Sometimes called “confederate jasmine,” this beautiful and energetic evergreen vine creates a special scene all through the year as it climbs up a trellis in the back yard. During March and April the plant flushes light green with new growth. Shortly thereafter, delicate white pinwheel flowers breathe their enchanting fragrance into the spring air.
One of the floral decorations in the house this week is a sunflower bouquet.
Sunflowers are native to the Americas. There is some debate about where the sunflower was first domesticated. The earliest known examples of a fully domesticated sunflower were found at the Hayes site in Tennessee that date back to around 2300 B.C. There were also other remains found at the Olmec site of San Andrés dating some time before 2100 B.C. The Incas used the sunflower as an image of their sun god. Gold images of the flower, as well as seeds, were taken back to Europe early in the 16th century.
My bearded iris got it’s first flower this week. Several more flowers will be coming out in a few days. These delicate looking flowers only last a couple of days, but they are spectacular to see while they’re blooming.
It’s springtime and the garden is sprouting – but there are those who would help themselves to our veggies-to-be. The answer to controlling pilferage isn’t always pesticides – especially when it comes to controlling cute little fuzzy squirrels. Our preferred method in this case is to catch and repatriate. A nearby park will provide shelter and a place for this particular squirrel to forage.
In the picture above – squirrel’s eye view of a Havahart trap – later at the park, the release and scamper up a convenient pine tree.
I took this photo of this beautiful tiger lily in the garden shop last weekend. I love the lighting on this colorful flower — partial shadows and sunlight add to the texture of this already gorgeous flower.
Please take a moment and reflect on the tragedy in Virginia yesterday. We have the victims, their friends and families in our minds and hearts as we try to find a way to cope with this mindless act. Beautiful flowers like this give us a little consolation as we realize there is still abundant beauty in life.
I have these little daisies growing in a hanging planter by the patio. I noticed that one of the flowers was actually almost split into two. One side is almost the mirror image of the other. A normal bud is shown for contrast.
The little flowers are about an inch across (2.5cm). When they first open, their petals are bright crimson with a yellow center punctuated by a crimson dot. After several days, the crimson fades to pink. I’m not certain about the name of these daisies since we got them several seasons ago and I don’t remember what they are called. I’ll make it a point to notice next time we see them in the garden shop.
UPDATE: As promised, we found this flower at the garden shop and noted its name. For such a tiny flower, this little guy has an enormous name – Argyranthemum Red.
This photo of an Easter Lily is unretouched other than cropping and resizing. A sunbeam coming through the window over the staircase hit this flower at just the right angle and place to make it look as though the inside of the flower was producing the light.
