Category: Plants

Plants – Gladiolus Arrangement Part I

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I love gladiolus stems. They are very economical at this time of year. My local supermarket sells bunches of ten for under $2.00. They are a great flower for a Fourth of July flower arrangement.

I also took several reference photographs for future close-focus paintings. I am certainly getting a lot of mileage out of the money I spent.

Floral Arrangement Tips for Gladiolus: Cut stems on an angle with floral snips. This enables more of the stem to soak up water. To force gladiolus florets to open quickly pinch off the top tips.

More tips can be found here: Gladiolus Tips for Floral Arrangements

Plants – Bread Seed Poppies

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I have certainly had a lot of posts about poppies in the past week or two. I might as well add one more. My Bread Seed Poppy pods are beginning to dry out and I harvested a few of the seeds.

The pods are the perfect container for the hundreds, perhaps thousands of seeds they contain. To harvest the seeds, I lifted up the cap, gently peeled it back, and easily poured out the seeds onto the waiting plate.

I’m letting them dry out a day or two longer on top of the refrigerator, a warm place where they won’t be disturbed. My next task will be to begin making cookies, muffins, etc., with my harvest.

Plants, Plant Tips and Perspective – Growing Poppies

On By TimelessladyIn Perspective, Plant Tips, Plants1 Comment

Here is a picture of me standing alongside one of my Square Foot Gardens admiring my Bread Seed Poppies. I stand about 5’4″ tall. The poppies are a bit hard to see, they are white and blending into the background. Here is a closer look.

I have written the word poppies in blue right under their petals.

The flowers are gorgeous, and the seedpods are pretty grand too.

I wonder how many hundreds of thousands of seeds I will reap when they are dry.

Plant Tip: Don’t let anyone tell you poppies don’t do well if they are started early and transplanted. I sowed these through the winter in milk jugs, a process known as Winter Sowing. The resulting poppy plants are over four and a half feet tall. I would say my transplanted poppies are thriving. These bread seed poppies are joined by other smaller varieties throughout my garden. All are doing well.

Double Petaled Poppy

Moral of the Story: There are some tried and true ways of doing things in the garden, but always be open to new ideas too.

Plants and Pleasures – Volunteers

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Ground Moss

 I am not a gardener who uses much mulch. In fact, this summer the only mulch I have is around the beds of my Square Foot Gardens to keep the weeds away. I like the way dark mulch sets off the colors of my flowers, but I love the way the absence of the mulch allows many “volunteers” to sprout in the hot month of June. I have ground moss, spilanthes  (toothache plant), coleus, perennial blue lobelia and many other little sprouts showing amid the weeds that need to be pulled out. Before I put my gloves on and pull out the pesky weeds, I will first gently remove these small plantlets with my trowel and place them in bare spots in my garden beds. I love volunteers.

Coleus sprout in between sidewalk squares.

Another coleus hiding among the leaves.

Coral Nymph Salvia sprouting in a between porch steps and sidewalk.

Plants – Lily

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The first of my lily plants are beginning to bloom. The Stargazers will be along later in the season, but this beautiful pink variety is one of my all-time best performers.

I love the anticipation of bloom when the buds begin to show color through the green.

The white lily I bought at the end of last year’s Easter Season has done well. It is blooming long after Easter, but I don’t mind, the purity of its petals reminds me again of the glory of the resurrection.

Last, but certainly not least, are my orange lilies. They are amazing, bright and vibrant, they capture the heat of the sun and reflect it back for a few short weeks.

Plants – Hydrangeas

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Ah, the simplicity and beauty of blue hydrangea blooms in a white vase. Lovely.

Blue Hydrangeas are at their peak in my New Jersey garden. I look forward to the bloom of these flowering shrubs every year. Best of all, they are long-lasting, and sometimes I manage to pick them at exactly the right moment to dry and enjoy all year.

Place and Plants – Jamaican Foliage and Flowers

On By TimelessladyIn Place, Plants6 Comments

Jamaica has a gorgeous array of plant life. Here is a beautiful example of a bromeliad.

Bougainvillea

Hibiscus

Not sure of variety, perhaps a type of canna.

Croton

Loved, loved, loved this terrific foliage plant. I am trying to identify it, and hopefully find a tropical plant nursery here in the states and buy one for home. These grow large in the tropics and this one was actually part of a hedge. (I have since found out the name of this lovely bush/shrub/tree…it is called a Sea Grape, I am going to be able to order some seeds and try to grow my own. Oh Happy Day!)

Palms

Plant – Dragonwing Begonia in Pink

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I’ve grown dragonwing begonias in red for many years. I’m excited about this pink variety. I hope I can keep it going all summer. I’ve already taken a cutting and it is rooting already in water. Hooray!

Plant – Pink Popsock

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I am thrilled with this new type of low-growing cosmos. I grew it for the first time this year, sown early in the house, and also winter-sown. The winter sown plants are about four inches ahead of those grown in the house and are already blooming. I am very pleased with this variety of cosmos. Today, I am going to press one and see if it can also do double duty and be added to my pressed flower repertoire.

Plants and Pressed Flowers – Buttercups

On By TimelessladyIn Plants, Pressed Flowers8 Comments

In the Mid-Atlantic States it is the season of the buttercup. I love these sweet yellow blooms. I thought the clump I photographed recently in a public park was a perfect specimen. I hope to paint it one day as a botanical watercolor. There is one problem with the photograph though. Buttercups reflect light so intensely off their petals, the details of the flower are a bit obscured in the brilliance. I found a great article that explains why buttercups reflect light. You can read it here: Why Buttercups Reflect Light.

Buttercups are one of the best pressed flowers for color retention. I have found I need to pinch away the hard green center before I press them in books. You can gently heat the book or just place it under weight for a few days.  I have many flowers to use throughout the year if I am diligent in picking and pressing them in the few weeks they are in bloom. I like to press most with their stems intact. If I chose to use only the flower it is easy enough to snip the stem away. Buttercups combine well with blue lobelia and ferns.

Plants – Wave Petunias

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You can count on the variety of bedding plants called, “Proven Winners” to live up to the promise in their name. Wave petunias, proven winners, in a gorgeous shade of pink, grace the entry into my home. The soft glowing color reminds me of my Grandmother who loved this shade of pink. All summer, they will bloom and continue to cascade over the edge of their pot. I have planted these petunias near the front porch and in two hanging baskets in the front garden. They combine well with lantana and the chartreuse green shade of sweet potato vines.

Plants – Bonsai Trees

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Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania has an excellent display of Bonsai Trees in their conservatory. I’ve included a few pictures of this beautiful art form on the blog today. My favorites are the plants trained to appear as a small grove of trees in a forest. Lovely!

Plants – Update/Coleus

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The Coleus started in January have grown into these gorgeous plants. Even though it seemed early, January was the best time to start my coleus seeds. I am planting them out this week. The roots have outgrown the small Dixie cup pots, and the soil they are planted in dries out in a day. It might be a tad chilly at night, but I doubt we will experience another freeze. I will have my bed sheets and tablecloths at the ready though, just in case.

Coleus Sprouts in January

I was unhappy with the Rainbow Floral Strain of Coleus seeds I purchased. As they developed they showed no promise. I did not keep any of the plants beyond a few weeks.

Plants – Groundcovers

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Ajuga

I love my groundcover plants. I have quite the assortment. I have found many of these in places people have dumped their lawn refuse. These include: ajuga, vinca, lamium (archangel variety) and ivy. I’ve purchased creeping jenny and sweet woodruff, and the small price I have paid for these has been well worth it as they have multiplied and covered areas that aren’t conducive to growing other garden plants.

Variegated Vinca

Yellow “Archangel” Lamium

Sweet Woodruff

Creeping Jenny

English Ivy

Plants – Purple Iris

On By TimelessladyIn Plants2 Comments

The purple Iris plants growing in my garden are another one of my “Old Reliables.” Every year, whether wet or dry, cold or unseasonably hot, they bloom without fail. When the sun shines through their thin, but durable petals, they glow with regal grace. The “Culture of Iris” is easy, plant the rhizomes in early summer and the following spring you will reap the rewards.

This year I am determined to watercolor a painting of my gorgeous iris plants.

Plants – Tulips

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The tulips I planted in the Fall are blooming. Planting them late in the season did not affect their size or the brightness of their petals. They were quite the bargain at 75% percent off. Waiting until late in the season was certainly good for my pocketbook, especially since tulip bulbs are not long-lasting, and usually bloom reliably for only a year or two.

Plants and Pleasures – It’s Tulip Time

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It’s Tulip Time. These beauties, along with blue hydrangeas, were photographed in the Longwood Garden’s Conservatory in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Longwood is a great Easter Weekend destination for families and flower lovers of all types.

I also like the color combination in the photograph…periwinkle blue and white against beige.

Pleasures and Plants – First Square Foot Garden Harvest

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This gorgeous array of salad greens and herbs is a sample of my first Square Foot Garden harvest. The Black-Seeded Simpson and Flame Lettuce leaves were winter sown and grew quickly after they were transplanted into their garden square. The arugula, also winter sown, was planted out yesterday, and had already grown large enough in its milk carton mini-greenhouse to harvest a few of its leaves. The chives have grown in my garden for years, and yesterday I transplanted the clump to a new herb garden, gathering a few spears along the way for my dinner salad. The deep green leaves on the side of the plate are lemon balm. I combine these with slices of ginger root for a delicious and healthy tea. Lemon Balm is said to increase longevity and alleviate anxiety. Ginger is an anti-inflammatory and stomach soother.

To read more about my adventures in Winter Sowing check out this post: Winter Sowing