Saturday, July 12, 2008

Welcome Cleome


The Queen Anne's Lace I transplanted into the border earlier this spring is now beginning to bloom. I love this lacey white flowers; they make a great addition to my overgrown border, and work well in some of the drier sections of the garden, or where the soil isn't top-notch.

Their lacey beauty also makes me think of weddings. I realized today that, while many of us know when Lincoln's Birthday falls on the calendar (or at least the day its celebrated), fewer of us know that Lincoln's Anniversary--bloggers Abe and Patty Lincoln, that is--was today. Abe celebrated the occasion by rescuing a window-strike-stunned grackle at My Birds Blog, while Patty put together a wonderful slide show over at her blog. Stop by and wish them a happy day, won't you?

After Afod's comment the other day, in which he wondered if the Shasta Daisies were really as tall as the split-rail fence, I thought it was time I offered a couple of long shots of those guys, who are truly towering in the sunshine this year.

The time of day meant the Shastas themselves didn't photograph in detail well due to the sun's bright reflection off them, but you can still see just how tall these Shasta Blastahs are.



T'was also an exciting morning here, at least for a plant geek like myself, as the first cleome flower had begun to open in its unique fashion.





I also had a nice surprise when I discovered that one of those first cleome seedlings has turned out to sport white flower buds. This was unexpected since I planted seeds from a package labeled purple.

Rather than be disappointed, I'm actually kind of excited about the greater variety. White flowers in a garden with so many colors are always welcome since they are sort of neutral and help all the others play nicely together.



Yet another sunflower has burst forth from that first plant...and I caught a much more detailed glimpse of one of those bees I was featuring yesterday.


By the end of the afternoon, another cleome seedling had begun blooming, as well. Check out the contrast of the deeper purple flower buds, against the slightly more magenta tones of the open petals. Just fantastic...




The snapdragon show is in full swing, as you can see quite easily here. And now, the deep red rockets are coming onto the scene as well.

These are truly my favorites of the snaps. Their scent is, remarkably, identical to tropical punch Kool-Aid, so you gotta wonder where the drinks people got their fragrance/flavoring from.

The Tiny Hope red lilies are continuing to bloom, even as the earliest blossoms have already been removed from the stalk. It looks like we can count on them to continue for about another week, depending on what sort of weather we see.

Here's a close-up of the other rudbeckia plant, yet a third variety of the species, this one with its painted petals. Another species of bee appears here.

11 comments:

dykewife said...

my rudbecias didn't survive winter :(

Marc said...

Beautiful as always. I love snapdragon and sweetpea, haven't smelled a snap in forever, though. Those rudbeckia are really pretty. And the cleome! Stunning.

misselaineous said...

happy sunday morning greg...thanks, as always, for the beautiful shots of the cape...they always make me smile & remember days spent on the cape when my husband & i were a whole helluva lot younger! your garden along the fence is more beautiful with each passing week...oh, and thanks for identifying the cereopsis in my photos last month...you were right. this week, that grove has been completly mowed...just citrus & much bare sand...not very pretty. have a great week, & thanks for sharing your lovely garden. *elaine*

Greg said...

DW, I'm sorry to hear that. It's my experience that they are not all that long-lived...next time you get some, be sure to save some seed at the end of the season, just in case!

Marc, nothing happened with the sweetpea seeds I tried this spring. But the snapdragons are going crazy, so I guess it all balances out.

MissElaineous! Hello there...so happy to have inspired those happy memories for you! The Cape is a pretty special place for so many people...I just love to hear all the different stories everyone shares!

Curt Rogers said...

Your rudbeckia is gorgeous! And I love that little bee enjoying it, too!

You'll be happy to know that this morning while walking Duncan we came to a little flower patch here at the apartment complex and while Duncan raised his leg to attend to business I said, "Hey, not on the snapdragons!" and then realized that, yes, I'd finally learned the name of something! They weren't as beautiful as yours, or maybe it was the arrangement that was lacking, but I was happy to recognize something. And it's all because of your garden.

Thanks, Greg!

Butch said...

Unfortunately, I seem to be allergic to Queen Anne's Lace, nevertheless, it is beautiful as are your other pictures in this and the previous two entries. You certainly produce a volume of beauty on your blog, Greg.

Word Verification: ftryhwok
Sounds like a species from a Star Wars adventure. ;-)

Greg said...

Curt, I'm so proud of you! ; ) You see, I told you you'd be a gardener someday! I saw a golden out for a walk with its person today and thought of you and Duncan, so perhaps we're even.

Butch, the management of the Midnight Garden attests that all photos herewith are 100% hypoallergenic. We further take no responsibility for whatever might be smeared on your screen.

: )

Midori みどり said...

Beautiful photos of those magnificent flowers in your garden! It's really my pleasure to view them on your blog. Thanks for sharing!

lostlandscape said...

I'm right there with you on the cleomes! Woohooo!

(And in case you don't get the answers on my blog, yes that's a penstemon, Pink Bubble Gum, or something like that. And as far as your border--I think it's great. Colorful like your border is one thing, color-challenged something else altogether. And besides, you need something to coordinate with the rainbow flags!)

Greg said...

Hi Midori! Welcome to the garden!! It is similarly my pleasure to share it with you.

Aren't the cleomes great? Hey, Lost, I was looking at the interesting foliage of the cleomes, and I have to ask, are you sure it was cleome growing "wild" in the desert? ; )

I thought that was penstemon, even tho mine died this winter. : (

Joe Jubinville said...

I've enjoyed Queen Anne's Lace since childhood. It's also known as wild carrot, and according to Wikipedia the carrots we grow today are descended from a subspecies. Its own root can be eaten when it's young.