Topic: Sensational Summer Posies 2

[patches]

Okay, Jim, how's this?  I took a picture of my Burnt Orange Sunflower this afternoon and it is so pretty.  Geesh, I wish I had more of them because it really stands out from the yellow and gold ones.   

[Dianna]

Very pretty, Patti!

Is there such a thing as a miniature sunflower? Just wondering...

BTW, I locked Sensational Summer Posies one up for ya! With all the pics of the bloomers posted, we need to open other following topics sooner to help out you dial-up folks...

I have an impatien blooming up under the deck. It was the only place I had last year that provided shade. Of course, the weeds are taking over under there...

[Jim]

Yep, that works just fine.  You did good. 

And that is a mighty fine looking sunflower! 

[patches]

Thanks, Dianna and Jim!   

Is there such a thing as a miniature sunflower? Just wondering...
 

Dianna, I don't know if there's a miniature Sunflower,  but I bought the Dwarf variety, because I'm not very fond of tall flowers.    Well, I'm looking at the package right now and it says "plant height" 4-1/2'!  What a joke!  Some of these are towering above everything else and probably reaching 7'. Geesh, maybe I need to quit amending my soil.   

[Patty S]

Patti, I don't know that I've ever seen a "Burnt Orange Sunflower", but it's gorgeous! (*Save me some seeds!) If you hadn't have posted the name, I'd have guessed that it was a Gerbera Daisy!

BG planted some of the Dwarf Sunspot Sunflower seeds that Dianne sent, & they came up just as she described... 2 feet tall!   She planted them late & they're just starting to open now, so I don't have a pic yet.

My Shasta Daisies have been doing so well this year (like everything else here), & I've been meaning to take a pic of them, so I just went outside & tried taking one in the dark... & it worked!
(I'm getting better shots at night with the flash, than I am during the day... I think I'll make this a habit!)
     
The little pinks beside them are the Argyranthemum Madeira (sort of a little bush) that I planted there last year, & it made it through our unusually cold winter... with no mulch or any protection at all! 

This is my "ANNUAL" bed! I left the Shastas where they've been since we moved in here, cuz I didn't want to fight them, but everything else are supposed to be single-season plants. So far, I have 3 of them in there that made it through from last year!

* You keep posting these awesome pics, & I keep telling you that I want you to save seeds for me... I hope you have a list going! (Want some seeds from her Sunspots?)

[patches]

Patti, I don't know that I've ever seen a "Burnt Orange Sunflower", but it's gorgeous! (*Save me some seeds!) If you hadn't have posted the name, I'd have guessed that it was a Gerbera Daisy! 

Of course, Patty!  I'll save some seeds for you!    At least, I know I will be able to find these seeds.   

  Sis, your Shasta Daisies are gorgeous, and I really love the Argyranthemum Madeira. I've never seen one of those before.  What zones do they require and how big does it get?   

I keep telling you that I want you to save seeds for me... I hope you have a list going!  (Want some seeds from her Sunspots?) 

   

Well, Patty, if you want some seeds from me you'll have to keep a list and send it to me, since I don't really am not in the habit of saving seeds.  Actually, I think I got burned out doing seeds when I worked for Pam  and she had me constantly collecting seeds from all her plants.    I would love to have some seeds from the Sunspot if it's only going to get 2' tall.    I think that would be so cool!!!

[Patty S]

Argyranthemum is said to be hardy to zone 8, but most listings say zones 9 – 11. Since you have such nasty winters there & it is a perennial, I think you'd do well to container it & winter it over in your basement.

Apparently, it needs a dormant period, cuz last year it died back when the weather got cool & I thought it was toast. I hastily cut everything down to the ground in my annual bed last year, cuz I didn't want to deal with the mess in the spring, but at the end of May, when we ripped the California Poppies out so we could  plant our annuals, I was surprised to see that little bush blooming! (See it in Mystery Plants.)

[patches]

Thanks for the information , Patty!  I think I'll have to pass on that one even though I like it, because I have all I can handle during the winter with my Geraniums and any Hostas I try to start.  I only have so much room to work with in my basement, so I really have to pick and choose what I want to do.  It is a beautiful plant though, and you already know I love pink flowers.   

[Patty S]

My Mystery plant, which turned out to be a Cleome, is spouting out blossoms now!  They're not really much to look at until you get close & see the intricate details of all the parts.
God sure has an amazing knack for beautiful creations!
                 (Way to go, God!)

     
They sure do stink, though!

[patches]

Beautiful PINK flower, Patty!  I remember the Cleome having an odor, but guess I didn't think of it as stinking.  I've never had one, but Pam had them at her garden shop. 

[Dianna]

Patty has been whining because some of us haven't been posting as many bloomers as some of the rest of us, so I went out and bought some today. Maybe I should say that I rescued them, because they sure didn't look too good when I bought them. I had to clean them up before I made their portraits...



And together:



And no, Patty, still no nickel here!

[patches]

   Those are very pretty, especially, the pink Hibiscus!!!     Do you know the name of the Hibiscus?  Did you get a good buy on those?  I keep looking around and the only plants l can find marked down or on clearance are practically dead.  It really makes me mad  when these stores don't even take care of their plants and they let them die.   

[Dianna]

Sorry, Patti. If you are talking about the pics I posted, they are lisianthus. I forgot to mention that when I posted. I tried to find a purple one, too, but they didn't have any. I bought them at Lowes. They were $3.98 each for a six inch pot...

I still have my eyes open for any hardy hibiscus that I can find. I think they would be very pretty "lining" the driveway, instead of trees. It would be a little different (around here, anyway)....

[patches]

Dianna, from the looks of the picture I thought they were in big pots!  I've never grown Lisianthus myself and the only ones I ever saw were what my friend had in her garden shop and greenhouse.  On the ones she had the blooms that almost like a Camellia and they were gorgeous.  I'm really not sure, but I think it was called Lisianthus 'Champagne'.    Guess I've never seen any that had a single row of petals like your pink one, but it's beautiful.     

[Dianna]

Just me upside the head, Patti! Sometimes I don't realize that people can't see what I am seeing when I am posting. Sorry...

I promise to try to remember to post the names of all the bloomers from now on...

[patches]

No problem, Dianna!  I was imaging the plants were bigger, and I thought the bloom on the pink one looked a little like the blooms on my 'Lady Baltimore'.   

[patches]

Finally, my Sunflower 'Sunburst' is blooming!    I really like this one because it is so different than the other ones.  I think of all the ones I have blooming right now, this one is probably going to be my favorite. 



As you can see, the bees like this one too!!!   

[Patty S]

Patti, I think your sunflowers are absolutely beautimus! The ones that the birds planted in the deer barrier have pretty much come & gone, & the only pics I got of them were in long shots... except for this one, who came on as a sucker!
     
I dont recall seeing sunflowers put out suckers before, but this one has come up with 3 of them. The other 2 were bigger than this little guy, but smaller than the first one. I think he's sorta cute!

My smaller zinnias have opened, & I like these a lot better than the big orange/yellow ones. I've never been big on Zinnias, but they do last all season... & come in purple!
     
I couldn't decide which ones to post, so you you're getting all of them!
     

[barleychown]

Beautiful flowers, everyone! Dianna, I've never seen them in those colors...awesome!

Patty, I love the purple zinnias. Might have to look into using them in my gardens next year.

Patti, that sunflower is awesome! I can see why it's your favorite.

Here's a hollyhock from a friend's yard:



And a passion flower:



And a canna in the pond:

[patches]

Awesome pictures, Patty & Sarah!     Patty, I love your purple Zinnias, I think they would look nice near some of my pink flowers.    I may have to check into that for next year. 

I just thought everyone would enjoy seeing me with my Dwarf Sunflowers that only get 4-1/2 feet tall.   

   

Geesh, I must have shrunk overnight.  These Sunflowers are certainly much taller than 4-1/2 feet because I'm 5'5".  These are really BIG!!!    

[barleychown]

They REALLY like your soil, Patti!

They look great there, whatever the size.

[patches]

Well, Sarah, they better like the soil I've been amending it with compost for several years!  I just wish my strawberries liked the soil they're in because I still don't have any flowers on my plants.   

They look great there, whatever the size. 

Yes, I really like them there, but, right now, they are serving a duel purpose because they are hiding my compost and leaf mold bins.   

[Dianna]

I love those sunflowers, Patti! The other day we were driving back from Sumter and came across a patch of sunflowers that are being commercially grown. Those things were beautiful...

I didn't realize the "dwarf" sunflowers would grow so big! BTW, it is nice to put a face with a name. Now I can picture you when I "speak" with you.

Sarah, that hollyhock is stunning! I can't wait until mine blooms. Jim spotted some purple passionflora at work the other week. They have quit blooming now and are making seed pods. I told him that when they turn brown, to grab a couple on his way to the truck before he comes home...

Patty, those zinnias are really pretty. Are they different types? The reason I ask is that some look more full than others!

[patches]

I didn't realize the "dwarf" sunflowers would grow so big! BTW, it is nice to put a face with a name. Now I can picture you when I "speak" with you.

  Well, neither did I, Dianna!!!    Actually, I bought the Drawf variety so they wouldn't grow SO tall!!!    Oh, geesh you better not look at it before you go to bed or you might have nightmares. 

Patty, those zinnias are really pretty. Are they different types? The reason I ask is that some look more full than others! 

I'm glad you asked that Dianna, I was wondering the same thing, because I really liked the ones that weren't so full a lot better.    Maybe that's because they have a daisy-like look, which I prefer!!!  

[Patty S]

Dianna & Patti, my guess is that the Zinnias I posted are different types, cuz some are more compact than the others! I'm not "up" on my Zinnia varieties... all I know is that we planted the seeds from a package that said "mixed".  I was delighted when most of them turned out to be purple, but there is a yellow one & a white one in what came up. I had been disappointed when our seeds from last year's "Crystal White Zinnias" didn't germinate this year, cuz I really liked those. (The white one that came up from this batch of seeds isn't the same as the gorgeous ones we had last year... DARN IT!) I like the "daisy" ones better too, Patti... the big Mum-looking ones look too much like Marigolds, & I dont like those, at all!  BG & I bought some potted Zinnias on a clearance sale, not knowing what color they were, & they turned out to be HUGE orange/yellow ones, compact, like that big purple one in my pic. (Yuck!) The darned things are 3 feet tall!

Here's my Foxglove. I almost missed taking a pic of it earlier, when it was really tall & full, but it's still going. I buy one every year from Wally World's abused plant rack, & Sarah just told me recently that they're perrineal! (I guess I won't pull this one out & toss it this fall!)
     

Another pic I wanted to share with y'all is a shot of the Petunia baskets that are hanging on the light poles around the center of town.  There are about 20 of them, & they're AWESOME!  I can't figure out how they water those things... I studied them really hard, & there are no watering tubes connected anywhere! (They must use a cherry picker, or a ladder truck from the fire department... My taxes at work!)