Here are a few more!

Kvet - your little purple flowers with four petals are Virginia stock , Malcolmia maritima. The four petals are characteristic of things in the cabbage family. Save seed - they're extremely easy to grow next year.

---------- Post added at 08:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:32 PM ----------

I like everything.

Not quite a purpurata, but still quite nice when there are a lot of these flowers. Even 1 flower is quite nice ----- a morning glory appearance. Sweet potato (or one of the sweet potato types).

Does look like a morning glory. Pretty!

nice- i also forgot how nice sweet potato flowers are, great call.

This is a great thread. I wish I found it sooner.

I tend to be partial to very fragrant plants.

Right now, my favorites are:

Easter lilies, Sambac Jasmine, Star Magnolia, Hyacinth, Cherries, Citrus, Poppies, Gardenias (though they always have something wrong with them), Amaryllis, Hymenocallis, Lilacs, Peonies, and I’m sure there are a few others I can’t recall this moment.

I currently have a night blooming jasmine, two tangelos, a plum tree, a cherry tree, Epiphyllum oxypetalum, Gardenia, Stephanotis, and a Sambac Jasmine. I’ve never bloomed the Cactus or the Stephanotis so I can’t say if they are favorites yet.

I do have a wishlist of plants I want that aren’t orchids. It includes a Canaga odorata, an Osa pulchra, A Hymenocallis eucharidfolia, Hoya, Tuberose, and Plumeria. I am also interested in one of those starfish carrion cactus things.

Maybe somebody or some people mentioned 'dahlia' already. For those that don't know too much about dahlia plants ----- there are actually quite a variety of them, and while they are all nice ---- some of them are incredibly/exceptionally nice - their flowers.

brassavola- if you are willing to start small i can send you some Hoya cuttings

These ones are fantastic DC. The little lantern upside-down bell shapes are very appealing! I grow something similar to that - not as large leaves as yours - I can't remember exact colours ----- maybe some orange in them. Will have to check next time they flower again. These cactus like plants are one of those must-haves !!


I'm totally grateful and thankful you posted this shot, as this seriously triggered emotion - and brings some tears to my eyes here ------ as we had this at a previous home (our first home) when I was a kid - but was never brought over to our new places. So - like others, it is like wonderful childhood memories.

And I never even knew what name it was. So glad you posted that one. And also glad that the name of it is known in this thread!

And - I often don't get emotional or teary eyed hahahaha. Don't worry ----- I'm normal heheheh.

I'm putting in an order (if I can find it) today - to get this one again!

==============

UPDATE : now ordered through ebay store!! :bowing :bowing


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Sensitive weed/sensitive plant Mimosa pudica ----- can be found around the world. You know the ones where their leaves close-up when you touch them.

Small flowers on stalks I think ----- but quite pretty in a pink ball shape.

In tropical regions, it can be a mistake to grow these at home, because while they are a novelty and fantastic to play with (their leaves) ----- if their seeds somehow get spread around the yard (lawn) ----- it could end up being sensitive weed city, which won't be good - because their stems have sharp spikes. Not good for feet etc.

https://www.australiangeographic.com...pudica_004.jpg

There is a Soutwestern US sensitive shrub, Mimosa rupertiana. It requires fall sowing or stratification, so I'm going to try it this fall.

SP- i am so glad to have helped to re-awaken any dormant (happy) memories!

it is so funny how "plant folk" such as we are, are able to emotionally connect a place or a time (or both) to a plant, be it a flower, a scent, even a fruit i suppose.


that thing you posted is beautiful BUT i am a passionate barefoot guy so no no no and no thank you to spiney stems

I had heard that the most powerful way to recall memories is by scent. Allegedly this is because of the way the nose is very closely connected with the olfactory bulb in the brain which itself is near other structures associated with memory and emotion. That said, I’m no expert so don’t quote me on this but I remember it from psychology classes.


I also tend to walk outside barefoot. My feet look terrible because of all the sharp plants in my yard.

? I can no longer see the photos of the purple Commelinaceae plant. I'm using my desktop computer.

Edit: They showed up again.
The plant in question is Tradescantia pallida variety purpurea. It was originally placed in genus Setcreasea. It is one of the rare plants that can survive in all-day Arizona sun in a gravel landscape, or in a pot on concrete.

That’s weird. Nothing changed about the link

That is true Brassa. But also, a powerful way to recall memories is by sight ----- such as if DC walked on a sensitive weed/plant one time. Next time he 'sees' a sensitive weed ------ he will remember hahahaha


Sure is DC. I thought it was fantastic that you showed that particular plant. When I saw the pic ----- it was a 'THAT's IT!' moment heheh. I ordered one on ebay very soon after. Looking forward to planting them!

My Green Maiden lotus has finally graced me with the first bloom of the season. :)

I so wish I could grow those in my pond. It's too hot and arid here. The leaves and flowers dry up soon after breaking the water, and the plants shrivel away.

I've tried them in buckets I can move into the shade when it gets hot, but the plants and roots seem to be delicious to dogs, worth plunging their face deep into the water.

You might have more success with this one as it is a really small lotus. I bought it already planted in a one gallon pond planter and it only needs one or two inches of water over it. So, it can easily be grown on a shelf or table. I just had to move mine onto a shelf as something has been drinking all the water during the night.

While uploading pictures for a different thread, I found these and uploaded to share. These are Eremurus, commonly Foxtail Lily. I've been OBSESSED with them for years. I've killed many. Finally made a specific raised bed for just them, after trying to plant them here, there and everywhere. I have about ten survivors from other plantings around the gardens here and there, and plan on moving them to this one in the fall now that I know it's more successful. They don't last long (maybe a month plus) and the foliage is meh. But I just love 'em...

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...reremus_3_.JPG

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...reremus_2_.JPG

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...reremus_1_.JPG

The tall yellow ones are about 10-12 foot tall. The next size down is about 6 foot. I have some 8' that are bright orange, and some 3' that are neon yellow/green. I didn't save pictures of them this year.

I like the extra ambience the horse trailer provides.:rofl: :waving

Too bad you can't see clearly the 15' camping trailer or the two horse trailer, or the manure pile. It completes and defines the area. :biggrin: :blushing:

Hardscaping.

If you get on the local TV gardening show you can talk people into buying the horse manure for their gardens.

Neat flowers. I really enjoy seeing all the different plants everyone is posting. I cannot grow everything so this is absolutely the next best thing!

That looks a lot like my favorite hibiscus, Fiesta. The coloration is very similar.

I love Japanese maple. I have planted one at every house I've ever lived in, including the house I bought last year. It is looking great. I didn't think I really loved coleus that much, but I planted some around the maple just to give it a little color and texture around the trunk of the tree, and it has turned out to be just amazing. I LOVE it. In the picture you can see the Japanese maple toward the back, and the crazy huge coleus in front of it. I had no idea that coleus would get that big. That's just three plants, and they were in 4 inch pots, and they were maybe 6 inches tall when I planted them. You can also see some zinnias and periwinkles in the foreground there. That corner of that flower bed is kind of a weird space, and I had a hard time figuring out what to put there, but it turned out to be the nicest part of my flower beds. It looks great. There's also some Angelonia and a Tropicana rose bush in the mix there too. I'm very pleased with that little corner.

As far as other stuff I love, I've already ordered quite a few things that will ship in the fall at their proper planting time. I got some digitalis (foxgloves), some lupines (it may be two hot for them here, but I thought I'd give it a shot. Maybe if I plant them in fall, they'll bloom before the summer gets too hot), various kinds of lilies, and of course a ton of tulips and other spring flowering bulbs. There's a gardenia kind of behind the maple that you can't see very well. I don't know if it gets enough sun there, and I don't know if it will be perennial here. It is rated to zone 8, and I'm in zone 8, but I'm still skeptical. I associate gardenia with warmer climates, like in California and such. It isn't growing very fast, but it is starting to get some flower buds on it, so maybe it is getting enough light.

Breck's has some really fantastic daylilies on their website right now, so I ordered some of those, along with some asiatic lilies and some tree lilites. The lilies I planted this year did way better than I could have hoped for, so I decided I needed more lol. I also ordered some Japanese irises. They are amazing, but they like to stay kind of wet. I'm not sure that I have a place in the garden that stays wet enough, unless it's in that back corner, so I thought I"d give it a try.

I've placed orders for several more roses. I love tea roses. Right now, I have Desert Peace, Midas Touch, Always and Forever, Tropicana, and Dark Night. I plan to order a few more later this summer to be planted in the fall. Spring is a good time to plant new roses, but I think the fall is better. It gives them time to get established over the winter, and I get a good flush of blooms from them the first spring, whereas if you plant in early spring. the first year's blooms are not that impressives, and you have to wait until the second year to get some really good blooms.

In the second picture, you can see my giant sunflowers that I just kind of planted there on a whim. I had some seeds, and didn't really know where I wanted to plant them, so I just stuck a few here and there.

But anyway, that's what I've got going on in my favorite little corner of my garden right now.

Pinch back your coleus if it starts to overpower the setting. They can be pinched WAY back if you want, and will get even bushier. Definitely pinch out flower stalks. Think of pruning them as one prunes chrysanthemum.

I've tried foxglove and lupine several times. They don't survive a second year... just too hot here. Let me know how it goes.

The Japanese iris... grow them in a pot or saucer with one or no holes. I grow them in an originally no-hole pot with a few 1/4" drilled holes in bottom, in my pond. They like really wet. I pull them in winter, as they don't like wet feet once we hit freezing temps.

Japanese maples. I'm addicted. Pretty sure I have at least seven or eight hanging around here. And the spring colors.... just amazing. I'll try to take some pictures. I had a bunch from this spring I'd taken, but pretty sure I've deleted them.

Daylilies and lilies (Asiatic, Oriental, Ornipet)... ahem, I am also addicted to them. I'll take some pictures... gonna divide this fall, and I think Jeff's name might wanna be on a couple of the colors I'm dividing.

Did you get any hydrangea yet? I loooove hydrangeas. Your space is looking lovely. Let me help you come up with more ideas, get rid of some more of that nasty lawn grass, and plant more flowers instead. Who wants to mow? :biggrin:

Ahem... I'm looking back through this before posting. It appears I have an addictive personality. :blushing:

Bird of Paradise
 

We certainly can't leave out the trusty bird of paradise! :bowing

Just to demonstrate how much sharpness and clarity is actually lost due the OrchidBoard software compressing our already tiny 1024x768 size images to smaller filesize ....... I've included image links to google-drive. Notice the significant difference in clarity - for the same pixel size! :D

Pic1
Pic2
Pic3
Pic4

Nice!

I DO so love that flower

Toxic to dogs so, heads up.


Nice pic too

The full size ones ;)

I would not say no to some daylily or lily divisions. And yes, I need to prune the coleus back pretty hard. It is overgrowing some of the other things I have planted there. It is on my to do list, just haven't gotten around to it yet. I like the flower spikes on the coleus, but I know I need to prune them to encourage more foliage growth. But I leave them just for a bit so I can enjoy them a little.

I did not get the Hydrangea yet. I have the perfect spot picked out, but I didn't see one that I liked this year, so I'm gonna wait for spring, or maybe order one online. You can usually find a better selection online.

My foxglove and lupines always just last one year here too. I just love them, and I grow them as annuals. It's not that big of a deal. I order them bare root in the fall and plant them then, and I get some good blooms from them before it gets too hot, but they never survive a second year, but that's okay. I'll just plant more again in the fall.

The Japanese iris is going to be an experiment. I planted a few this year, but I didn't realize how wet they needed to be, so they didn't do very well. I'm still trying to work out a method that will allow them to grow. Maybe like you said, plant them in pots without holes, or with holes just a few inches from the bottom, and sink the pots in the ground. I have a corner of the garden that stays pretty moist, but I don't know if that will be wet enough for them. I'm experimenting and trying to figure it out because I love them so much. I'll let you know if I find something that works.

If it were up to me, I would have no lawn. It would all be gardens, but I'm not the only one who lives here, so I don't have complete autonomy to do whatever I want. I would really like to take out the strip of grass between the narrow flower bed and the walkway to the front door and turn that into a flower bed. That's a battle I might win eventually if I am persistent enough.

As I said before, this is my first spring in this house, and the landscaping was a disaster, so it's going to take me a few years to get it back in shape. I can't expect to get it all done in one year. Maybe expanding the narrow flower bed along the side of the house all the way to the walkway to the front door will be next year's project.

I also always plant a small patch of papaver somniferum. Danish Flag is one of my favorites. They're so lovely and I just adore them. I know that's a gray area plant, but if I just have a few, and I'm not scratching the pods to extract the opium, I don't think anybody is going to bother me, or at least they haven't yet. Very few people would even know what they were if they say them.

I may also have an addiction problem. I think I probably have 6 or 700 dollars worth of pending orders at Breck's that will be shipped in the fall at the proper planting time. And I'm expecting another from SVO soon, and I bought a few Adenium obesum seedlings from Kim at Fair Orchids which should be here early next week. I may have a problem. I may have a serious problem.

Wow!!!!!! Didn't know about that! Thanks for the heads-up and will keep those well away from and out of reach of dogs.:Tup::Tup:

Too many plants is not a problem. Not enough money is a problem.

By the way, I just got some tropical plants from Almost Eden in Louisiana. Wow, they were FAR bigger than I expected. 3 Brunfelsia species; 2 Hibiscus; Pereskia bleo, a tropical tree cactus with leaves; Epiphyllum hookeri and a couple other nice oddities. Highly recommended. The Brunfelsia americana arrived flowering in a 4" pot. I kept it in my bedroom last night; it has a powerful sweet fragrance. I think they have a few orchids on their list, to keep this on topic.

The thread is "Other Flowers You Like", so I think just about any discussion of any plants is on topic haha. There's a few crappy boxwood shrubs in one of the flower beds, and I think this spring or fall, I'll take those out and replace them with roses.

I know there are a lot of nice roses that people really enjoy, but for me, hybrid tea roses are the only roses that matter. So I think I"ll take the shrubs out and replace them with hybrid tea roses. I think there's six of those shrubs, so I'll need six more roses. Jackson and Perkins and Wayside Gardens usually have a great selection of hybrid teas, and they are always great quality (good, solid graft junctions with lots of strong canes and good roots), so I'll check closer to fall and see what they have. A lot of their selections are sold out right now, as right now isn't really rose planting time, but as we get closer to fall, I'm sure they will replenish their stocks, and I'll have more to choose from.

Regan Roses has an excellent selection of stuff that you can't find anywhere else, but I have not been satisfied with the roses I have got from them. (Upon planting them, both of them started to experience severe cane die back, until nothing was left but the graft union, and one of them died completely) They're poorly grafted, they're too small (they look like they could have used one more year in the field before the dug them up to sell them) and their survival rate has not been great. If they ever had something that I just had to have and couldn't find anywhere else, I might order from them again, but it would be a last resort. I would check everywhere else first. The reason I ordered from them is because I was looking specifically for Desert Peace. It is a childhood favorite of mine. We had one at my house when I was in middle and high school, and I really wanted another one, and they were the only one who had it. Fortunately, the one that died was not Desert Peace, and it recovered well and is doing fine now, so at least I got the one I really wanted. I contacted them about the problem with the roses they sent me. I contacted them three times and didn't get a response. Finally when I left critical reviews on Yelp and on their facebook page, I got a response. They refunded me for both of the roses, even the one that lived, which wasn't really necessary. I just wanted a refund for the one that died, but I just accepted my refund and didn't argue, but I should not have had to contact them three times with no response. If I hadn't left those negative reviews where people can see them, I probably never would have heard anything from them at all, and I don't consider that good customer service.

So there you go, there's another plant obsession I haven't mentioned yet. Hybrid tea roses. Midas Touch and Mister Lincoln are a couple of my favorites. Always and Forever is another excellent red. My grandmother loves Tropicana, so I planted one of those for her so I can cut the flowers and bring them to her. I planted Black Night, but I didn't get it from a nursery I'm familiar with, and it wasn't great. The graft junction looks healthy, but all the canes were cut back to about two inches, so it is growing a little and I think it will be fine eventually, but I don't think it will do much until next year once it has had time to establish. I need a white one. I don't have a white tea rose yet, and every rose gardener should probably have a white tea rose, so I'll be on the lookout for a good white one this fall or spring.

---------- Post added at 02:55 AM ---------- -

[If you put in tea roses, it is best to always use the granular form of Bayer 3-in-1 rose systemic. Also, for Japanese beetles, you will want to have Sevin on hand. Roses are attacked by everything. If your stems become hollow, it is likely due to the clearwing borer moth which the systemic should also kill. My father's hobby for over fifty years was fragrant tea and floribunda roses (he wasn't very pleased when Jackson and Perkins began selling roses that were not fragrant). Good luck!

Thanks for the tips! I'm aware of many of the problems that plague tea roses, and there are many. They aren't exactly the toughest plants, and lots of things can get to them. I typically do use a systemic on them. Fortunately I did not a lot of trouble with pests and disease in Oklahoma. My main problem there was scale, but that's easy enough to treat. It may be different in Texas, but time will tell. As far as fragrance, sure I prefer a fragrant rose, but it isn't a deal break for me if a rose is not fragrant. Jackson and Perkins says in the description of each rose how fragrant it is, and I pay attention to that, and I consider it, but if it's a rose I think is beautiful enough, I'll buy it even if it isn't fragrant. I have plenty that are, so having a few that are not isn't a big deal to me.

---------- Post added at 04:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:49 AM ----------

I was hoping to hear from somebody who had used Regan Roses in the past and see if their experience was the same as mine. They have several things I know I'm going to want, but I can't decide if it's worth the risk, considering the quality of the two I bought last time. Have other people done better with Regan? Was my experience an anomaly, or is that what I should always expect from Regan.

Skip J&P and Armstrong. They only sell weakling grafted roses the rose societies like. Head to the great Texas business Antique Rose Emporium. They sell sturdy own-root roses that are much better than new show varieties.

Remember there is a big difference between tea roses and hybrid tea roses.

If you want a pure white hybrid tea rose, nothing beats 'John F. Kennedy' or 'Pope John Paul II.' If you want an older white true tea rose nothing beats 'Mme. Alfred Carriere.'

If you insist in buying weak grafted roses, in your climate the graft must be planted a good 3"-6"/7.5-15cm deep. This gives the top part a chance to develop its own roots. Then it will be unkillable. Rosarians care only about their spring show and ribbons. They rip plants out every few years to replace them with other things to show. If longevity of roses matters to you, do not do what rosarians tell you. Again in your climate, do your pruning in late summer, not January. Rosarians prune in January so they get big flowers for April shows. This is a near-lethal time to prune in warm climates.

I suppose going from roses to native plants is a stretch, and of course in my case there are no flowers to speak of, but, here goes:

Whilst mowing the back 5, I discovered a few Carex platyphylla and a half dozen nice Carex flaccosperma. I dug them up and transplanted them in a tough area on my personal west Bank. I think they look quite handsome.

I've always done my pruning in late summer/early fall. I didn't know about the graft union tho. I plant mine with the graft union level with the ground. When I get my next round of roses, I'll plant them a little deeper and see how they do compared to the ones I've already planted.

I'm looking at Antique Rose Emporium's website right now, and they have some really nice things there that I think I might need. I feel pretty confident that I'll be ordering from them this fall. I'd love to check them out in person, but they're way south, almost to Houston. It would probably be a three hour drive. But honestly, I've driven that far for far more frivolous things, so why not roses? Maybe I will find a time to take a drive down there.

Thanks for the tips, I really appreciate you. I respect the depth of your knowledge. However, I do disagree with you about J&P. I've had some really nice, strong grafted plants I've bought from them that have just done fantastic for years. Until I moved to Texas, I had roses in my yard that had been there for ten years or more, and some of them were from Jackson & Perkins, and they were still going strong. But Antique Rose Emporium looks amazing, and just a quick glance through the website shows that they have things that I need, so if I don't make a trip down there in person, I'll definitely be ordering from this fall. And just for the record, I have no interest in rose shows. I've known a few rose show people, and they weird me out a little.

Not a fan of folks who show roses. (They weird me out as well.) One huge benefit of folks who show roses...they're REALLY into growing their roses, and will take larger piles of manure from me for their rose gardens. :biggrin:

Fart sniffers

People here think roses are hard to grow because the papers and TV shows put rosarians on all the time saying staggeringly stupid schlock like "plant the bud graft high" and "you need to pull off all the leaves in October to force dormancy and prevent fungus" and "you need to prune heavily in January." All of these are harmful to roses in hot climates. We don't get rust nor black spot. It's not humid enough. Mildew occurs in spring when it's cool and dry. Spores are everywhere so removing leaves only harms the plant. Roses here grow and flower luxuriantly fall-winter-spring, so the last things you want to do are strip leaves in fall and prune heavily in January.