Tangled Branches: Cultivated

happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia

Friday, July 04, 2008

Flowers That Look Like Fireworks

Whadya think?

...bombs bursting in air...

I've heard this called "firecracker plant"

Looks incendiary to me

I started to write a post about the vegetable garden, but it got too long. Particularly for a holiday. Happy 4th of July to all those celebrating today!

Labels: holidays

Monday, June 30, 2008

Cute Flowers: One Cultivated, Two Wild

Moving along from shiny flowers, how about some cute flowers? None of these are large, but all have interesting shapes to make up for the size deficit.

This is the first time I've grown Tropaeolum peregrinum, and because it's a nasturtium relative I expected a more vigorous plant. It's really somewhat delicate-looking. I trained it on string looped over the deck railing and it's only about 4 feet tall at present. I suspect it may fizzle in the heat of the summer, but for now it's a cute plant.

The common name, Canary Climber or Canary Creeper, comes from the resemblance of the flowers to a canary. You be the judge.

Here's a wildflower that I missed seeing last year - Chimaphila maculatum, aka Spotted Wintergreen et al. I knew that it grows in the woods in Central Virginia, but didn't happen upon it last summer while it was blooming. It's more noticeable in late fall and winter with it's attractive striped evergreen leaves.

It's not easy to see the flowers close-up because they're quite low to the ground, but look at the curious arrangement of the stamens and the jug-shaped gynoecium

This one, Polygala curtissii or Curtiss' Milkwort, grows at the edge of the woods but is so small and wispy that it's easy to overlook. These are about 6 inches tall overall and the flower head is about 3/4 inch.

It's worth looking more closely - the flowers are quite pretty.

I'm planning a longer update on the vegetable garden later this week, but on Saturday I picked the first chile pepper! That fresh chile aroma was just like perfume...

Labels: chimaphila, polygala, tropaeolum, wildflowers

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Shimmery Flowers

I'm such a pushover for shimmery flowers. My oldest daylily, 'Medallion', is one that has a nice sparkle to it.

You can see the individual sparkles if you look closely. (Click through and zoom all the way in.)

But lately I've noticed a shimmer where I don't remember seeing one before - on petunias. Some of these 'Balcony' petunias have an interesting satiny sheen. I grew them from seed and planted out 20 or 30 seedlings. Not all the flowers have the shimmer - some are what I would call "ordinary" petunias and some are very velvety (like the burgundy one at the top center of the photo).

I despaired of getting a good photo of the flowers in place, so finally snipped a few stems and placed them in the sun where I could get the camera at the proper angle. A closer look at the petals here reveals a light reflection similar to the daylily, except more finely textured.

People get paid to study this stuff. I'm in the wrong career.

Labels: daylilies, petunias

Sunday, June 22, 2008

One Mystery Solved

Do you remember my mystery seedpod from earlier this year?

Duh! It's something I planted. Oenothera missouriensis.

I always dead-headed these in the suburban garden, but just let them go in the country garden.

Labels: oenothera

Saturday, June 21, 2008

First JB of the Season

I was going to write something about the Summer Solstice (happened yesterday), but perhaps the first Japanese Beetle of the season is as good a marker for summer's midpoint as any.

The despicable creature was taunting me from the tip of a wormwood branch this morning.

Labels: insects

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

First Garlic Bulbs, Swiss Chard, and Green Onions

My curiosity got the better of me over the weekend, and I dug up one of the garlic plants just to see what was happening underground. A lot! This is the biggest, best garlic I've ever grown. The variety is Romanian Red - one of five varieties I planted last fall.

I used one clove of it in an Indianish dish of potato and Swiss Chard, and left the rest outside to dry on the deck. The papery skin started to turn purplish overnight, so I assume when it's really ready to harvest, the color will indeed be red (or something like it).

I've been thinning the Swiss Chard and trying to find ways to cook it that we like. So far, I've tossed it in with some frozen mixed vegetables; tossed it into a Thai pork, green bean, and basil stir-fry; and the aforementioned Indian-inspired dish.

I should have planted more onions! I keep pulling them up for green onions and I'll never find out if any of them make good bulbs. So far both the Rossa Lunga di Firenze and New York Early are both very mild in taste.

The vegetable garden is coming along nicely now, except for the Colorado Potato Beetles. I had never even seen one before this year and now they're everywhere. I'm handpicking the adults off whenever I see them, but I noticed their egg clusters on some horse nettles that are sprouting as weeds. I can keep the horse nettles out of the garden with a little effort, but I'll never get it all out of the "meadow". As my garden is about 80% tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and potatoes, and Colorado Potato Beetles will eat anything Solanaceous, this is a little bit worrying.

Labels: garlic, potager, swiss chard

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, Part 2

And here is the second part of my Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post for June. At Tangled Branches North, in no particular order, we have:

Red Daylily (nice this year! - in recent years the flowers have been ruined by thrips)

Asiatic Lily 'Grand Cru'

Clematis integrifolia
Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam'
Verbena bonariensis
Asclepias tuberosa
Achillea 'Summer Berries'
Calycanthus floridus 'Athens' (just a couple of flowers left)
Petunia 'Balcony'
Larkspur (Consolida regalis) 'Blue Cloud' (past its prime)
Cosmos (self-sown)
Cleome (self-sown)
Morning Glory (self-sown)
Salvia farinacea 'Evolution'
Borage
Various sedums, including this cutie - Sedum (species sexangulare?) 'Utah' - with tiny green leaves and a froth of yellow flowers

Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum; their yellow daylily partners have not caught up yet)

Oenothera missouriensis
Santolina virens (with pale yellow flowers)

I don't see too many changes from last June's Bloom Day, except in the annuals. I posted almost the same picture of the Grand Cru lily last year. It's a good thing I'm still working on expanding the Tangled Branches South gardens or I'd just be repeating myself year to year.

Visit May Dreams Gardens to see the ever-lengthening list of Bloom Day participants.

Labels: in bloom

Monday, June 16, 2008

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, Part 1

Well...I started my Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post yesterday, but ran off to play in the garden instead of finishing it. This is part 1 of 2.

At the southern outpost of Tangled Branches, I haven't planted many ornamentals yet. Most of the gardening efforts here have been directed at the vegetable garden, so I'm including wildflowers in the Bloom Day list. But, boy oh boy, what a lot of wildflowers are now blooming in the meadow and woodland edges.

Here are the most prominent ones.

Ox-eye Daisy
Fleabane
Dogbane
Yarrow
Deptford Pink
Black-eyed Susan
Black-eyed Susan

Vetch
Various clovers
Lady's Bedstraw (Galium verum; I think - if you think different, let me know)
Galium verum?

Spotted Knapweed (I know this is a terrible weed, but the butterflies and bees think it's just fine)
Skullcap

Most of the cultivated flowers are annuals, herbs or vegetables. Every time I tried to get a photo of the plants in context, I found that I was instead photographing undone work - weeds, unmulched beds, incomplete paths, unmowed verges, you name it - so it's mostly flower closeups.
The least messy part of the potager

Petunia 'Dolce Flambe'
Petunia 'Balcony'
'Balcony' Petunia and Clary Sage

Salvia 'Sizzler Lilac Bicolor'
Pansy 'Historic Florist Mix'
'Historic Florist Mix' Pansy and 'Sizzler Lilac Bicolor' Salvia

Verbena bonariensis (the real draw for all those butterflies)
Achillea 'Summer Berries'
Salvia farinacea 'Evolution'
Cuphea 'Totally Tempted'
Cuphea 'Tiny Mice'
Abutilon 'Voodoo'
Lantana 'Dallas Red'
Chrysanthemum carinatum (or Ismelia carinata)
Celosia 'Sylphid'
Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum; just beginning)
Agastache foeniculum 'Golden Jubilee'

Borage
Mexican Mint Marigold (Tagetes lucida)
Bronze Fennel (just beginning)
Rue (just finishing)
Lavender
Clary Sage
Dianthus 'Rainbow Loveliness' (just a few flowers left)
Nepeta transcaucasica 'Blue Infinity'
Tomatoes
Peppers
'Black Hungarian' Pepper

I'll post the flowers from Tangled Branches North tomorrow, if I can find any that weren't flattened by this afternoon's thunderstorm.