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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 26, 2010 8:10:41 GMT
The agave in front of Santo Domingo church in Oaxaca are in bloom (see Reply #1 here.) One of the flower stalks. The agave dies when it flowers. Happy bee!
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Post by bazfaz on Feb 27, 2010 20:25:14 GMT
What an impressive plant! Shame we can't have one.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 27, 2010 22:39:14 GMT
Why can't you have one, Baz? There was an agave in front of the post office in my home town. It was in too much shade because of a nearby live oak, and I'm sure it never dreamed there was that much rain in the world, but it grew and bloomed. (that's in usda zone 8 -- dips below freezing at times, hot & humid in summer)
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 8, 2010 20:05:52 GMT
Finally, finally it's Hollyhock time for me!
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Post by bjd on Mar 9, 2010 8:09:50 GMT
That's a gorgeous hollyhock, Bixa. Here they are summer flowers. I usually prefer the old-fashioned simple ones, but that sort-of-double one is really nice.
Last Monday I bought a rhododendron that had two open flowers already (so I could see the colour) -- it is now buried in snow and probably dead.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2010 9:03:03 GMT
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Post by spindrift on Mar 9, 2010 13:21:46 GMT
hmmm...let's see, here in this Goan garden there is jasmine, frangipani and bourgainvillea.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 9, 2010 14:26:59 GMT
Hmmmmm ...... let's see, is Spindrift being smug about her beautiful surroundings? ( , Spindrift) Bjd, that hollyhock is a particular thrill here, as we never see them. I got the seeds from a woman who had one (1) growing in front of her house. Because of being in the middle of a move, I didn't get them planted but passed them on to a friend. Mine are the offspring of seeds from the ones she planted. I always knew them as summer flowers and as biennials, but these were planted about 11 months ago. I think rhododendron can take a good bit of cold. So many of them come from high elevations in China and India, where there is freezing and snow. I realize yours were already leafed out and blooming, but the snow cover should protect them to some degree. In the Gulf south US, it's advised not to cut back any freeze-damaged or even freeze-killed portions until the weather has truly warmed and stabilized.
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Post by bjd on Mar 10, 2010 13:51:08 GMT
I shook the snow off the plants but things are not looking happy. I realize rhododendrons and azaleas come from mountainous areas, but any I buy here have been grown in French (or Dutch) hothouses, so are not as hardy. At least, not right away. It doesn't look dead, but the flowers certainly are shot.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 11, 2010 20:03:08 GMT
Spindrift, forgot to mention that those things are blooming here as well. It's interesting how they follow their natural cycles in different parts of the world. Bjd, it's a shame you'll lose this year's blooms. As you say, the newly-bought plants are not hardy right away. I was amazed to read the cold tolerances on this page, though -- one survived minus 49F!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2010 17:51:20 GMT
A few things out in the potager blooming: Borage,one of my favorite shades of blue in anything. Young leaves are good in salads,have a slight cucumber taste,and the blooms are edible as well,beautiful in salads,particularly fruit salads where the blue up against a cantaloupe or honeydew is visually stunning. The first of the Sweet Peas!!! The last of the mustards,bee getting in her last licks !
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 14, 2010 22:35:21 GMT
I absolutely love borage. There's an old fashioned feel about it that makes the garden feel magical. And the flowers -- not only their incredible blue, but their form always makes me think of medieval tapestry, or perhaps the detailed mosaics in someplace like the Taj Mahal.
Hope it stays cool enough there for you to enjoy the sweetpeas for a while.
I'd forgotten that mustard was so early in that part of the world. Here, I have to wait until the rainy season for it to thrive in the cool moisture. That's just a wonderful picture with the lacquered yellow of the flower and the rich brown of the bee. You even caught the gloss of reflection on the bee's sleek body!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2010 22:57:09 GMT
Thanks. The sweet peas will be here for us until early May. I'm grateful they didn't "buy it" in the freeze.As long as the nights are cool enough they'll be fine.I'll have bouquets of them inside everywhere in a week or so. The borage,I agree is special. Talk about a plant that attracts bees! The photo in the pic you will see,the flowers are upside down because the plant is hanging so low to the ground,and to capture the right upturned blooms I would have had to prop the plant up,pose it,which I won't do. I did get down on my back to try to capture,but,I hurt my neck yesterday and it wasn't worth hurting it more.I have a couple of other borages that are just getting ready to bloom and will get one of those guys in full regalia.They get pretty huge.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 17, 2010 21:47:25 GMT
No flowers here, yet, though there must be some nearby, since I saw a lone honeybee last Thursday. Wild buttercups will be the first to bloom, but they aren't even in bud. However, THIS is in bloom: (Alder catkins)
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 17, 2010 22:00:02 GMT
Signs of Spring are especially thrilling in places that have true Winter. Kimby, are there pussywillows where you live? Would the bee have been visiting a nearby meadow, or some cultivated flowers? Also, Kimbeeeee, did you see my bee thread? (look at the bottom pics, much better than the 1st ones). There were amazing numbers of them until today, which has been quite cool & overcast.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 17, 2010 22:14:06 GMT
bixa, there are pussy willows in western Montana, but I don't know of any within miles of here. I suspect that the bee found some buttercups or crocuses in a lower elevation, sunnier or more exposed location, and wandered into my yard to see if my crocuses were up yet. (They're not, not even close.)
And yes, I have already "enjoyed" the bee thread, but could not bear to watch with the speakers on, as I have a life-long bee phobia.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 17, 2010 22:39:14 GMT
Oh that's interesting -- it's fascinating how many micro and mini climates there can be in a relatively small area, particularly at higher elevations. I'm sorry about the phobia -- never even stopped to think that it would bother some people. You'd have been safe with the speakers on, though, as the wind drowned out any buzzing. There was some birdsong at the beginning of the video, but "Mariah" blasted that to perdition. I'm just whipping these hollyhock pictures to death, as there is so little else to show. Everything is just grimly holding on during this last and worst part of the heat & dust season. Here's a bravely blooming little dietes next to a forget-me-not and the promise of future nasturiums. This is a volunteer tomato in the rosebush pot. You can see a fuchsia bud in the background I have to find the name of this plant, whose id marker is lost. It's not a cactus nor a euphorbia, but something from S.Africa, I think. It blooms every year and the flowers really are this violent, sticky yellow.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2010 3:06:00 GMT
It pains me to see these hollyhock and nasturtium etc. photos,as all mine bit the dust in the hard freeze It's not too late to plant more nasturtiums and I have to remind myself to get some more seeds soon! Too late for the hollyhocks though. I am taking heart with the stuff I posted above...for now. And I see signs of some things making a comeback in the perennial garden.(SALVIAS !!) Kimby,you guys are in cold,cold land there. Why aren't you in Florida?
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 18, 2010 3:22:39 GMT
I think I can say "I know how you feel". My heart burns with rage every time I don't see any tuberose or turmeric leaves emerging because the nasty hateful chickens dug them all up.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2010 9:26:00 GMT
Ah.......tuberose,someday I am going to have a huge,huge bed of them...if I could find a bulb supplier that had them reasonably priced,every year I say I am going to buy a couple hundred bulbs of them and just let them go...I may even sell off something around this hulking house to invest in bulbs...why wait? That would make me very,very happy,to be able to go out into the summer heat and pick handfuls of tuberose for the house....Yes,someday soon.
Can't you put chicken wire around the plants?
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Post by Kimby on Mar 18, 2010 14:37:37 GMT
Kimby,you guys are in cold,cold land there. Why aren't you in Florida? 1. Because we ski and it's supposed to snow here in winter. 2. Because Mr. Kimby still works half-time. 3. Because we can almost cover the cost of owning the house on Sanibel Island by renting it to snowbirds who favor the December through April period. Someday we will spend more time there. Like when our knees give out or global warming closes all the ski areas. I totally "get" the snowbird thing now, though.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 18, 2010 15:05:55 GMT
Kimby, even after being on ttr, then here with you and knowing that you skied, I never realized before what dedicated skiers you & Mr.K are. I thought you mostly lived in Montana for the beauty.
Casimira, chicken wire would totally ugly up my little garden area. Anyway, the problem was neatly solved without my intervention. While I was in the States over Christmas, my landlord saw the chickens scratching up my garden and promptly went to his daughter-in-law, who owns the damned things, and told her to control them. It's nice to not worry about it now, and also nice to know he likes and respects what I'm doing here.
About the tuberoses -- you wouldn't need to buy that many bulbs to get a good stand of them. Even the tiny ones from a clump will take off, and they reproduce furiously. And about picking bunches of them for the house? Ha! I had them blooming in my last garden, but because it was their first season, there were never more than a few stalks going at a time. The lovely scent would waft into the house, especially at night. I've been in rooms with bouquets of tuberose, and they can be overpowering inside.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 18, 2010 15:12:45 GMT
Kimby, even after being on ttr, then here with you and knowing that you skied, I never realized before what dedicated skiers you & Mr.K are. I thought you mostly lived in Montana for the beauty. Well, that too. The summers are glorious here, so even if we get old and move to Florida for the winter, we'd still have to return here for summers.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2010 22:51:17 GMT
yesterdays buds,todays blooms... The Louisiana Iris in full regalia today! They are so beautiful to look at,regal,I am totally smitten with them. pity the background color of the house washes out this bloom
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2010 10:15:18 GMT
All the heirloom roses are bursting forth!!
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 23, 2010 7:53:17 GMT
Those iris couldn't be any more exquisite! Here is some of what is blooming around here and in Oaxaca. Bauhinia ~ Couldn't believe this hollyhock -- I though I had the only ones around here. It's right on the dirt road, and so dusty ~ Lots of jacaranda ~ Jacaranda with bougainvillea growing up into it ~ Classically downtown Oaxaca ~ Bougainvillea on the side wall of Santo Domingo ~
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Post by spindrift on Mar 23, 2010 9:21:49 GMT
Bixa - those are wonderful photos and looking at them has made me happy One of my favourite trees is the Jacaranda. I remember when I was landing at Pretoria (years ago) and saw a sea of light purple blossoms beneath me. Bliss. * In my garden I have spied a red camellia starting to unfold.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2010 11:11:46 GMT
Backing up to the tuberose..yes,I'm aware of their intense aroma,I usually buy maybe three or four from the flower lady at the market and that suffices to aromatize the whole upstairs. My comment was more of a romantic image of being able to have bouquets to freely gather... I did plant about a half a dozen some years ago and haven't had much luck with them multiplying at the rate I would like or people say. I love the single hollyhocks,always have preferred the singles,more "old world" to me and therefore more appealing. As mentioned previously,I have never seen a jacaranda blooming.,god,they're gorgeous.Do they have an aroma? Our bauhinia are about to burst forth too. I entertained,and still might, put in an all white one. They do get huge though,and the volunteers from are a tad overwhelming. Spindrift,I am thrilled about you camellia!! (soon to be plural!!!)
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Post by spindrift on Mar 23, 2010 18:16:56 GMT
I don't know whether jacarandas have a scent. As the weather has turned rainy my camellias haven't progressed, in fact a plump but sodden bud fell off yesterday when I touched it.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2010 19:25:54 GMT
No love for the bougainvilla for me today, as I hacked at six of the probably dead, huge shrubs of them...one nasty plant when not in bloom.ARGHHHHHH!!!!!! I am telling people that it's 50/50 that they'll come back. Won't know until the real heat sets in and jolts them,or not...
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