Saturday, August 8, 2009

You Say Tomato and I Say Tomahto...........

....or Different Strokes for Different Folks.

Patsi is not thrilled with her datura plant. She comments, "The plant is not too bad to look at...but for a annual...it's not my cup of tea."

I can totally see where she's coming from as it doesn't behave normally for an annual. I like my annuals to bloom non-stop, that's why I grow them. Daturas are not in that category. Yet Kim and I would not want to be without them.

Here it's growing on our front porch.




Patsi did say the flower is amazing. And it certainly is that! The scent is heavenly too.








Some other plants I'm happy with this summer; Scabiosa atropurpurea 'Black Knight'. It's not a huge bloom, but that color really stands out in the garden. And it occasionally comes back for me the next year.





Patsi sent me the seed for this cardinal climber. It looks great on the shed window box.














Remember these dianthus I picked up at the co-op for free?

They looked like this when I brought them home.




Just look at them now!
























I moved our Heritage rose at the end of May and it rewarded me with three lovely blooms.






















My experiment with growing Love Lies Bleeding in a hanging basket went OK. I like it anyway.



'Nora Leigh' phlox is blooming and looking lovely.
























And I like this sunflower 'Ruby Eclipse' from Connie.


I have to mention the calendula. Such a reliable annual. Here it is next to a white yarrow.





What's on your list of favorites?

14 comments:

jen said...

I love sunflowers!! That Ruby Eclipse is just lovely!!

I got a kick out of your hubby trying to take photos with the cute little chicken on his back!! LOL

Hope your surviving the heat. We have had a very cool summer, but tomorrow is supposed to be 95!! Eeek!! Hopefully it will help ripen the tomatoes. There isn't a red one in sight thanks to this crazy MI weather!!

Jen

Ginger said...

Everything looks great! The love lies bleeding is neat - I always see it in seed catalogs but never in real life. Good idea with the hanging basket!

Randy Emmitt said...

Kim and Victoria,

Wow on that Ruby Eclipse sunflower! The datura on the porch is pretty cool if you ask me. I saw in growing wild along the road on our recent CA trip.

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

I think that Love Lies Bleeding is really striking-- isn't that an Elton John song? I have a Brugmansia (which many mistake with a Datura) but it has not bloomed. :-(
Your sunflower is wild!! Just great!

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

Lovely! Calendula is one of my favorites, although yellow and orange are not my favorite colors. I love it for her medicinal qualities and reliability. I remember seeing its bright flowers peeking from under the snow. The Love Lies Bleeding is a new one for me. Looks like a cute octopus.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

They are all pretty, but I love Heritage. I've never grown Datura but think I will try it next summer just to see what it's like here. I see them in the nurseries quite often in full bloom and they are very pretty.

Pat said...

The datura flower looks so thick and the texture makes you think it's porcelane. It is very cool looking.
Heard of Loves Lies Bleeding...I like it !
I have some dianthus...should have put them on the edge of my bed.
Not fair...I have no sunflowers...darn rabbit !!!
Hope you gets lots of blooms with the cardinal climber. Hummers do love them.

Unknown said...

Gorgeous!

Connie said...

I have a Heritage rose...it is huge and is a blooming machine! I'm glad to see how pretty the Ruby Eclipse sunflower turned out to be. Mine has yet to bloom, since it was planted late, but I noticed last week it was forming a flower head, so it won't be long.

Your green thumb really brought those Dianthus to life...very pretty.

Dirt Princess said...

I love Dianthus. They perform their little hearts out for me. They come back every year, bigger and better and take the heat like champs

Prairie Chicken... said...

Wahhhh! I cannot believe how HUGE your datura is. Mine is ... well its pathetic!

Kathleen said...

oooh, love that sunflower Victoria! Those two colors are great together. I'm an "on again, off again" Datura fan. Some years, I feel I have to have one and plant it in a container. This year was not one of those years. My dog groomer has them come back year after year in her garden and she hates them! Funny, huh? I've also never noticed a fragrance with mine? and I always read they have a delicious one as you so confirm. I love snapdragons in the garden. something old fashioned and charming about them. Also cosmos & zinnias for the same reasons...

danger garden said...

Your Datura is absolutely gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful collection you have!!
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Britney
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