going to help matters. I guess I can only do what I can do. I have to get the rest of tropicals out of the Conservatory and that sounds easy except they have to lowered to the first floor via ...

Bearded Iris (Iris germanica) 1969-12-31 17:59:59 Bearded IrisIris germanica(EYE-ris) (jer-MAN-ih-kuh)Iridaceae (eye-rid-AY-see-ay)This is a Bearded Iris from work. It is not a particularly attractive flower but looks okay viewed close up. The top is kind of a dusty pink, which doesn?t work that well with the other colors. I do have a lot of Iris flowers this year and I hope the large number of Japanese Iris planted in the garden follow the lead of the Bearded, Siberian and Species Iris that have all bloomed well this season. Uh-oh. On a lighter note, a Weeping Blue Spruce (Picea pungens ?Glauca Pendula?) bud shot with a very shallow depth of field. I like trying to work with a shallow DOF but it may not be for everyone. It is good planting weather as the rain is coming down hard but not too hard. It has time to soak into the ground. In between the heavier showers a light mist is falling. We have had over an inch and a half, so far, with more on the way. Hopefully this will perk up the Dahlias I put in on Thursday. Even though I had a ...

Foxtail Lily (Eremurus himalaicus) 1969-12-31 17:59:59 Foxtail LilyEremurus himalaicus(er-EE-mur-us) (him-al-LAY-ih-kus)Liliaceae (lil-ee-AY-see-ay)It seems most of the species in Eremurus go by the name Foxtail Lily. This was a nice one because of its snow white color and large size. I would like to try a nice patch in front of some Diablo Ninebark. They make a nice cut flower. I used to have a small amount of Foxtails (Eremurus x isabellinus) at the Estate but come to think of it I haven?t seen them since the last round of construction in 1998 (guess they are gone). I saw this one at Wave Hill. On my first visit to Wave Hill this spring I noticed, for the first time, that they have a huge specimen of Dove Tree (Davidia involucrata). I have never seen one in bloom before. But when I got down there again a month later this is what I found.I did notice about 5 bracts still hanging on the tree but that didn?t give the joy I was looking for. I did manage to snap this picture. The flower inside had already turned to seed so I didn?t bother sho ...

King's Spear (Asphodelus luteus) 1969-12-31 17:59:59 King's SpearAsphodelus luteus(as-fah-DEL-in-ee) (LOO-tee-uh)Asphodelaceae (as-foh-del-AY-see-ay)This is another from my trip to Wave Hill in the Bronx. It was quite a nice plant and looked good against the background of white (which looked like Snow-in-the-Summer). I have never seen this growing in Connecticut and a couple of websites listed it as a Zone 7 (USDA) plant and others said it was hardy in Zone 6. I missed two of the attributes this plant has. I was focused on the star shaped flowers and the striped buds but this plant also has beautiful grass like foliage and fragrant flowers. The flowers are also edible. I do have to pay more attention sometimes. Here are two links:The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia®Plants For A Future ...