Tag: FOTD

Phlowers – Cardinal Climber Vine/FOTD

On By TimelessladyIn Phlowers8 Comments

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.

Photo Challenges – FOTD Salvias/Six on Saturday

On By TimelessladyIn photo challenges4 Comments

Salvias, sometimes referred to as sage, are the champions of my Autumnal garden beds.

In truth, all SAGES are SALVIAS. Over time, though, the term sage has been closely aligned with cooking or medicinal use and the term salvia has been given to the more ornamental members of this genus. Nevertheless, Salvia is the Latin name, or Genus, given to all these plants. ~Mountain Valley Growers

The colors of my salvias have stayed vibrant through several frosty mornings.

Pineapple Sage, Salvia elegans, is my Flower of the Day, part of Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge

The flowers of Mexican Sage are fuzzy and remind me of purple bumblebees and velvet.

The salvias are so blossom-loaded; I felt the hummingbirds stayed too long this year, sipping their nectar through early October. I hope they have made their journey now to warmer climates.

I held a piece of this salvia up against the bluest of Autumn skies; the camera captured the velvet texture of the blossoms and the detail of the leaves. What I didn’t see when I took the photo was the small flying insect resting beneath one of the buds. This photo is part of Friday Skywatch.

Six on Saturday Collage

Phlowers – Deluge of Pink Flower Showers

On By TimelessladyIn Phlowers20 Comments

Who would believe this gorgeous deluge of pink florets is atop the humble herb Oregano? I have quite a few Oregano plants in the front of my herb garden border. Not only flavorful, this member of the mint family is a healing herb. Oregano is a wonderful herb to use for its preventative/medicinal qualities. As with most foods and herbs, organically grown Oregano is the best choice.

Oregano florets draw pollinators by the dozens. Today, along with the honeybee, I also spotted wasps, bumblebees, cabbage white butterflies, hoverflies and sweat bees on the blossoms.

The Oregano blossoms are my entry into Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Phlowers – Friday Gems

On By TimelessladyIn Phlowers4 Comments

Black-eyed Susans are a reliable flower in my gardens. They usually don’t last the whole summer, and often fall victim to downy mildew on the leaves, but the golden sunshine they display is worth growing them. I’ve never been able to eradicate the mildew once it starts, so my remedy is to plant a late-flowering annual nearby to take over when the Black-eyed Susan withers away. This Photograph is part of Skywatch Friday.

The plants are part of the sunflower family and will turn their faces to follow the sun. There are many varieties of this beautiful garden flower. The long stems make them a perfect choice for floral arrangements.

Black-eyed Susans are a reliable self-seeder. Let them go to seed and they will return every year.

Black-eyed Susans are part of Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge.

Phlowers – Blooming in the Garden 3/26/21

On By TimelessladyIn Phlowers3 Comments

We lost a shrub over the winter and replaced it this week with a beautiful Pieris japonica. The brilliant magenta florets and evergreen leaves make it a perfect choice for our front garden.

There are daffodils blooming in most of the garden beds.

These Johnny-Jump-Ups, bought in Autumn, over-wintered in my garage. A few weeks ago, I moved the baskets to my back porch, and now they are hanging outdoors in full bloom. There were days they looked pretty bad, but they continually amaze me and perk back up. They are my Flower of the Day in Cee’s FOTD challenge.

Hyacinths are blooming again. Daffodils and hyacinths are my most reliable Spring bulbs. I cut one of the blossoms and put the florets in grain alcohol, 190 proof. I created a floral scent with vodka this year, and hope the grain alcohol, with a higher alcohol content will extract the scent even quicker. It will take weeks of renewing the scented flowers before I will be able to sense a fragrance. The original post can be found here: Plants & Preserving the Good.

The grain alcohol is very strong. Within minutes it completely faded the bright pink flowers into near white. I hope it absorbs the scent just as quickly. I’ll update the progress later in the Spring.

 

Phlowers – Flower of the Day-Bougainvillea

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All summer I waited for my Bougainvillea plant to bloom. At least three years old, I expected it to be loaded with blooms as it had been the previous year. Just like so many other things in 2020, the bougainvillea refused to bloom. In the Autumn, I almost composted the Bougainvillea, but decided to give it another chance.

I’ve been rewarded with soft pink blossoms. In reality, what appears to be blossoms are really bracts, the flowers are smaller than a dime and a nondescript white. There isn’t much upkeep to these plants if you place it in bright sun. I keep it trimmed way back indoors since the thorny stems can really tear skin. Other than watering once a week, I have pretty much ignored it. Maybe that’s the secret. One funny change in the plant, outdoors the bracts are magenta, inside the house they have bloomed in a soft pink shade.

I haven’t been able to take part in Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge for quite a while; I’m glad to take part today.

Phlowers – FOTD/Verbena

On By TimelessladyIn Phlowers4 Comments

I press quite a few flowers over the course of the growing season and verbena is one of my favorites for this craft. I was pleased to find a pinwheel variety this year and can’t wait to see if it will hold its colors. Verbena is easily preserved between the pages of books or in a flower press. The flower is somewhere between the size of a dime and nickel. For small pressed flower arrangements it is irreplaceable. Red is usually a fugitive color in flower pressing, but verbena holds the red color for years. An entry from the Philadelphia Flower Show 1994 hangs on my wall and the verbena still has a bit of red left in its petals.

Verbena comes in a great variety of colors. Red, purple, lavender, fuschia, peach and whites. Just like my new pinwheel variety, new looks are debuted every year.

I don’t plant verbena directly in the ground. Every verbena plant I have is in a hanging basket or pot of some kind because the greatest threat to a long growing season is powdery mildew. I’ve found growing the verbena in pots protects the leaves from this problem for a longer period of time. I’ve read fungicides will work, but usually I just throw the plant away if it becomes diseased.

Verbena is my choice for Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Phlowers – Flower of the Day/Poinsettia

On By TimelessladyIn Phlowers7 Comments

I know it’s a bit strange, but this poinsettia plant is my Flower of the Day. It has held onto its colorful bracts since November, and is still looking good. I think it deserves a second chance at life outside among the ivy. If I can coax it to grow after the bracts fall off or brown, I will try to get the green leaves to color up again, although I have heard it is near impossible. Still…I can dream.

Phlowers – Daffodil Zoom

On By TimelessladyIn Phlowers3 Comments

“Flowers… are a proud assertion

that a ray of beauty out values

all the utilities in the world.”

 – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The brilliant flowers in this post are part of Cee’s Flower of the Day.