Summer Adornments

I'm going to take a break from introducing the meanings of species terms and just go for the wow, the pop, the cool, the ahh of garden photos. Here are a few shot today, old favorites mixed with new additions.

Crocosmia 'Emily MacKenzie.' Here I got a wonderful feeling to the backlit shot, creating a soft focus image that looks more like a watercolor painting than a photograph.

Azalea 'Little John.' Thrips almost killed this ornamental azalea but it appears to be recovering. The feature is the downy, red-kissed foliage. Not sure what the 'Little John' is in reference to.

Split-leaf philodendron. I have to keep cutting off the largest leaves of this hardy & vigorous philodendron or they overwhelm the path. It has sent top roots sprawling like scrambling snakes.

Kerria japonica. Listed as a sun lover, I've found that mine burns in the sun. So I moved it (fortunately it was in a pot) and it's happier in morning sun. For sheer cheerfulness, it's hard to beat the pom-poms of Kerria.

Campanula cochlearifolia 'Alpine Breeze.' If you're wondering where the species name comes from, I believe its common name -- earleaf bellflower -- is a clue (cf cochlear implant). In any case, this spilling bellflower is exceptionally pretty.

Another shot of my favorite new shrub, the aptly named Abelia 'Kaleidoscope.' It's still small but will soon fill in the bed that runs along the side of the main house.

Caryopteris incana 'Hint of Gold.' Actually, this shot is just as much for the pot as it is for the lovely & showy Caryopteris. It's a burnished golden orangy-red and I liked it so much I bought two. When I came across the Caryopteris, I knew I had the perfect plant for it. They greet garden visitors at the base of the front walkway.

Echinacea 'Harvest Moon.' I can't believe I once scorned coneflowers. I now love them and keeping finding new ones, like this peachy-yellow variety. And of course the bees love 'em!

An orange-flowering Alonsoa?!  Yes, indeed. Annie's is growing it and, well, I just love its color. I tried to grow it in too much shade last year but I'm not making that mistake again. It's full sun now for this groovy little guy.

Got blue? You do, and lots of it, if you grow this Clerodendrum ugandense.Nicknamed 'Blue Glory Bower,' it certainly is blue and glory-ous. Now I have to find room for it and remember to prune it regularly.

If Datura 'Blackcurrant Swirl' seems like a name somebody who loves ice cream just made up, well who knows that may be true! But yes it does exist and here it is getting ready to unfold. It's a double, pleated datura that is too gorgeous to describe. And since the flowers only open for less than a day, I'm crossing my fingers I'll be ready with camera in hand when it does open.

Swainsona. This Swan River pea is right up there with borage as a must-visit destination for bees. And because it's in bloom eight months of the year, the bees are always around.

Asclepius 'Apollo Orange.' Okay, it's just an Asclepius but it has just enough orange (rather than red) to make it stand out. It's still very small; when it fills out it's sure to be a  passersby attraction.

Lilium 'Scheherazade.' I'd like to see some wise-ass kid in a spelling bee get this right! The flower makes up in beauty what it lacks in pronounce-ability.Umm, is that a word?

Plectanthus coleoides. The species name may sound like a horrible disease ("I'm afraid you have coleoides, sir") but this ground hugging plectranthus is one of my faves.

Not Dusty Miller as you might first think but Centaurea gymnocarpa. It's such a great silver, so much so that I don't even let it flower. It's on year three and showing no signs of slowing down.

Canna species. Cannas do indeed have lovely flowers but sometimes it's all about the foliage.

Gazania variety. Gazanias may be one of the most common (and tough) plants out there but that doesn't mean they aren't beautiful. This red form looks similar to the red form of G. krebsiana, which hails from South Africa.

Ipomoea 'Sunrise Serenade.' A fab new morning glory from Annie's. And if this photo makes you want to run out and buy it -- and it should -- good luck. They did a very limited run and there may not be more. A one of a kind color, a double form, frilly. About the only thing it doesn't do is sing ...

There's a law in my garden. I'm forced by contract to post a photo of my Hebe evansii every six months. Unlike just about any large-leaved hebe I've seen and that wine-red color plus the shiny leaves make it a standout.

Shaggy dog begonia? Sort of. This Begonia 'Wild Pony' (okay, I give up, where the heck did they come up with that name) is a new addition. Haven't seen it bloom but the foliage is just so weird that I couldn't resist.

Euphorbia mammilaris variegata. 'I knew that' you say. This guy is too cute, especially with the "pink heads."

This corner of my Japanese garden was clothed in partial shadows and I liked the look.

Mimulus Jelly Bean Orange. It's a Sticky Monkey flower so it's already cool. Add in Jelly Bean and that creamy orange color and what's not to like?

Petunia. Okay, just a common flower but I love the double form and the color.

Pelargonium. The same might be said for this common pelargonium. I just love the swirl pattern.

Latin redux

In my last post I shared that I had become fascinated lately with species terms that have a generalized meaning. That is, the species term is used to describe a certain quality that a plant has (and that it shares with other plants). I started off with a dozen species terms and gave examples. Here's a few more. I'm also posting photos of my garden for those who want to skip ahead to those.

"greggii"  -- named after Dr. John Gregg who discovered it. Main example is the great many Salvia greggiis that are widely available. Glad to have that question answered!
"heterophyllus" -- with variable leaves. ("Phyllus" always refers to leaves). Notably the CA native penstemon, P. heterophyllus.
"hirta" -- hairy. One common example would be Rudbeckia hirta, which has pronounced hairs on the stems. I suspect that hirta also gives us hirsute.
"humilus" -- low growing. The first plant that comes to mind is Sarcococca humilus, the lower growing species of Sweet box.
"laciniatus" -- deeply cut into tapered lobes. Thus Rudbeckia lacianata, known as cutleaf rudbeckia.
"latifolium" -- wide-leaved. I have a Eriogonum latifolium in my garden, the lovely silver leaves indeed being a bit wider than other species.
"maculatus" -- spotted. Brings to mind one of my favorite native annuals, Nemophila maculata, also known as Baby Five Spot for the purple spots that dot the perimeter of each leaf.
"mollis" -- soft or with soft hairs. Thus Alchemilla mollis, also known as Lady's Mantle, and which features downy foliage. Also, Hamamelis mollis (Chinese witch hazel), which has softly hairy leaves.

Okay, now the photos! My garden is definitely in mid summer mode, with a mix of summer annuals, summer blooming shrubs and the beginning of summer/fall vines.

Gold stars all around for anyone who recognizes this flower. It's Centaurea 'Black Sprite,' a montana cultivar. Pretty fab and yes that's no optical illusion, the flowers really are that black (okay, deep, deep burgundy). Took forever to bloom but I expect a summer long show.

One of the Haiti metal sculptures made from recycled oil drums. This photo doesn't really capture the detail as much as I'd like (brown background + sun) but it gives an idea.

Trachelium caerulea. One of my favorite plants, this guy began blooming two weeks after I planted it (not showing even any buds). A real fave for butterflies. For purple lovers only!

It's Rudbeckia season and here's a rust-colored hirta hybrid called Autumn Colors. Those of you who read my column know I just did a column on perennial rudbeckias but there's nothing wrong with enjoying these annual types.

Dorychium hirsutum. Speaking of the meaning of species names, here's a variation of hirta. That's obvious with the softly hairy leaves of this trailing perennial. And that grayish-green foliage is simply lovely.

Rudbeckia 'Prairie Sun.' This Black-eyed Susan has one of the biggest flowers and a lovely two-tone of orangey-gold and chartreuse.

Crocosmia. Weed or welcome guest, you choose. This vigorously self-seeding bulb will pop up everywhere and will, just for good measure, produce tons of little bulbs at its roots. Here the bright orange tones contrast nicely with the refreshing and tropical foliage of Alpinia 'Zerumbet.'  That would be Shell ginger to you and more photos of this, my favorite foliage plant, will follow.

Grevillea 'Moonlight.' Still not widely known among gardeners, who may rightly be drawn to all the other fabulous (and more colorful) grevilleas, this is still my favorite. Huge flower cones and that indescribable cream color make it very showy in my mind. Now in its second year in the ground, it looks to be ready for a spectacular show this year.

Salpiglossis 'Kew Blue.' Don't know about the 'Blue' part but the royal purple tones of this Painted Tongue are hard to beat.

I was recently up in Nelson B.C. (highly recommended) and came across a shop that had all manner of interesting little garden nicknacks.  I found two stones, including this one, that made me laugh so I bought them. It's nestled among my Yerba Buena.

I don't think the plant here, the vigorous Stachys albotomentosa (better known as the 7-Up plant for having that fragrance), needs any encouragement to grow! Good sentiment and a thought we've all had, if not yelled, at certain recalcitrant plants!

Bromeliad. Love the spotting on this bromeliad, which makes it easy to enjoy even if it never flowers.

Begonia Angel Wings. Or so the tag said but I think the grower was confusing the type of begonia (Angel Wing types that typically have spotted leaves) from the actual variety. No matter, here the close-up of the simple flower seems to dangle in space in front of the spotted leaf behind it.

Oakleaf hydrangea. Among the many fabulous things about this plant, almost too many to list, there's also the matter of its lovely orange stems.

Canary Creeper. Here's a close-up of the lovely nasturtium with the distinctively shaped flowers, said to resemble a canary. As in other years I've trained it to grow in and out of some lattice board. 

Plumbago auriculata. Can you say Robin's egg blue, boys and girls? I knew you could. And yes I'll drag out that old chestnut, "so many plumbagos, so little space ..." That said, be prepared for a battle if you ever need to dig this out, which I'll eventually have to do.

Hibiscus cisplinatus. One of my favorite hibiscus, in part because of the delicate pink veining and then the large, vivid stamens.

Begonia sutherlandii. Sweet and charming and that color, sort of an orange creme, adds to this low growing begonia's charm. Thanks to Sherrie at Cal Flora for introducing me to this guy.

It's all Greek, er Latin, to Us

To those of us who pay attention to the botanical names of plants (which are of course Latin, at least down to the genus and most species names), we are used to this ages old language to refer to plant identities. I've always taken them for granted but in the last few years it dawned on me that certain terms were repeating in species' names and that these had a particular meaning that stayed the same no matter which genus they were attached to. But it wasn't until I saw an abbreviated list of these that the proverbial lightbulb went off. So I thought it might be fun to share some of these with you, with examples to clarify their floral meanings. I'll spread them out over several posts so as not to deluge those with a short attention span for such things. Also, I've posted some new photos of my garden for those who prefer to skip directly to them. Okay, here goes.

"album" or "albus" -- having white flowers. As in Pandorea jasminoides 'Alba,' the white flowering form of the Bower vine.
"arborescens" -- woody or becoming tree-like. As with, Fuchsia arborescens, the nearly tree-like species that is multi-branching and eventually woody.
"aurantiacus" -- having orange flowers. Good examples are Mimulus aurantiacus and Cestrum aurantiacum, both featuring orange flowers.
"barbatus" -- bearded. One example would be Plectranthus barbatus, with its 'fuzzy' leaves.
"caeruleum" or "caeruleus" -- deep blue. Variants of this species name show up with regularity, especially for plants with blue flowers such Passiflora caerulea and Allium careuleum.
"capitatus" -- forming a head. This can be seen in the lovely Gilia capitata, which forms round blue flower heads.
"chrysantha" -- golden flowered. One of my favorites is Edgeworthia chrysantha, having pure golden and very fragrant flowers. Or Aquilegia chrysantha, a columbine with large yellow flowers.
"decumbens" -- trailing but with upright tips. Such as Trillium decumbens, the tall, airy Gomphrena decumbens and an Erigeron species native to Oregon - E. decumbens.
"foetidus" -- foul smelling. That would be Helleborus foetidus. The common name for this Lenten Rose is 'stinking hellebore.' This Latin term yields the English term "fetid."
"frutescens" -- shrub-like. So, no, nothing to do with fruit but referring to the form that a plant takes, as with Teucrium fruticans, which unlike most low growing teucriums forms a six foot high shrub.


Okay, I think everybody's eyes are glazing over by now (including mine). Here are some pretty pictures!

Heavenly Blue morning glory with coleus. Anybody who loves blue HAS to grow this annual morning glory. Huge pure blue flowers just are a sight to behold!

Dug out this nice ceramic half moon planter and decided to put a lovely bronze Sweet Potato vine in it. We'll see if it trails or tries to climb on the window ledge.

I'm a sucker for lilies and Tiger lilies are one of my faves. They tend to be prolific, another endearing quality they possess.

Speaking of orange, here's a closer shot of my Mimulus Jelly Bean Orange plant. Love that color and it's a California native to boot. The sticky part of their common name I get. But Monkey? Hmm ...

Chaenomeles 'Cameo.' So many ornamental quince, so little space. This coral colored cultivar is particularly lovely.

Abelia 'Kaleidoscope.' This variegated, white flowering abelia is a new entry to my garden. I reluctantly dug out a perfectly good spirea to make room for it. It's still low now but when it fills out it should be fab.

I do love clematis, I now have eight of them, but I have a special place in my heart for this C. integrifolia. First of all, vivid purplish-blue flowers! Then there's the nodding habit. This one has finally gotten a toehold and is more floriferous this year.

Clematis viorna seedhead. Another nodding clematis, this one produces seedheads that are a little different than most clematis.

Clethra alnifolia. Summersweet, as it's known, earns its rep. I couldn't really pin down its distinctive & unusual scent then realized it smells like sarsaparilla! Hmm, I wonder if there's a botanical term that means "smells like sarsaparilla."

Iochroma coccinea. Amazing what a little (okay a lot at one time) water can do to get iochromas to bloom. This one is on my narrow west side strip that doesn't get a whole lot of regular water. Things still grow (it earns its name Jungle) but look so much better with a little water.

Iochroma burgundy. This one does get regular water and it has rewarded me with bunches of burgundy blooms.

Habranthus tubispathos. Many thanks to Kiamara for gifting me this little S. American member of the Amaryllis family. I didn't expect it to bloom this year but lo and behold it put forward this gorgeous gold bloom.

Calibrachoa mini-famous Peach. Just the loveliest speckled rosy-peach colors!

Mandevillea 'Giant Crimson.' Crimson indeed. These flowers are SO red that I can't shoot an extreme closeup as the saturated color throws the camera into a tizzy. Okay, freakout.

Gloriosa lily. I tried several times in the past to get this bulb to grow with little success. I guess the third time is the charm. Now it's very happy, as you can see from this 'perfect' bloom. And the first of the two flowering stems has six flower buds, way more than last year.

Okay, it's just a day lily but that red is so vivid. Thick waxy petals too.