Two to One

| Flower Roberts

Sometimes flowers merge.

This is especially true for the cutest daffodil in the world, Tete a Tete.

It tends to grow two flowers to a stem.

Sometimes the two get smashed together.

Sometimes they fuse together.

Occasionally they join into a Siamese-twin type of flower.

These are at first noticeable due to their extra petals and larger cup/corolla.

If you look closely, you will notice two pistils, the female part , in the center.

Also double the number of stamens(male parts) surrounding them.

If you cut these blooms open, you will see there are still two separate ovules in the double-sized ovary.

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Little Lanterns

| Flower Roberts

Columbines come in many sizes and colors.

My largest have purple blooms.  My most numerous have pink blooms.

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The white bloomers stand out in shade.

My favorite is named Little Lanterns/ Aquilegia canadensis.

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It usually resides in a hypertufa trough.

I put it in the ground over the winter to avoid freezing.

The pencil shows just how tiny it is.

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The blooms look like tiny glowing lanterns.

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I will be moving it back into a trough.

I had to lie down flat on my belly to get these photos.

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Dirty again. I must remember to clean off the pencil before putting it back behind my ear.

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Subtle Beauty

| Flower Roberts

I do love an occasional screaming flower.

But my heart belongs to the quiet ones.

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The ones with the dainty detail, that makes you look twice and pause.

Like this Picotee Amaryllis.

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Yes it is white, but with a green throat and a hint of red around the margins.

Beside the screaming red and white “incorrect bloomer”, it may be overlooked.

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But let it stand quietly alone, it inspires awe.

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Bougainvillea Blooms and Bracts

| Flower Roberts

I got this plant for my mother as a Mother’s Day gift last spring.

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We have divided it into three.  Now my sister and I have one also.

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The bracts were an unusual light pink when I purchased it.

Mine is now blooming white,

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except for one pink spot.

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The three flowers are in the center, each emerging from a bract.

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The bracts are the colorful part. The tiny blooms are usually white.

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The Cutest Daffodils in the World

| Flower Roberts

I have many daffodils.

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Tall and short, yellow and white, white and white, orange and white and even some doubles.

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I love them all, but one type always stands out the most and shines the brightest.

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Even though it is the tiniest.

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I love it that there are clusters of them all over my gardens.

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My parents gave me a pot of them blooming one spring over two decades ago.

I have been dividing them and sharing them for over twenty years.

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They are like little spots of sunshine.

Tete a Tete is the cutest daffodil in the world.

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It is a miniature Narcissus. Its name comes from the fact that many stems have two flowers.

They look like they are having a little chat.

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I would like to mention the unusual vase that belonged to a dear friend Beth.

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It has a eight-parted,  fluted, clear glass vase and a silver stand decorated with roses.

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She would love to know that I have shared it on my blog.

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Bloomed Incorrectly?

| Flower Roberts

Last month I posted photos of an Amaryllis blooming.

I expected it to be a peach color. I have many reds and whites.

I wrote to the supplier and told them that the bulb I ordered,

Amaryllis Exotica, had turned out to be a double red/white.

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Their emailed reply stated that they were sorry

that the bulb BLOOMED INCORRECTLY and that they would ship another.

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I just received an email that a new bulb was being shipped at no cost to me.

Now folks, really?

Why not admit that a person packed and shipped the wrong bulb?

Why blame the poor bulb?

What is this world coming to, when we blame a plant instead of a person?

Let’s admit that a mistake was made.

I will let you know if the new bulb BLOOMS CORRECTLY in a few months.

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Pseudo Spring

| Flower Roberts

Don’t get me wrong northern friends,

I am enjoying these days of 70 and even 80 degrees here in North Carolina.

My bunnies are very happy to get out in their yard almost every day.

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Barley
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Charlotte

But I am a biologist and a plant mama.

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Fritillaria

I have been keeping garden journals of this same garden since 1996.

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It’s too early for all the growth I am seeing.

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Maple blossoms

I fear a freeze will kill much of this growth back.

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Hydrangea

Some plants have “back-up buds”, but many don’t.

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Peony

I am glad that I brought in more plants than usual this year.

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Clematis

I always fear a hard winter.

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Scilla

How ironic that I have saved these stowaways from a pseudo spring instead.

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Tete a Tete

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Mona Lavender

| Flower Roberts

My dear Plectranthus friend seems to be mealy-bug free after the musical cleansing.

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All the attention lead to a growth spurt, then a potting up and a pruning.  Now it is almost as tall as the Exotica Amaryllis.

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I love purple. Not only are its tiny blooms lavender and purple,

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but the leaves have a dark purple underside.

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This plant has spent the winter indoors by a sunny window.

It is a Zone 10 from South Africa. I am in Zone 7.

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