| |
|
|
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: |
644
10076
182
5917
|
|
|
Articles from Digital Flower Pictures.com |
Fish Geranium
2008-02-11 08:44:00
Zonal GeraniumPelargonium x hortorum 'Venus'(pe-lar-GO-nee-um) (hor-TOR-um)Synonyms: Fish Geranium, Horseshoe GeraniumThis was a pretty Geranium that I grew last year. Actually it is still going since I dug it up and potted it for the house. I did cut it way back and it is starting to flourish again. Zonal Geraniums are available in a host of named cultivars and colors. I always grow a few Geraniums just for old time sake and the last couple of years I have been very impressed with my kind of random cultivar selections (whatever the nursery had when I was there). Geraniums like loamy, well-drained soil that isn’t allowed to get too dry. They benefit from fertilization and dead-heading the spent blossoms.This is just what I call a Wild Aster. I am not sure of the species name. In some ways this plant is a pest and others it is one of the most beautiful plants on the Estate. I think I learned to immediately remove it from areas I don’t want it. It seeds heavily and grows rapidly so ...
|
Naranjilla
2008-02-10 10:47:00
NaranjillaSolanum quitoense(so-LAN-num) (kee-toh-EN-see)Synonyms: Lulo, Quito Orange, Golden Fruit of the Andes, Bed of Nails, Solanum angulatumHaving never seen this plant before my trip to the Bartlett Arboretum before I had to look it up. Since it was planted amongst the tropical plant display I figured it was tender and that was correct (Zone 10). I didn’t know they produced an edible tropical fruit known as the Naranjilla or the ‘little orange’, which refers to the color of the fruit when ripe; not the citrus type of orange. This member of the Nightshade family is mostly a South American native comes in two different types. the spiny wild version and the smooth cultivated type. Cultivation has spread around the Caribbean, Central America and to Hawaii and Florida.It wasn’t fruiting when I took these pictures in October. I read that it is very difficult to get it to fruit in the temperate latitudes. You can grow it indoors and enjoy the purple hairs the new foliage gets. Th ...
|
Variegated Tapioca
2008-02-09 07:57:00
Variegated TapiocaManihot esculenta 'Variegata'(MAN-ee-hot) (es-kew-LEN-tuh)A double header from this years archives as I continue to copy and back up the original files. I haven’t grown either of these plants personally so there won’t be a lot of cultivation advice. This first plant I saw growing in a friend’s garden and even though a few of the leaves are going by (it was fall) you can see how nice this plant looked. It is a very tender perennial (USDA Zone 10) that can grow to 4 to 6 feet although in this Westchester County garden it got to about 3 feet. It is a relative to the plant that we get the Tapioca for pudding from. It looks like it would make a nice container plant. Variegated Tapioca was picked as a Texas Superstar and here is a link to more information on the plant: Variegated Tapioca, Texas SuperstarRedflower False YuccaHesperaloe parviflora(hes-per-AL-oh) (par-VEE-flor-uh)Synonym: Red YuccaThis second plant I saw growing at Wave Hill and thought that it must on ...
|
Pot Marigold
2008-02-08 06:40:00
Pot MarigoldCalendula officinalis 'Kablouna Mix'(ka-LEN-dew-luh) (oh-fiss-ih-NAH-liss)Synonym: English MarigoldThis beautiful flower came from a packet of seed I sowed last spring. I just prepared the ground and put the seed out and it produced an interesting mix of colors. Calendula is actually an edible flower that the petals can also be used for skin ointments. Medicinal uses for this Mediterranean native date back to the 12th century. It is a cool season annual that benefits from being cut back in hot weather.I have been going through old pictures on my hard drive in preparation for making some back up disks and have been copying the files on to another external hard disk. All you photographers please don’t put his off too long! I actually lost the original files from all the pictures I took in 2004 and 2005 because my external HD failed and when I went to use my back up DVDs they were blank. Since then I have put a new system in place for backups. Over the next couple of days ...
|
Golden Nellie R. Stevens Holly
2008-02-07 07:50:00
Hybrid HollyIlex x cv. 'Gold Nellie R. Stevens'(EYE-leks)One of things I enjoyed at Planting Fields was their huge Ilex collection. Both in the scope and size of the plants. This cultivar is one type I had never seen before, and realize that it is not for everyone. The regular or normal Nellie Stevens Holly is a beautiful shrub or tree but it doesn’t grow well in my part of Connecticut. I would say about 6 out of 10 winters it is severely leaf burned and it sustains some damage 8 out of 10 years. Even though mine are planted in a sheltered location the constant winter defoliation has been taking its toll. It doesn’t actually kill the tree but makes more of a semi-evergreen, which kind of defeats the purpose of having a Holly. It seems these problems also effect the berry production as I have only had a few scattered berries in the 18 years I have been growing mine even though there are plenty of males around.Now on Long Island they seem to thrive and are not as affected by the w ...
|
ABC Wednesday – C is for Camellia
2008-02-06 06:53:00
Camellia japonica 'Debutante'ABC Wednesday – C is for CamelliaIf you’re here for Wordless Wednesday please scroll down to the next post.These pictures are from the Camellia House at Planting Fields Arboretum. I think it is one of the largest collections of Camellias under glass (about 300 plants) in the world. The plants, which are mostly Camellia japonica are planted in the ground and maintained to a high standard. C. sinencis, C. sasanqua and C. reticulata are also represented in the collection.Two of the most prominent firms in American Landscape Architecture designed the house (A. Robeson Sargent and the Olmstead Brothers), which housed the Camellia plants the owner brought back from the Isle of Guernsey in 1917.Camellias like to grow in cool conditions and this thermometer shows that the temperature was 48 degrees F (9 C) inside. I call this a Minimum/Maximum thermometer, although there is probably a more technical term for it. It shows the same current temperature on both s ...
|
Calanthe Orchids
2008-02-04 08:31:00
Calanthe Orchid(kal-AN-thee)The Orchid collection at Planting Fields was beautiful and bountiful. There were some that I hadn’t seen before and some common ones. These two Calanthe Orchids were really out in force and I couldn’t help snapping a few photos as I strolled by. The first two pictures are Calanthe ‘William Murray’. I didn’t find much reference material on this cultivar but did find out that the genus Calanthe has about 200 species, most of which are native to Asia. The 200 species includes both evergreen and deciduous plants. That is a new one on me, as I didn’t know there were any deciduous Orchids.Calanthe ‘William Murray’Here is a link to the best article I found. It includes some history and detailed repotting instructions:merkles orchids.comThis plant’s tag said Calanthe ‘rosea’On Friday I decided to get out my Nikon Coolpix 5400 and maybe use it over the weekend. When I turned it on the Auto focus light was blinking and the monitor was black. It w ...
|
Planting Fields Arboretum
2008-02-03 10:18:00
Planting Fields ArboretumOyster Bay, New YorkYesterday I drove out to Long Island and visited Planting Fields Arboretum. My main goal was to see the Camellia Collection but I was, however, a little early as most of the plants were just in bud. There were a few blooming but the real show looked like it would be coming in a couple of weeks. Hardly a disappointment I decided to go to the Main Greenhouse and have a look around. They still had the Poinsettia display up and that was colorful with some interesting types and colors. My camera fogged up and I wasn’t able to get a clear picture in that part of the greenhouse. The other parts of the greenhouse have Orchids, Succulents and Cactus and Begonias in separate rooms with some other tropical plants displayed along the way.Morning Glory seed podsNormally when I have gone to this Arboretum I have just stopped in along the way from buying plants out on the North Fork, which kind of makes for a rushed visit. Yesterday I decided to make it ...
|
Sky Watch Friday and a Camellia Flower
2008-02-01 07:13:00
Sky Watch Friday and a Camellia FlowerI have wanted to join in with Sky Watch Friday for several weeks but I had the self imposed rule that the picture had to be taken on Friday or the day before. I have the greatest respect for Dot and her blog. I think she is a wonderful photographer that really captures life around her area. This morning the sunrise was so pretty I thought this is my time. It is funny since we are expecting a freezing rain/rain storm today and I didn’t think the sunrise would be anything remarkable. There is over an inch of rain forecast and it should start soon. This is the view from my driveway. I am not going to work today but got up like I do everyday at 6 am (5:15 am during the season).I won’t be updating tomorrow as I am going to try and sneak off to Long Island early in the morning. I want to see the Camellia Collection at Planting Fields Arboretum. This picture is a teaser as I hope to come back with a few nice Camellia pictures and will discuss them a l ...
|
Himalayan Blueberry
2008-01-31 07:46:00
Himalayan BlueberryVaccinium moupinense(vak-SIN-ee-um) (mu-pin-EN-see)Ericaceae (er-ek-AY-see-ay)I planted a couple of these last summer kind of to see how they would do and I was quite impressed. There seems to more and more people planting Blueberries as an ornamental and for good reason. They are a hardy, showy plant that doesn’t require too much care. I have several types of the larger species but the Himalayan Blueberry I have decided to use more as a groundcover. It is classified as an evergreen shrub so we will see what happens in the spring when this gorgeous winter color gives way to the new growth, which is also reddish tinged. I haven’t seen the flowers yet but they are typically Blueberry shaped (kind of an upside down urn) and a dark red. The berries, which are produced in the fall, are purple and can be eaten.So far I have enjoyed this plant in the garden and will probably pick up a few more. I am going to shear mine in the spring to keep them at about 12 inches. They ...
|
Bougainvillea -ABC Wednesday
2008-01-30 07:29:00
BougainvilleaBougainvillea x buttiana ‘Enid Lancaster’(boo-gan-VIL-lee-uh)Nyctaginaceae (nyk-taj-i-NAY-see-ay)If you are here for Wordless Wednesday please scroll down to the next post.If you are here for ABC Wednesday ‘B’ is for one of my favorite tropical plants, Bougainvillea. This one was blooming at the New York Botanical Garden last week. I loved the color, not having seen one in that shade before. An Internet search revealed literally hundreds of hybrids and cultivars and a rainbow of colors. This plant is a hybrid (remember from the ‘X’ post) of Bougainvillea glabra x B. peruviana. This cross has produced a lot of different cultivars, which are vigorous and colorful. They often can grow to 40 feet long which is larger than either of the parent plants.All Bougainvillea are native to South America but have spread across the world. In non-tropical areas gardeners can enjoy them as houseplants, although you need to keep them cut back. If you are growing them indoors it ...
|
Orange Star Impatiens
2008-01-28 14:16:00
ImpatiensImpatiens wallerianaSynonym: Busy Lizzy(im-PAY-shuns) (wall-er-ee-AH-nuh)This picture was a little lesson for me. I didn’t write down if this was ‘Accent Orange Star’ or ‘Mega Orange Star’. I think it was from the ‘Accent’ series since it didn’t get very tall and the flowers weren’t the two inches wide that the ‘Mega Orange Star’ gets. I always enjoy having some Impatiens in the garden. The colors they keep coming up with are amazing to me. One thing I don’t like is the ever-growing trend of making them shorter and shorter. I like them a little taller for some areas. One time I accidentally fertilized my Impatiens with a very high Nitrogen lawn fertilizer and they grew to about 4 feet tall. The downside was they hardly had a flower all summer.Most people are familiar with using Impatiens in the shady areas of the garden. They don’t need deadheading but require regular water to look their best. I found that the Deer do like to eat them so try and use a ...
|
|
|