There’s a lot of repetition here and I apologize if it’s annoying. There are probably more photos of iris than you care to look at, but it was a spectacular iris year here and I had trouble whittling it down!
I never knew poppies could grow so well in Iowa – particularly the wispy orange California poppies. I thought they were only suited for drier climates; I was obviously misinformed. And that’s fine by me. I rather like them. I think they are one of my favorite flowers to photograph. Not as flamboyant as sunflowers and not as long standing either. I suppose their short bloom time makes them less ideal garden flowers (if you want lots of long blooms), but this also makes me more appreciative. After the bloom is done the seed pod forms for post-bloom interest. I’ll be sure to add more to this slide show as the seasons continue.
Want to add some poppies to your garden? Not sure if it’s necessary, but we usually sprinkle the seeds toward the end of winter. All the better if it’s snowing a little. The silvery, jagged-leaved seedlings emerge early in the spring.
I know it rained some in April, and by the looks of our blooms it was a decent amount. Yay, it’s May! Always so much to do in May with cleaning up the garden and building new garden and rearranging old garden, that the blooms sometimes escape capture. They can be missed in our hurry to prepare for the next series of blooms. Anne and I often play the did you see game where someone says, Did you see the species tulip in the bed outside the door? And then someone replies, Yes, it’s awesome! Did you see the little mini-irises next to Buddha? Yes, how about the daffodils down by the bridge? They look great this year.
And now as I type this Anne tells me there is a new bulb, a fritillaria, open next to Jane Magnolia in the front bed. I’ll need to check it out in the morning. Sure enough, there it is.
Anne often wins at this game.
Our magnolias are blooming, but the flowers are fleeting. They are a magical sort of tree/shrub.
Last year we had some amazing poppies – including California poppies. We live in Iowa so this was particularly amazing.
Please indulge a little introspection. I am not much of a planner – while I enjoy puzzling things out from every conceivable perspective, I don’t ever really want to begin. To begin would mean all perspectives have been exhausted, and how likely is that really? I have learned/inherited some pack-rat tendencies. Thanks M & D! “I might need this” is etched into my bones. I’m nowhere near hoarder status, but I sympathize with the psychology. And I am certainly a good consumer – a sucker for seed catalogs in the Winter or any time of year.
Red Burgundy Okra Seeds and Pods. Click image for larger view.
With all this in mind, I collected seeds today. This appeals to the perspective seeker and saver in me. It disrupts the good consumer, but I’m okay with that. As a Midwesterner, I am certain my consumption is well beyond my needs.
Cleome Seeds and Pod. Click image for larger view.
Seeds are relatively inexpensive and hold much promise during those cold Winter months. Low cost and promise is marketing genius. Their shapes and sizes are as interesting as they are extreme. The general size of the seed tells us little about the size of the plant. And each holds the genetic key to an entire plant that might grow over 100 feet tall. The tobacco seed pods hold hundreds if not thousands of tiny little specs of seeds. I have a feeling we will see some volunteer tobacco next year, but I saved some seeds anyway.
Tobacco Seed Pods. Click image for larger view.
From the tiny to the large – the sunset pole bean wasn’t my favorite fresh green bean, but the blooms were a subtle salmon color and the seeds are dark with bright pink blotches. The seeds appeal to me, and so they win the game of natural selection. This is a plant I am actually considering growing again for the seeds themselves! Yes, the blooms are nice, but the seeds are even better.
Sunset Pole Bean Seeds and Pods. Click image for larger view.
We had a nice showing of sunflowers this year. Most of them were volunteers, and most blooms are done now. I do enjoy a good volunteer. The birds seem to like the dried blooms. We will most definitely be feeding the birds more sunflower seeds this winter. Sorry to mention that season already.
(Here is the sunflower set on Flickr if the above slideshow doesn’t play for you.)
Click any of the images in this post for a larger view.
Daisy with expired allium bloom
Double Hollyhock
Single Hollyhock
White Cone Flower (echinacea)
The flowers have been spectacular this year. Everywhere I look, or everywhere Anne tells me to look, I find amazing color and photo opportunities. If only I could invest in a slightly better camera. Is it Murphy’s law that dictates the more incredible scenes available, the less charge the camera seems to have/hold? I guess that isn’t really the camera’s fault…. it’s the battery. Still, the camera, battery and those responsible for keeping it charged were momentarily in synch a few days ago and I captured the cone flowers above.
Around the other side of this center-of-drive bed is a nice patch of blackberry lily (also called Leopard Lily – Belamcanda chinensis) (above). The blackberry-esque seeds come later in the season we are told. We are also told to not eat them. This patch is entirely new this year – a sweet free addition from last year’s (or was it this Spring?) Eastern Iowa Garden Exchange plant swap.
Just one more – verbena bonariensis (purple in the foreground, yellow yarrow is in the background). I like the latin name of this plant. The common names don’t seem as interesting (Purpletop Vervain? Brazilian Verbena?). These tall, slender and branching blooms are all over the place this year. I like ‘em. They can spread around somewhat invasively, but they bloom long and add height to the garden.
There are many more blooms around the garden. Just about all our photos (good ones and less good ones) are loaded to flickr – check the link on the side menu.
