Saturday 6 July 2019

Borrowed Camera




4th of July wiener (& tofu) roast.





It's time for #SixOnSaturday, when bloggers feature six things from their gardens.  Be sure to visit Mr Props who has not only his own Six blooming like mad, but #SoS guidelines, should you think about joining us.  Links to his international merry band are found in his comment section.

Several of this week's photos simply defied my miserable camera phone, so my son kindly loaned me his digital camera.  After I miserably failed using the proper camera, he retook the shots.

In gardening, you can often improvise.  In photography, you need the right equipment & the right person to use it.







1.  Mrs Bradshaw & friends.

Countless weeks ago, the geum taunted me with her little yellow buds.  Then followed the occasional disappointing bloom, but this week, we saw the real deal.  Perhaps she had misgivings about strutting her stuff.


Geum & curry plant.

The geum's inherited so I don't know her name but've called her Mrs Bradshaw.  She looked red with her previous neighbours, but next to the curry plants, she looks very orange.  As to the curries, this photo doesn't show how brilliantly yellow they are.  And the aroma . . . all over the garden.


2.  Sea Holly.

This one looks a little fuzzy, but trust me, it's as spiky as any sea holly AND the colour is true.  Just love that stem.


Purple & proud.

We didn't get blooms from it last year & I'd hoped it was because of the drought.  This year, it's knocked itself out sending up half a dozen flower stems.


3.  Canna jungle.

The canna lilies are just now coming into their own.  They're quite beautiful plants, even before they bloom.


Cannas from the front.

Last year, they weren't more than 8" tall with tiny little blooms, despite being watered during the drought.


Cannas from the back.

Next year, these guys'll be planted around the Doodle pool.



4.  Apricot fudge.

In front of the cannas, there's 2 of these fellas which are new to me.


Longiflorum Asiatic lily.

Like their neighbours, they've got a wonderful structure, but one that looks like red beetle candy.  The bloom is supposed to be just as enigmatic looking.


6.  Burn unit.

The relentless sun in my back garden has necessitated a plant burn unit for the potted plants, & the use of shade makers for those in the ground - several of which, next year, will appear in the front garden.  I had no idea this fella below was sensitive to the sun, despite living with me for around 6 years.  But then, I have no idea what this fella is.  The parent plant self-layered 4 gardens ago, so I brought the little guy with me.


Burn patient.

At the moment, he's got leaves in 3 stages - leaves that were already grown when the sun got fierce, so look quite leathery; new growth that happened after the scorching weather started, so not burned but small & smooth; then new growth since I've hidden him behind another shrub, this new-growth-in-the-shade being larger, soft & fuzzy, the way I'm used to him being.

Does anyone know what he is?  His blooms are little catkin type flowers.


6.  Zinnias.

The first zinnias to bloom this year are Queen Lime.  As you can see in this photo, they go through a colour progression


Queen Lime zinnia.

The bud (3rd bit of colour from bottom) starts its flowering life as a deep red button surrounded by green baby petals, then opens to a more limey daisy effect still w/the red centre (very last flower at the back), growing into light burgundy-green petals (fuzzy foreground flower) that turn a dark burgundy (2nd flower on left).  Simply stunning.  I can't wait until one of them has multiple flowers on it in all their stages.





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That's my Six for the week.  Thanks for stopping by.

See you next time!




















15 comments:

  1. Curry plant is really an unknown plant for me. I discovered it thanks to Chicu who introduced it recently and these flowers are so bright! I like #3 (Canna jungle), ricinus , cannas and ferns go well together : nice pic !

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    1. I noticed Chicu's curry plant from last week & I don't think ours are the same, based on the foliage. Mine is helichrysum italicum & it's a plant I try to have in all my gardens - silver foliage, beautiful flowers as you see, plus the curry scent is long lasting & so pleasant. Glad you liked my jungle. Not really sure what the 'fern' is. I got an achillea collection of 12 plants, which this was one of, & they all look different. Some have bloomed & look like chamomile. None of them have trad looking achillea blooms, altho not all have flowered yet. More mystery plants!

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    2. You're right ... it looks more like an achillea, but without flowers. Another search to solve

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    3. Glad you at least agree it's achillea, which suggests it's not a cuckoo. Since it gets sun later than the others, it may yet bloom & tell us who it is.

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  2. Love the Geum and curry plant growing together. My curry plant has not flowered yet, so that will be something to look forward to, hopefully this coming summer! Unfortunately the burn patient is an unknown to me. It will be interesting to find out what its name is.

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    1. It's the first time I've planted the geum w/such a contrasting neighbour & it really changes the look, which I do like. This shrub is gorgeous. The mother plant sprawled more outward than upward in a border, w/plush light green leaves, dropping branches into the soil & setting new roots, which is how this guy came about. A real keeper, so I do hope I find out his name.

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  3. Lots of lovely things there Lora - the Eryngium is stunning. Where did you overwinter your cannas?

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    1. Thanks - things look better when the photographer knows what he's doing. When the sea holly arrived a coupla summers ago, it was in bloom & I couldn't believe what it looked like - I hadn't known their stems were so colourful. As to the cannas, I put the tubers in recycled compost (in pots), then kept them in my potting shed, which has no heat but is nice & dry. The shed was warm enough to keep tomato cuttings alive all winter, though.

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  4. I have a scorched plant unit - there are a growing number of casualties! Your zinnias are ahead of mine - mine have only just started to show signs of buds.

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    1. Were your plants in new places or has this summer had more intense temps/sunlight? As to the zinnias, what type've you gone w/? There's so many options!

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    2. I'd left them on the patio in full sun so it was my own fault! I've gone for a few types of zinnia including Purple Prince, Whirligig, some dwarf variety and a mixed pack of something or other. No sign of flowers yet though.

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  5. Your ricinus and canna are both further along than mine, nice work. Mind you, my canna are from seed this year so they can be forgiven. I think. As inswem to be able to leave dahlia in the ground ok I'm going to try that trick with the canna this winter.

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    1. I hadn't started my ricinus yet when Fred was showing his at about 6" tall, so I think the conditions in my garden are just right for them. The canna were started in the shed, of course, having been kept over from last year, so yours should be well & duly forgiven. How many seasons does it take them to bloom?

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  6. The burns patient is a willow but I'm not at all sure which one, possibly Salix hastata, usually grown as the form 'Wehrhahnii'. Look at your Ricinus go, mine aren't half the size.

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    1. I suppose the catkins gave it away, but to be honest, I would never've thought willow. A fuzzy willow. Who'da thought. Bizarre that it got sunburnt, but then, that same sun is why the ricinus is so tall & healthy, I do suppose. Thanks for the ID, Jim!

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