Projo Garden Blog

Rose campion

The vibrant magenta color of rose campion which has spread to practically every corner of my back garden is just beautiful beyond words.

Rose campion is among one of the flowering plants that are totally carefree and can be very invasive. They can grow anywhere and everywhere, even in the cracks of my brick walk. They like sunny areas, but will tolerate shade.

Rose campion, in the genus Silene and species coronaria (synonym: Lychnis coronaria), is considered an ornamental plant. The flowers also come in light pink and white; although I have only seen pictures of the other colors. The leaves are soft and wooly in silver grey.

The plant is a perennial that tolerates the cold weather and multiplies by re-seeding.

The flowers can be used as cut flowers and last about a week.

Astilbes

My astilbes were planted about 20 years ago. The ones with white and red flowers have been growing and expanding in the front yard that received full sun. The ones with pink flowers are in the back garden with partial sun exposure and they have also done well.

Each year I look forward to the blooming season (June to September) of these feathery plumes of flowers on tall stalks above the beautiful fern-like foliage.

6 27 08

6 29 08

I always make use of the blooms -- whose nectar attract butterflies, insects, bees and hummingbirds -- as cut flowers.

6.29.09

Astilbe blooms can also be air-dried and used in dried-flower arrangement. I usually let some flower heads dry on the stems; they turn a brown color that remains attractive into the fall and winter.

6.29.09

Astilbe, in the saxifragaceae family, requires minimal care. They come as bare-root crowns, which need to be planted in early spring, or in containers which can be planted at anytime up to mid-August.

6.29.09 - Ostrich plume astilbe in the shady spot

With all the rainfall we have had, I did not have to worry about them. I use liquid fertilizer or the slow-release granular fertilizer I normally use for most of my plants.

'Blue Buttefly' Delphinium

There are more than 300 species of delphinium, a perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). The main flower stems are erect and varied in size. The flowers come in many colors (blue, purple, pink, white). The blooming period is late spring through the summer.

I try to have a few delphiniums in my yard every year and I'm particularly fond of the smaller (also shorter) plants with deep blue flowers. Despite being a perennial plant, none ever comes back the following years and there has been no signs of self-seeding.

6.12.07

I picked up 2 'Blue Butterfly' delphinium (Delphinium chinensis) a few weeks ago and planted them in a drier spot in the rock garden. They are doing very well and continuing to produce lots of flowers, in vibrant, gentian violet color.

'Blue Butterfly' Delphinium

They add special color to my garden and even look more beautiful indoors when seen close-up.

6.28.09

Clematis, a climbing plant

Clematis was among the list of my 'must have' flowering plants when I started gardening in 1988.

6/25/09

I believe every garden should have a clematis. I planted one with maroon color flowers along my back fence that gave me beautiful flowers, not abundantly, for several years then it died. The white flower clematis that climbed on my side, wooden fence did extremely well and even climbed up on my tall evergreen tree's branches.

6/30/02

5/16/02

The deep purple flower clematis by the side of my house, next to the brick chimney, is the healthiest one.

6/2/02

It takes 2 -3 years to get a clematis well-established. They produce many flowers each year in late spring to early summer and often re-bloom into the fall.

Clematis came for a Greek word (klematis = vine). There are hundreds of species and many garden hybrids in varieties of colors.

Clematis is considered to be a hardy plant that could last more than 25 years. It requires minimal attention, except for some pruning which I try to do once a year.

6/18/09

A gardener's reflection on a rainy day

"Tell me what you think of the weather and I'll tell you what I think of you." These are the lines that have embedded in my brain for more than 30 years. I came across that saying in some book when I prepared a little talk to a group of people while I was still in psychiatric practice.

I have always told my friends that where I came from (Bangkok, Thailand), we have a rainy season that lasts from around June to October. I remember those days when it rained "cats and dogs" and getting to school in a soaked uniform. The tropical rains are also different. They could come in buckets, often accompanied by thunder and lightening, and suddenly stop. It is not unusual to have flooded streets and serious flooding in low-lying areas. It's not so unusual to walk through muddy streets.

We somehow learned to live with the rains. There was no such thing as a weather forecast on radio or TV when I was growing up. In the old days, before the age of air pollution, we collected rain water for drinking. I remember the days when I was young and all the children were allowed to play in the rain, wearing sarongs, running around playing and cleaning different areas around the house.

The tolerant, accepting attitude toward life's uncertainties and inclement weather has been instilled in me as far back as I can remember. I remember being told that "there will be no rainbows without the rain" and we knew how rain was essential to all plants and for the rice paddies. When I hear someone complaining about the rain, I automatically think to myself how lucky I am that I don't have to worry about watering all my plants.

Yes - what you think of the weather can tell quite a bit about one's personality traits and attitude toward life (i.e. optimism vs pessimism and psychological defense mechanism).

Every once in a while the rain will take me back to my middle-school years when I had to memorize "The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven..............." from The Merchant Of Venice, in Thai language.

The rain also makes me think of certain songs: "Singing in the rain."

I Never Promised You A Rose Garden

".... I beg your pardon,
I never promised you a rose garden.
Along with the sunshine,
There's gotta be a little rain sometimes."

(written by Joe South, recorded by Lynn Anderson)

And Soon It's Gonna Rain

Then we'll let it rain
And we'll not complain
If it never stops at all
We'll live and love
Within our own four walls... ( From The Fantasticks, lyrics by Tom Jones )

And for me, the raindrops often incredibly enhance the beauty and add another dimension to various flowers that I love to photograph.

In any case, "Be positive. Be patient. Be hopeful. The sun will probably come out tomorrow".

Canterbury Bluebells, Campanula persicifolio

Campanula have always been among my garden's flowers, right from the beginning.

2005

The two small plants I started some 20 years ago have multiplied into countless generations of offspring.

2006

I transplanted some to my backyard years ago and even planted some in my neighbor's yard. Campanula is a perennial plant that requires no special care or maintenance.
They vary in heights and produce beautiful blue, pink or white bell-shaped flowers that could last up to 2 weeks as cut flowers. The texture of the petals is delicate, like thin paper.

Some flower stems in my back yard reached 5 feet. Many fell to the ground in all directions, especially after a stretch of rainy days .

2009

Campanula comes from a Latin word, campana , which means bell. It belongs in the species persicifolio (peach leaf), because of the peach-like leaves.

I like to gather a bunch of them, including the ones that fall to the ground, and clean them up before placing them in a vase I just leave outside for all the passers-by to enjoy.

2009

Stock flowers, Metthiola incana

For whatever reasons, Stock flowers are not well known or frequently seen in our area or in my East Side neighborhood. Metthiola got its name from AN Italian botanist, Pietro Andrea Mettioli (1500-1577).

June 2004

Stock flowers are actually very popular as cut flowers. They come in many colors
(white, pink, purple) and in single and double flowers.

July 2005

I picked up stock flower plants whenever I happened to find them in the nurseries I normally frequented. Stock is an annual plant and none ever comes back in all the years I have had them.

I don't make many leisure trips to the nurseries these days because my garden has been rather full with all kinds of flowering plants and I don't have much free time, as I tried to keep up with weeding, dead-heading the spent flowers, pruning and fertilizing. It must have been a few years since I last planted some in my front yard.

The other day I unexpectedly found several stalks of single, purple flowers, almost completely hidden among the large iris leaves.

June 17, 2009

They have been in bloom for more than a week.

June 18,2009

I brought some indoorS and will let the rest mature to seeds. I hope they will come back and keep on re-seeding.

June 19, 2009

Alpine poppy, Papaver alpinum

Every few years I plant a few Alpine poppies in my front garden, because I love the lightweight, papery quality of the flowers that come in white and many shades of orange and yellow. The delicate, airy and lacy foliage is also beautiful.

This year I planted mine along the sidewalk where they get the sun all day and I can keep a close eye on them. They require regular watering and good drainage, but no special attention.

They are in full bloom at present although the blooms only last a day or two.

Alpine poppies bloom around late spring and early summer. I hope mine will keep on reblooming right up to the fall.

Bells of Ireland, Moluccella laevis

The first time I saw Bells of Ireland, about 10 or 15 years ago, was as fresh cut-flowers. They make such beautiful flower arrangements.

I had no idea what Bells of Ireland plants looked like until last year, when we found them at a plant sale. They did not look very healthy after transplanting. and did not get taller than about a foot or so. I was nevertheless very pleased to see the bell flowers, also called shell flowers.

7.1.08

What I thought to be flowers were actually enlarged calyxes (sepals), normally seen at the base in the centers of flowers.

This year, three small plants are thriving in my front garden in full sun. One has already exceeded 18 inches in height. I am delighted to have been able to discover the actual flowers inside the bells. They started out as tiny white balls that grew into white and pink flowers. The flowers have a rather unusual scent.

6.17.09

Bells of Ireland, in the mint family, got the name from the beautiful green color, a symbolic color of Ireland. And they look like cascading bells.

Geum chiloense, a Grecian rose

There are 2 geum plants I have had for many years, in my sunny front garden.

7.1.06

Geum (pronounced - dzi-em) is a herbaceous perennial plant in the rose family (Rosaceae).

According to Botanical.com .... Geum, originated from a Greek word, geno ( to yield an agreeable fragrance, because, when freshly dug up, the root has a clove-like aroma). Geum is also known as Avens from the Latin Avencia, Mediaeval Latin Avantia or Avence, a word of obscure origin and which in varieties of spelling has been applied to the plant from very early times.

Geum's foliage is very attractive. The leaves are variable. The geums I planted have two distinctive types of leaves and the green colors are also different.

Both geums appear to grow very slowly and do not take up a lot of space. The flowers come out of the long, wiry and wispy stems. Geum flowers are very delicate and dainty. One came with the label "Mrs. Bradshaw, which is a synonym for geum chiloense. The flowers are semi-double.

Who's Mrs. Bradshaw?

From The Plant Lover's Companion By Julia Brittain:

6.14.09

Geum, like most of the flowers in my garden, make beautiful cut flowers. They provide an extra beauty and cheerfulness to any floral arrangement.

Geum in a small clay vase

The red hot poker, Torch lily, a newcomer in my yard

Last year I planted 2 torch lily bulbs (rhizomes) and only saw some foliage from the plants, but there were no flowers. Then, earlier this spring I started to see some growth that quickly developed into clumps of healthy-looking, grass-like, but thicker and more succulent leaves.

Before I knew it, there appeared 2 spikes covered with clusters of small cream-to-orange colored flowers in a cone or torch shape, which kept getting taller. They are now 44 inches in height and still growing.

Its botanical name is kniphofia, in honor of Johann Heironymus Kniphof, an 18th-century German botanist and physician.

The flowers bloom and fade from the bottom upward in clusters. They attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds and are deer-resistant.

Torch lily can grow from seeds and can be propagated by dividing the rhizomes in the spring. It should be planted in full sun.

The common foxglove, Digitalis purpurea

Foxglove is a herbaceous, ornamental perennial plant which has been around for centuries.

Digitalis came from the word digital which means "of or relating to fingers."

The flower of foxglove fits like a glove over a human finger.

There are several foxgloves in my yard every year, mostly from self-seeding.

This morning I had the opportunity to introduce the 'finger glove' flowers to my 5-year-old granddaughter and explain to her how it got the name. She was totally intriqued and asked if she could hold the flowers for me and have her picture taken with the flowers.

Foxglove is known to be a toxic plant. Yet the extract from digitalis contains cardiac glycosides used in the treatment of heart conditions, due to their antiarrythmic therapeutic quality of increasing cardiac contractibility.

Foxglove also makes beautiful cut flowers.

Iris revisited

There are plenty of irises to enjoy this season.

Most of the bearded irises in my front yard is gone, but there are quite a few left in the back yard and I have been using them as cut flowers.

Siberian irises also make incredible cut flowers. My daughter who has been living in California and visiting Rhode Island this week , is so impressed with its beauty and color.

The later-bloomed Dutch irises added such unique color and a touch of class to my front yard.

The yellow Dutch irises, from the bulbs I received as a wedding favor back in 1999 is still in bloom. They always remind me of the lovely event which took place in Long Island, NY.( Note: I think it's such a great idea to hand out flower bulbs as party favors or wedding favors.)

Another try at lupines

Every time I see lupines in bloom in someone else's yard, I wonder why I had such a difficult time growing mine and getting them to come back the following year. I could not even count how many times I planted them. I could only get them to bloom for just one season and and have never seen mine re-seeded.

6.5.03

I had practically given up on growing Lupines for several years. Then I happened to see them earlier this year and it's time to try once more. I had heard from somewhere that "you must try growing any flowering plants three times before you give up on the particular plant" and I had tried more than three times already. It is a puzzlement as many people think I have "green thumbs".

Well - maybe the fourth time will be my lucky charm.

Two lupines were planted in my rock garden in front of the house 2 weeks ago. We'll see if they'll do better in the drier and well-drained spot.

Lupin or Lupine, is a herbaceous perennial plant with 5 - 28 leaflets. There are between 200 - 600 species. The flowers look a lot like pea flowers and some species were known as bluebonnets or Quaker bonnets.

Fern, fern, fern

For years and years, even when I was very young in my native country of Thailand, I was always fascinated by ferns. In those days I remembered seeing the black spores in the back of the fronds and had no idea what they were. I also remembered seeing different kinds of ferns used in floral arrangements.

~~Ostrich Fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris (Pteretis pensylvanica)~~ Lady Fern, Athyrium filix-femina

There are 4 types of ferns in my garden; two of them I planted and two seemed to have adopted my backyard as their natural habitat. I didn't even know the name of the one I planted a few years back.

Sensitive Fern , Onoclea sensibilis

The Japanese painted fern, my favorite, was the last one I planted three years ago.

Japanese painted fern, Athyrium niponicum 'pictum'

Some of the ferns are edible. Two weeks ago I saw fiddle head ferns sold in the local market, which I have yet to try. I was told that they have to be boiled for a long time. Some of the ferns in my backyard look a lot like fiddleheads, but I would not dare to try them.

I, and probably most of us, know so little about ferns. Every time I try to read up on ferns, I get terribly confused -- the whole topic sounds very complicated. There is such a wealth of information about ferns. I could never make it as a pteridologist. A study of ferns (Pteridophyta) is called Pteridology.

Cinnamon Fern, Osmunda cinnamomea

There are more than 20,000 species of ferns.

Ferns appeared in fossils and have been around more than 200 million years.

One of the memorable experiences I had while visiting Garden in the Woods in Framingham, Massachusetts was seeing countless different types of beautiful ferns. They have recently put up a fern gallery on their website.

I have also found a very interesting fern - video blog, originating from Coastal fynbos in South Africa.

If you want to identify the ferns in your yard, Quick Guide to the Common Ferns of New England shows you 17 ferns in detail, with photos.