A Hoya

| Flower Roberts

I have never had a Hoya that bloomed until now.

I think the secret is to ignore them.  This one could not be reached with the hose.

My other three show no signs of blooming.

I first spotted little brown clusters hanging down from the stems.

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Then the clusters enlarged and turned a pale shiny pink.

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Then one by one the flowers opened to reveal the red, star centers.

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The cluster slowly became a beautiful ball.

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Today the clusters of flowers were fully open.

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This is a real thrill!

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FLOWER has a new flower.

The Town Parade

| Flower Roberts

We always watch the parade from the funeral home. They have an awning for shade.

The Troutman parade never disappoints.

It’s a mix of characters and critters,

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cars and campers,

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patriotic symbols and patriots,

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and of course there’s a band,

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advertisements for businesses,

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even real animals

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but my FAVORITE of all slipped quietly by in the midst of all the action and noise.

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A precious little lady in her bonnet, shyly waving to the crowd.

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Oh! I love a parade.

FLOWER

An Anomaly

| Flower Roberts

Infrequently, we find a freak in the garden.

The latest was found yesterday.

I mean an irregularly formed flower.

Sometimes calla blooms curl down as they get heavy with seed or full of water.

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A normal bloom looks like this from the top.  A folded spathe around a spadix.

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NORMAL Calla bloom

I went to stake a droopy Hot Chocolate bloom back up and found a surprise.

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DOUBLE calla bloom/two spathes

The bloom included a double spathe.

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FLOWER loves her freaks, too.

Blackberry lilies

| Flower Roberts

The lovely flowers of Belamcanda chinensis are always welcome, no matter where they show up.

This is an iris relative.  Its leaves are very similar to an iris, except they fan out from a central stem.IMG_1524

The name comes from the black seed clusters that resemble blackberries. (Not pictured)

There is a wide range of colors.  They have mixed  over the years.

I love their wiry, tall stalks and the butterfly-like flowers.IMG_1501

Upon close inspection you can see their pretty little spots.

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Easy to grow, propagate and move.  Just don’t eat the seeds.

FLOWER

 

An Easy Aster

| Flower Roberts

Peachie’s Pick Stokes Aster/ Stokesia laevis is really showing off right now.

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This wonderful plant has ragged purple blooms.

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that are popular with bees and butterflies.

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I have divided it over the years.

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It seems to thrive in any sunny location.

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FLOWER

Coincidental Combos

| Flower Roberts

I am all about the plant.  I plant them where they will thrive.  If they don’t do well in one spot, I move them.

I do this over and over.  So when a lovely combination occurs, it is usually serendipity rather than skillful selection.

Here are some combinations that I find fortuitous.  I can’t take any credit for the mixes and matches.  I will, however, take full credit for the health of each plant. They are my babies, along with the bunnies.

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Hot Chocolate Calla and a yellow spider lily
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Alstroemeria and yellow Coreopsis
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“Lily of the Incas’
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Giant Yellow daylily (no name) and Black Knight Buddleia
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Lucifer Crocosmia and Hot Chocolate Calla
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Jewels of Opar ‘Limon’ /Talinum paniculatum with ‘Orange Marmalade’ Crossandra infundibuliformis in the background
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Bleeding Heart vine (not yet red) / Clereodendrum thomsoniae and Fairy Lily/ Zephyranthus robustus

FLOWER goes with the flow.

My Other Favorite Plant

| Flower Roberts

Montbretia ‘Lucifer’ is a Crocosmia crocosmiiflora. 

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Lucifer I love.   The flowers could not be a brighter red.

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The leaves are a lovely fan of green beneath the tall stalks of buds and blooms.

The structure of the bloom stalk is geometrically balanced and crazy pretty.

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This is a must for any border or bank in June and July.

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FLOWER

Daylily Days III

| Flower Roberts

The colors just keep coming, even in this heat.

Bless these seven beautiful bloomer

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Mabel Nolan
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Sebastian
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Strutter’s Ball
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George Teschner
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Sabra Salina
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Apollodorus
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Changing Latitudes

I have circled the gardens every morning with my camera.

We have had some rain, so there are many blooms.

I have several more and some Spiders to share next week.

I am also spying on a little critter. I hope to post about it soon. Suspense!

FLOWER

Dream Walkin’, Don’t Wake Me

| Flower Roberts

I have experienced this recurring dream since childhood.

There is a glistening lake with an island in the middle.

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I walk around and around the lake on a sandy path.

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There are beautiful flowers all along the path, but I want to go to the island.

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I look at the island from all sides, but I cannot get across the silver lake.

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On the island there are green trees and beautiful flowers.

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Even the water is full of flowers.

There is a single swan silently swimming.

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I want it to take me across, but it flies away.

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The little bass fish make pebble nests all around the lake and guard the perimeter,

like swimming sentries.

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I longingly look at the bird sunning its wings on the island.

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If only I had wings to fly.

If only. If only…

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FLOWER wants to FLY