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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2009 11:53:40 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2009 12:03:31 GMT
Oh, the peonies!! I miss peonies. I like the one in Thailand the best.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2009 12:13:10 GMT
I had a whole bunch of photos of the peony festival, because my Chinese colleague went to it and she was having trouble printing her photos. But I think I deleted them from the computer. I may still have some on the computer at home.
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Post by spindrift on Mar 9, 2009 22:24:55 GMT
Which reminds me that I must re-plant some of my peony tubers before they start sprouting. Unforgiveable I know, but last summer I moved them into a large terracotta pot that became waterlogged. They still put up leaves but no flowers. I'll sort them out on the next fine day.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2009 22:34:29 GMT
I planted a dozen Calla Lily tubers today. No peonies here
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Post by bjd on Mar 10, 2009 17:26:11 GMT
I have lots of peonies in my garden. They seem to like the lousy clay soil. Only one tree peony though -- I prefer the other kind. Unfortunately the flowers never last very long but they are so beautiful when they bloom.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2009 17:59:34 GMT
I horrified my Chinese colleague when I told her that I don't like peonies because I don't like flowers with too many petals.
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Post by spindrift on Mar 10, 2009 23:20:23 GMT
What a very strange dislike!
Which flowers have few petals? geraniums or buttercups perhaps?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2009 6:05:00 GMT
poppies, tulips, daisies...
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 11, 2009 8:12:53 GMT
I am not as extreme as Kerouac, but do admit to loving old fashioned single roses such as these far more than the artificial seeming "perfect" hybrid teas: There is a certain timeless elegance to the single peonies:
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Post by spindrift on Mar 11, 2009 8:59:23 GMT
I like most flowers so long as they're not bright yellow or orange.
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Post by bazfaz on Mar 11, 2009 9:32:20 GMT
I LOVE the bright yellow of mimosas right now. I look from our terrace at these splashes of colour in the valley and they brighten up even a cloudy day.
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Post by bjd on Mar 11, 2009 12:41:49 GMT
I tend not to plant yellow or orange flowers either. Sometimes just one or two to go with blue/purple ones.
Mimosas are okay outside. I can't stand the smell in the house -- it's too overwhelming.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2009 12:09:23 GMT
When I take on a new garden client I ALWAYS ask what colors do you LOATHE because invariably when asked what they like I get,"Oh, I love all flowers,all colors. " After many an installation I'll get the phone call: I LOATHE PINK or whatever color dominates the planting. I do have one client (my favorite actually) who when I met her said " I want my garden to look like a Shell Gas station",her way of saying garish,gaudy,anything goes. So easy to please.
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Post by spindrift on Mar 12, 2009 15:26:01 GMT
This summer I'll be using only WHITE plants in my tubs and containers. White lobelia, white pelargoniums, white geraniums, white roses and white hydrangeas. This will look nice against dark green box hedging, evergreen camelias, honeysuckle, cotoneaster, fatsia and bay.
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Post by bazfaz on Mar 12, 2009 15:43:38 GMT
I think there are too many pink flowers and not enough blue ones.
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Post by spindrift on Mar 12, 2009 15:50:40 GMT
I like pink flowers; there's no need to get snobby about pink flowers.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 12, 2009 17:11:22 GMT
Sticking my nose in, I'd say a few blue flowers and some spark of yellow wouldn't go amiss in the all-white flower scheme. The white flowers will be glorious at dusk and on bright nights, but the other colors will help make a pretty picture during the day.
Re: too many pink, not enough blue ............ I love pink flowers, but have often been frustrated by the lack of enough choice in height and texture among plants with blue flowers, when blue is what's needed in a particular planting.
Years ago I lived in Wilmington, North Carolina. Around this time of year the azaleas were in full bloom, along with wisteria which had gone wild. Driving around, I'd be repeatedly stunned by the sight of huge bushes of azalea absolutely covered in bloom, framed overhead by drooping racemes of wistaria. Then my eyes would get glazed with boredom by all those shades of pink and lilac, totally unrelieved by any other color. I yearned for a magic wand to spread waves of daffodils, ajuga, violets, calendula thoughout the cloyingly sweet sea of pink.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2009 17:58:30 GMT
Definitely too much pink.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2009 18:36:40 GMT
All white gardens are lovely,have you been to Sissinghurst? I've been working on an all white evening border for a year and a half now(in my own garden). Everything is all white and different fragrances. The reason it is taking so long is I don't want to cram it with just any and every white fragrant flower available,olfactory overload would defeat the whole concept.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 16, 2009 7:05:46 GMT
Casimira ~ any tips on getting moon flower to germinate easily?
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Post by spindrift on Mar 16, 2009 8:38:20 GMT
Casimira - yes I have visited Sissinghurst several times and that's where I first noticed a completely white garden.
I suppose you plant nictotiana? This has a lovely scent and attractive foliage too.
When I get round to it I'll put up a photo of my walled garden that desperately needs shrubs/plants to cover the walls and provide year-round privacy. I'll be asking for advice! I must plant it up this year or miss the growing season yet again.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2009 11:17:41 GMT
I do have some lovely nicotiana in that spot but unfortunately don't get as much sun there to complete the border so I have it staggered with a white four o'clock(mirabalis),also,the heat here gets to the nicotiana by June whereas the four o'clocks go strong all summer and it being an evening garden,open at 4p.m. The moonflowers(ipomoea alba), has a tough seed coat so to hasten germination I put the seed in a wet paper towel wrapped for 24-48 hrs.to soften coat,then sow.A lovely vine in the morning glory family, they unfurl at dusk. Georgia O'Keefe did a lovely painting of them.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2009 22:16:07 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2009 11:00:06 GMT
The aforementioned a MUST for an all white garden both for show and fragrance.
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Post by spindrift on Mar 18, 2009 18:48:22 GMT
I haven't seen any of those in England...please name the flower in picture number 3.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2009 23:36:41 GMT
#3 is Georgia OKeefe's "jimson weed",(datura stramonium) also referred to sometimes as Moonflower but different from #2 botanically.It's why 'common' names in plants can be confusing. Jimson weed has reputed hallucinogenic properties, is in the belladonna family.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 19, 2009 3:13:29 GMT
I'm adding this about datura/angel trumpet/brugsmania because it answers questions about performance in different climates. You should be able to buy it in England, although you may have to travel or order from a catalogue. A company called Burncoose has listings under datura, although they don't show a white form. These are the ones I have growing. You simply cannot believe how the beautiful fragrance carries. At night, it's absolutely heavenly. Do be aware that the "angel trumpet" forms tend to hang straight down.
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Post by spindrift on Mar 19, 2009 8:57:02 GMT
Bixa - a friend of mine is growing datura in his conservatory. It has grown rampantly, and, as you say, those trumpets hang right down (they're very large) and emit a powerful scent. Actually I don't like it so much if the space is confined, it's very overpowering...but I'm sure it's lovely when it's grown in the open. It's too tender to be grown outside in the UK.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2009 10:49:10 GMT
A recent article I read on Brugmansia(DATURA),recommends growing them as 'standards' because of this very reason, Most conservatory gardeners grow them trained this way in large pots,much less gangly and it doesn't seem to affect the number of blooms. Mine bloom on a lunar cycle.
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