Tuesday, April 26, 2011

"That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet"


 Fertilizing really pays off when it comes to roses!  I took these photos this morning around the garden.  I can't take any credit for the planting of them and Dr. Gooch did the fertilizing, but I am enjoying their form and fragrance.  Wish you could come take a rose stroll with yours truly.

Another wonder in the garden right now is this Bells of Ireland that Dr. Gooch planted by seed two winters ago.  Here it is even overpowering the Hibiscus next to it.  My dad, the florist and gardener extraordinaire, said he had never even seen one growing "in the wild".  



When we were dating, he would give me flowers with Bells of Ireland (or Moluccella laevis) in the arrangement.  He loves them so tried his hand at them in the garden.  They are in the mint family and are native to Syria, Turkey and the Caucusus.  They don't like hot, humid climates...so we'll see how they fare through the summer.  For now, they are a delight to watch.


This is my new favorite flowering perennial.  It is Baptisia Australis or "False Indigo".  It is in the pea family.  And does well in drought and even heavy clay soil.  A winner!


 A little bit of the west coast on the east coast!  We scattered some poppy seeds a couple autumns ago and now have a couple of plants that pop out each spring.  My sister, Katy, would love these!


And here!  My first ever peony bud.  The ants are attracted to a sap on the bud but do no harm.  They also don't "tickle open" the petals as commonly believed.


Vegetables are well and nice, but in the words of Claude Monet, "I must have flowers, always, and always." 

4 comments:

Maddy said...

These flowers just made my afternoon prettier :)

Marci said...

ooo so lovely!
you have lots of english roses it looks like...do you like them? i haven't yet planted any, i mostly plant shrub and climbing but i'd like to plant one or two. which are your favorites?

Marci said...

and i completely agree with monet!

Beth said...

Thanks for identifying Bells of Ireland for me . . . bought some last summer at a farmer's market and couldn't remember what the seller said they were.
You have lovely gardens!