Category: Phlowers

Phlowers – Mexican Sunflower/Delight & Dilemma

On By TimelessladyIn Phlowers2 Comments

Outside my window grows a spectacular plant that causes me delight and a sense of impending dilemma. The Mexican Sunflower, Tithonia, was grown by way of Winter-Sowing, and has thrived both in its milk carton birthing room, and in the rich soil of the patio garden. The plant has attracted every type of buzzing pollinator, hosted hundreds of butterfly visits, quenched the thirst of hummingbirds, and now that it is setting seed, drawn in goldfinches, in drabber Autumn colors, but goldfinches, nevertheless. What could be more of a delight?

A newly hatched Monarch Butterfly spent hours fueling up for its flight to Mexico, circling the Mexican Sunflower continuously for hours, sipping nectar as it went round and round.

A pollinator’s view of the nectar-filled florets and pollen.

One dilemma is the size of the plant. I measured today, October 13th, and the height was eight feet. The plant is at least five or six feet across at the bottom. Next year, I’ll need to plant near the back wall of the house. I have other Mexican Sunflowers, but none reached quite the size of this beauty. I have collected seeds and look forward to growing them again next year with a few amendments.

The first I already mentioned. Keep the Mexican Sunflower at the very back of the garden, but still near enough to enjoy the up close and personal look at the nature it draws in with its nectar and pollen. Second, once the first lush leaves have fallen off, giving rise to many branches with smaller leaves and more blooms, consider planting some fast-growing vining plants at the base to grow up and add a bit of lushness to the sparser foliage by midsummer. A fast-growing scarlet runner bean would be a great choice.

The third dilemma is my indecision over whether to cut it down when it is entirely defoliated and flowerless or to leave it up as perches for the winter birds. My husband and I discussed decorating it by stringing popcorn and other goodies on the branches throughout the winter for the birds to enjoy when food is scarce. I will update later if we do this.

A photo taken today, a Mexican Sunflower, still blooming in mid-October, braving the rain of a N’or Easter. If you have room, consider growing this amazing plant.

An appreciative goldfinch gathering seed was the perfect signpost backdrop for a quote from the poet Robert Browning.

Phlowers – Rose of Sharon Topiary

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Years ago, a blogging friend sent me seeds from her Rose of Sharon. I nurtured one sprout for years and now it stands in our backyard garden border as a Rose of Sharon topiary.

Growing bushes that normally sprawl in many directions as a topiary saves the garden bed beneath the branches for annuals and perennials. In the vicinity of the Rose of Sharon grow vinca, violets, iris, gladiolus, and two Knockout rose bushes; all have enough room and sunlight to thrive.

The color of the flowers is a lovely lavender accented with a band of red in the inner recesses of the petals. The stamen is interesting, and I have seen bees and hummingbirds dip into the center. One of the pests that can attack these flowers is Japanese beetles, but so far this year, the beetles have not appeared.

I love the way the petals glow when the sunlight illuminates them from above. I used this flower as my blog’s August header. Today’s photographs are part of Skywatch Friday and Floral Friday Fotos.

PS Another wonderful aspect of this plant is its ability to self-seed. On either side of the tree, and a bit further down the border, I have identified seedlings that are a year or two old and growing well. When it is time, I will bring them to topiary size too in the coming years.

Phlowers – Whatsoever is Lovely/Amaryllis

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I managed to choose a very cooperative Amaryllis from a local nursery. It budded up and bloomed in a timely fashion for the Christmas Eve gathering at our house. As always, the leaves and stems became too heavy for the pot, so I added some long branches of holly to help hold them upright. I like the extra bit of Christmas cheer the holly adds.

This amaryllis was a perfect choice for this week’s Whatsoever is Lovely challenge hosted by Xingfu Mama.

Phlowers – Schlumbergera/Christmas Cactus

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The Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera) I bought as a prize for a family game was so beautiful I wanted to keep it for myself. I will keep my eyes open when I go out this weekend for a similar plant. I have had several over the years, but I only have a small Thanksgiving cactus now. I want to find a new Christmas variety and grow it into a large specimen.

I’ve experienced rebloom on my Christmas cactuses, but never to the extent of the number of flowers they have when you purchase them brand new from their greenhouse start. This one may prove my experience with them wrong. I hope the winner of this plant enjoys the beautiful pink flowers.

When viewed sideways the flowers look like a bird on the wing. This Christmas Cactus bloom is part of Xingfu Mama’s Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge.

Quote & Phlower – Poinsettia

On By TimelessladyIn Phlowers, Quote4 Comments

Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the world. The perfect gift is that He gave His only Son. The only requirement is to believe in Him. The reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life. ~Corrie Ten Boom

This beautiful poinsettia is part of Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge.

Phlowers – Everlastings

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Before you read more in this blog post, please read this article: Message from Cee via Chris.

I have chosen everlasting flowers today as my post for Cee’s Flower of the Day. A heart of Maple Keys seems appropriate to send to Cee and Chris. Blue Violets also mean Love and Faithfulness, and I send that to Cee. I believe in Life Everlasting. God bless us all.

Phlowers – Butterfly Weed with Fluff

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The beautiful fluff emerging from the pods of the Butterfly Weed has entranced me for days. God fashioned the pod’s tip to open the fluff before it rides the wind. The sharp end helps the poufs round out as they await launch.

This week, I held the fluff above my head and watched as it rode the air currents fifty feet into the air. Quickly out of sight, I wished they would reach the heavens and lightly brush the face of God. Yes, I’ll admit I was momentarily childish in my thinking. Still, His Spirit certainly touched my spirit in return, and I was reminded of that verse that tells us to receive the Kingdom of Heaven like a child.

Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Mark 10:15

The seeds are ready to be airborne and fly into the sky. A perfect photo for Skywatch Friday.

Phlowers – Cardinal Climber Vine/FOTD

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Cardinal Climber Vine ((Ipomoea × multifida) is my post for Cee’s Flower of the Day. These vines and the beautiful trumpet-shaped flowers blooming on them are some of the best flowers for a hummingbird garden.

Most of my garden plants have blooms that are waning. I don’t obsess over the lack of bloom because I see few bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds in October. The Cardinal Climber Vines bloomed late for me this year. I thought they were in a slump until a few weeks ago when they burst into dozens of blossoms. There is nothing timid about these flowers when they bloom; they are brilliant in color, and the stamen almost seems to glow like a spotlight beckoning hummingbirds to dive in for the nectar they contain.

Yesterday, I had an experience that I hope will stay a treasure in my spirit forever. I was bent down, turning off the hose nozzle, and when I stood, inches from me, a hummingbird was sipping nectar from the Cardinal Climber blooms. It seemed unaware of me, or perhaps in fueling up to return to warmer climates, was willing to risk my presence. I stood for several minutes, holding my breath, wanting to jump for joy as I listened to the buzz of the small bird’s wings and had the closest view ever of a hummingbird sipping nectar. I will never forget that magical moment in the garden.

The Spruce has information on how to grow Cardinal Climber Vines.

Phlowers & Photo Challenges – Skywatch Friday/Fairy Wishes

On By TimelessladyIn Phlowers, photo challenges15 Comments

Are these fairy wishes as much a part of your childhood remembrances as mine? Some of my earliest memories of being outdoors involved chasing after these wishes.

I captured only a portion of this wish as it floated against the blue sky, but I am entranced by the way the feathery tendrils become a prism and reflect a bit of rainbow color. 

Many of the wishes floating in my yard are now emerging from these Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) pods, a type of milkweed. I also have common milkweed pods opening and letting their seeds fly free on an aerial bit of fluff. 

Pollinators love Butterfly Weed.

Butterflies, such as this Black Swallowtail, also sip the nectar from the blossoms.

I couldn’t resist cropping out a close-up of this beautiful butterfly face.

This post is part of Friday Skywatch. Thank you to the Host of this challenge.

Phlowers – What’s In My Garden?

On By TimelessladyIn Phlowers14 Comments

In spring, my garden is a blank slate as the daffodils push above the soil’s surface, where they have slept away in the summer, winter, and autumn. It’s never unexpected, but always still amazing when August displays a thick jungle of flowers in the place where blooming began sparsely in March.

I haven’t taken part in the Lens-Artist Challenge for quite a while. I was drawn in by the title of the challenge. I am a bit late, but still happy to take part in Challenge #311.

Today as I was photographing the flowers I was surrounded by Black Swallowtails sipping from the Butterfly Bush and other flowers in the yard. I decided, since they use my fennel as host plants, and I help them out by raising them in butterfly houses on the porch, they too are growing in my garden.

Phlowers – Echinacea

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Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge for this week is a Single Flower. I chose this beautiful white Echinacea that grows in full sun near my patio. The identity of the seed source is Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Since I planted the seeds indoors sometime in Spring of 2022, it took two years for the plant to flower outside. As soon as I finish writing this post, I will follow the link to Baker Creek and purchase another packet. I plan to start the echinacea seeds now, in late summer, and grow them to blooming size by Spring.

I had many unusual colors grow from this variety: peach, deep coral, the typical pink, and this white flower. If you love the sturdy stems and reliable bloom of Echinacea plants, try growing this unique mixture.

Echinacea Paradiso Mix

Paradiso Echinacea loaded down with blooms in late July.

(Later) I did purchase the seeds and they are already shipped. At this slower time of the growing season Baker Creek Seed company is very fast with order fulfillment. Baker Creek is definitely in the upper echelon of best heirloom seed companies.

The Farmer’s Almanac has an excellent article on how to grow echinacea.

Phlowers – Profusion Double Deep Salmon Zinnia

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We grew this lively mix in the front beds of our old farmhouse porch and discovered it is one impressive zinnia, forming mounds of continuous color that were adored by the butterflies. ~Pinetree Garden Seeds

I am in love with this low-growing zinnia. Perfect for the front of my backyard patio border, the color is luscious, a brilliant coral pink.

The plants have been blooming for several weeks. They were available through Pinetree Garden Seeds, a reliable seed company. Next year, I will do the same and plant two side by side. This creates a mesmerizing display of color.

There is a plethora of flowers, and they last quite a long time. The color is beautiful even as they near the end of their bloom time. These zinnias fade to a lovely creamy yellow before they need to be cut away.

My one complaint is the small number of seeds in the packet. Although, the description does include the seed count so there was ample warning.

The zinnias are part of Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Phlowers – Macro Monday/Torenia

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This beautiful Torenia is also known as the Wishbone Flower. I have an easy time growing them. Plop them in the earth or a hanging basket, keep them watered when dry, and you will have blooms all summer. Once every few weeks, I cut away stems forming seeds. They don’t need as much deadheading as many other annuals. I’ve never been disappointed in my Torenia plants. I made one mistake last year: I put one plant in full afternoon sun. The flowers did fine, but the foliage burnt a bit.  

The poem complements the plucky sunshine yellow of the flowers. Isaac Watts, (1674 -1748) is the author of this and hundreds of hymns still being sung around the world.

Torenia is part of Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge.

Phlowers – Lilac

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I spied this bumblebee early in the morning. It seemed he had slept the night away in a bed of the Boomerang Lilac flowers. When I came near to take a photo with my camera, he flung up a leg as if to say, “Leave me alone, or you’ll be sorry…”

We planted a new lilac bush in our side yard a few weeks ago. It is called Yankee Doodle. It appeared ordinary until the buds opened. What a surprise! The fragrance is divine, and the flowers are the size of a quarter. I’ve never seen a lilac with such large blooms.

Yankee Doodle lilac is part of Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge.

Phlowers – Dancing with the Daffodils

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The yard is dreary beneath rainy March skies, but the gardens are ablaze with the captured sunshine of daffodils.

I couldn’t leave so many of them to droop beneath the raindrops, so I cut them to create a bouquet to enjoy in the house. A break in the clouds enabled sunshine to pour through the window, backlighting the daffodils perfectly for their portrait.

“Daffodils with sunlit petals all ablaze,
Will ever create in me words of praise.”

Forgive me, my amateur poetical nod to William Wordsworth’s beautiful poem about daffodils. You can find his excellent poem below.

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud 

By WILLIAM WORDSWORTH (1770 – 1850)

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

**************************************

Daffodils are a part of Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge.

Definitely the daffodils are my “Whatsoever is Lovely” moment for Xingfu Mama’s Challenge.

The daffodils are definitely the dancers of Springtime. They move to the rain, the wind, and face the sunshine, dwelling in the music of nature.

Phlower & Planting – Geranium

On By TimelessladyIn Phlowers, Planting16 Comments

Yesterday, I was able to text my son a photo of this beautiful puff of salmon. I told him it was a cutting grown from a Geranium he gave me on Mother’s Day two years ago. Plants given as gifts are especially dear to me.

Before frost arrived last year, I dipped a cutting of the geranium in honey and placed it in loose soil with a Ziplock bag over the plant to keep it humid. Not every cutting works, so I usually grow three for every plant I want to save.

I also tried bagging/boxing up a few bare-root geraniums, and the photo shows what I found just an hour ago when I opened the bag. I will continue to grow cuttings and, in the future, leave bare root storage to the experts.

The geranium is part of Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Phlowers & Planting – Friday Flowers/Moonflowers

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Moonflower Vines are one of my favorite night-blooming annuals. I grow them yearly and have found it best to start them earlier than the seed packet recommends. To ensure mid-season blooms, I start my seeds in mid-winter, which, for me, means today. I always soak the seeds first. The seeds soaking in water were gathered from last year’s plants.

If the seed is viable, it will sink to the bottom of the jar as it draws in the water. So far, only one has taken the plunge. Hopefully, many more will follow suit.

Phlowers – Friday Flowers/Nigella

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I have good luck with my white and blue nigella plants self-seeding in the front of the butterfly border. Each year, the initial sowing of plants brings forth a new generation. Today, at half price, I was thrilled to find seeds for a pink variety called Mulberry Rose. It’s always exciting to procure a new variety of a plant you love.

This small flower creates quite a dynamic seedpod. It blooms the size of a quarter, is low-growing, and has delicate foliage. Beautifully rounded and loaded with seeds, the pod dries beautifully for indoor winter arrangements.

The seed packet suggests making successive sowings for continuous bloom. My new Nigella seeds are from Renee’s Garden. I am content in the knowledge that this small blossom will grace my garden for years to come.

Phriday Phlowers – Tulip Time

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Oh, Happy Day, even though the sky is grey and cloudy. This week, I found potted tulips for sale in my local supermarket. At the top of the spear of foliage, I could see that they would be the shade of yellow I love. Sure enough, they have blossomed into a gorgeous, pale yellow. I put them on my counter near the window during the day, so they won’t grow too leggy. I also put a bit of moss on top of the bare earth to give it a more natural appearance. These beautiful booms certainly brighten my day and mood.

Phlowers – Six on Saturday/Sowing Pansies and Johnny-Jump-Ups

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A few of the many shades of blue pansies and violas I have grown in my gardens over the years.


Pansy and Johnny-Jump-Up are a variety of seeds I will be sowing this week. It seems early, but I should have sown them four weeks sooner. I don’t follow the recommended dates on the back of the packets. Earlier is always better if I want to have larger-sized plants for the Spring Garden. If my seedlings are pitifully small, I fall victim to the lure of lusher-appearing plants in the local nurseries.

I purchased several interesting varieties from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds at the end of Autumn, and I can’t wait to see if they are as lovely as the photograph on the package. (Dilemma: I don’t remember the ‘safe’ spot I stored them in.)

The seeds of Pansy and Johnny-Jump-Ups sprout with some bottom warmth and humidity but also have one crucial requirement: they must have total darkness. I will put a plastic tray over the top of my flat and also cover that with a dark, wet washcloth. This will seal out any light rays that might interfere with sprouting.

Organic seed starter and sterile organic potting soil are what I use to start my seeds. The plants develop robustly if I fill the bottom 3/4 of the flats or pots with soil and the top quarter with seed starter. The foliage sits against the quick-draining starter, and the roots reach down into the richer soil. Two types of grow-lights work well for me: overhead and adjustable surround wands. A sunny window provides natural light and is also a good choice. 

One variety I loved, purchased from Baker Creek last year, was Laeta Fire, a viola with dime-sized blooms perfect for flower pressing. I have a few seeds left in the packet and will grow them again. You can see how small this flower is in comparison to the normal-sized geranium leaf alongside it. When I persevere in my gardening throughout the winter, the process brings me a sense of peace and renewal.

My Laeta Fire Viola is part of Cee’s Flower of the Day.