Plants, trees and nature photos

Witch hazel fall colors

2008-11-08T18:55:00.000-08:00

Hamamelis × intermedia (H. japonica × H. mollis)

After the rain - TS Hanna

2008-09-08T05:54:00.000-07:00

Silene maritima, Robin White Breast calyces

Flowering Purslane

2008-09-03T05:44:00.000-07:00

We have tons of weedy Purslane growing in our yard. They have very small yellow flowers, grow vigorously and are a pest. I was surprised to see flowering Purslane sold in a local nursery. I have to grudgingly admit these are quite pretty. I guess I need to change my thinking that they are Portulacas rather than the weedy association I have when I see the word Purslane.

Scarlet Red Malope

2008-08-26T03:33:00.000-07:00

Malopes are closely related to Althaea, Abutilon, Gossypium, Kitaibelia, Malva and Sidalcea. They are all in the Malvacea family which also includes, cocoa, cotton, okra, baobab and durian the stinky but delicious Southeast Asian fruit.

We planted annual wildflower seeds to cover a newly created bank and the malope was included in the mixture.

Hibiscus trionum, Flower-of-an-Hour

2008-07-17T10:14:00.001-07:00

A weed but a nice weed so we let it grow. Funny but it only grows in our yard. I never see them in the neighbors' weed filled beds or in other waste areas. The flower is short lived - only a day but the plant has numerous buds so several are blooming at any one day. The flower is small not more than a couple of inches in diameter.

The two bottom pictures are of the seedpod which is as interesting as the flower in my opinion.

2 poppies

2008-06-25T18:28:00.001-07:00

This is a field poppy we bought in a wild flower seed mix. Of the original flowers in the mix this is the only one that reseeded every year for 5 years.

The first of the California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) to bloom this year. Of the two flowers blooming now they both look like the common yellow orange California poppies despite my buying a mixed color 'Thai Silk' seed packet. I guess the crenelated folding of the petals is supposed to resemble silk cloth?

Styrax japonicus

2008-06-18T06:06:00.000-07:00

Japanese Snowbell

Kalmia latifolia, Mountain laurel

2008-06-16T06:21:00.000-07:00

Alpine Pink?

Here's a nice site with pictures of many different cultivars of Kalmia.

Lupine Russell hybrid, Lupinus polyphyllus 'Russell'

2008-06-13T17:51:00.000-07:00

Geranium hybrids 'Jolly Bee'?

2008-06-08T18:15:00.000-07:00

We were at the local Lowes store and I spotted these wilted perennial geraninums. I bought all three on the display table and I'm glad I did - they have been blooming prolifically ever since I planted them several weeks ago. I scooped up some water from one of the fountain displays :) to revive the plants - I wish they took better care of the plants they sell. I think they are 'Jolly Bee's but I can't be sure because there was no name tags or labels.

Penstemon Navigator series

2008-06-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

This is a carefree perennial dwarf Penstemon which grows very vigorously. We bought many at a $.50 clearance sale to see if they would rebloom which they did. It bloomed very nicely last year and are really putting on a show this year having grown to 2 to 5 times their original size.

Dwarf Japanese Solomon's Seal, Polygonatum 'humile'

2008-05-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

I bought this tiny Solomon's Seal 'humile' (for humility?) at our Master Gardner's sale last year. I thought I lost it because it was slow in appearing this spring but it came back with great vigor and has spread at least 2 times it's original size. The plant is about 8" tall. Chris of Digital Flower Pictures told me they were very hardy even if planted in shade and would spread and eventually cover a large area so I may use it as a ground cover under some birches.

Acer Japonicum 'Otaki'

2008-05-20T12:09:00.000-07:00

This maple is different from the ones we normally call Japanese maple, the Acer Palmatums. It belongs with the other A. Japonicums such as the 'Full Moon' and 'Mai Kujaku' (dancing peacock) maples from Japan. Though not quite a beautiful as either of the ones mentioned above, it is vigorous and handsome in it's own right.

The deer have eaten the new shoots of my 'Full Moon' maple so it's barely surviving and browsed the 'Mai Kujaku' so heavily it died. But the 'Otaki' remains unmolested. I don't know if the rough textured leaves make it less palatable or if it's just lucky happenstance they missed it but the little foot tall tree I bought as a 1 year graft has grown to more than 5 feet tall in 3 years.

Johnny Jump-Ups

2008-05-13T03:40:00.001-07:00

These volunteer Johnnys are exceptionally robust this year. The evenly spaced rain kept everything moist during the winter so even if we are below average in rainfall this year the plants held up much better than with drenching rains followed by no rain for a couple of weeks.

Sedum kamtschaticum var. floriferum ‘Weihenstepharis Gold’

2008-05-12T12:31:00.001-07:00

Gold flowered sedum

Sun and Star

2008-04-29T06:59:00.000-07:00

Unknown mushroom, probably a bolete and fallen Yoshino cherry sepal.

Anemone 'Sylvestris'

2008-04-28T05:01:00.000-07:00

Snowdrop windflower. Tiny but one of the first anemones to bloom in spring.

Inner Beauty

2008-04-24T09:25:00.001-07:00

Unknown tulip.

Narcissus, Daffodil, Jonquil for wordless Wednesday

2008-04-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

Fritillaria uva-vulpis

2008-04-21T06:50:00.000-07:00

A native of Turkey, Iraq and Iran. The bells are downfacing so they are not showy but a small interesting plant nonetheless.

Flowers of Maple Acer Japonicum 'O Taki', alt. 'Odaki'

2008-04-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

Acer Japonicum are commonly included with Japanese maples which are Acer plamatum but the leaves differ significantly.

PJM Rhododendron with Gold tips

2008-04-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

The PJMs are blooming now. I noticed these because the tips of the stamens appear to be almost metallic gold. Please click on the photo to enlarge so you can clearly see the golden tips.

Lupine leaf with trapped water drop

2008-04-05T18:33:00.000-07:00

Hellebore exposed

2008-04-01T18:42:00.000-07:00

Buds of the flowering quince, Chaenomeles

2008-03-28T17:45:00.000-07:00

Hellebore blooming in spring

2008-03-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

The common snowdrop Galanthus nivalis

2008-03-26T10:23:00.000-07:00

Marmorated Stinkbug

2008-03-11T18:33:00.001-07:00

Skeletonized leaf

2008-02-28T09:32:00.000-08:00

Last year I found a perfectly skeletonized leaf but lost it before I could take pictures. I found this leaf a few weeks ago and even if it wasn't completely skeletal I made sure I didn't lose it again. It's quite interesting to see how intricately the veins are arrayed in a dendritic pattern. You can almost imagine it looking like cirliques. I wonder if that's the inspiration for some of the textile designs we see. Please click the photos to see an enlargement.

This first photo is taken under natural light. The light was so dim indoors that it was difficult to take a picture without blurring. The long exposures caused camera shake even if the camera has image stabilization and I braced my hands holding the camera. I should have used a tripod. The rest of the photos were taken using the camera's small flash with an index card used to attenuate the intensity of the light.

Black Cohosh seed pod

2008-02-27T10:18:00.001-08:00

Cimicifuga racemosa aka: Black snakeroot, Bugbane, Bugwort, Rattleroot, Rattleweed.

I can hear the seed rattling in the small pods thus the name rattleroot, rattleweed?

Faded Beauty

2008-02-22T07:34:00.000-08:00

Camellia flower dead and dried but still attached to the branch. It still looks quite beautiful.

Nascent flower bud of the Magnolia Dr. Merrill

2008-01-14T17:56:00.000-08:00

Magnolia x loebneri 'Merrill'--Dr. Merrill Star Magnolia

Berberis thunbergii 'Aurea', Japanese barberry, fall color

2007-12-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

Ginkgo biloba, Maiden Hair tree, leaf

2007-11-29T04:25:00.000-08:00

Emerging "Yellow Patches" mushroom

2007-11-20T18:51:00.000-08:00

Amanita flavoconia.

Best color year for Serviceberries

2007-11-16T09:31:00.000-08:00

I read an article touting the virtues of Service berries (these are probably Amelanchier canadensis, Shadblow) as a small tree that had 3 season interest - flowers in spring, red fruit turning to black in early summer and bright fall colors. Our trees had the first two traits but the last was fugitive until this year. The colors have been a dark orange brown for the past 5 years but for some reason this year the colors are quite fabulous. I wonder if it had anything to do with the trees not producing any fruit whatsoever this year?

Faded Beauties

2007-11-14T03:49:00.000-08:00

These valiant flowers are actually only faded (old) in a time sense not color. The frost damaged Camellia sasanqua and rose actually retain their color, the Camellia acquiring a bluish tinge along the outer edges of the petals and the rose deepening in color though damaged.

Wild Honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica

2007-11-09T05:32:00.000-08:00

The few remaining fall flowers of the wild Japanese honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica . Here's a good site which gives more information about this beautiful and highly scented but very invasive alien.

I was wondering why there were white and yellow flowers. I thought maybe one was fragrant and not the other but both seem to have an equally sweet smell. Then I read the info on the website above and found that the white flowers turn to yellow as they age.

Jade plant flower

2007-11-08T06:24:00.000-08:00

Flower of the jade plant Crassula ovata. This is the first time this plant is blooming. I rescued two dessicated leaves that were sprouting tiny plants on a shelf in a basement window when we first moved into the house. The leaves apparently had dropped off the plant and were on the bare wood shelf. Those first two plants were given away as gifts but this is another plant from the leaves of the first ones.

I love the pink pistils.

Old and New

2007-11-05T04:55:00.000-08:00

I liked the look of this photo, a memento mori kind of picture but also beautiful so I'm including it to the blog.

This is almost the last of the anemones to bloom. It is one of the oldest in our garden which we bought from an now defunct nursery as a tiny $1.49 plant. It looks and is tall like A. Japonica 'Victor Jones' but I can't be sure.

Climbing Hybrid Musk rose 'Sally Holmes'

2007-11-04T18:22:00.000-08:00

We bought a couple of these climbing Hybrid Musk roses last week, to replace the Clematis paniculata which I dug up because it was getting to be a bit unruly and had the fault of only a short bloom time.

Though the rose appears to be a soft peach in bud and early bloom stage the mature flower becomes almost pure white with no hint of peach. One of the plants had a mature white flower on it when I bought the roses but the other had a peach bud so I thought they mislabeled the pot but soon realized it was the same flower when it opened fully. They are still blooming at this late date but then, we still haven't had a killing frost and the all the roses seem to like the cool weather.

Streamers

2007-10-26T10:04:00.001-07:00

I don't like the look of the common sumac trees that grow like weeds here in NJ. This is probably Rhus glabra but I'm not certain.

But, during the fall, the sumac puts on a brilliantly colorful show and somewhat redeems itself in my eyes. It looks like the colorful pennants or streamers strung around used car lots. That association is unfortunate but I can't think of any other comparison.

One of the last Dahlias to bloom

2007-10-24T07:27:00.000-07:00

I took this picture from above the flower rather than the more normal head on shot which would show the stamen and style.

Million bells

2007-10-18T06:54:00.001-07:00

Tiny flowers (1" dia.) of the Calibrachoa, Million Bells, Petunia and Lobelia 'Crystal Palace'.

Small yellow tan mushroom

2007-10-15T09:49:00.001-07:00

Fringed Tubaria? The distinct border at the edge of the cap and the dark colored stems (the same color as the border) don't look like any mushroom in my field guide book. Several have almost the same color but no sharply demarcated edge border so I don't know what it is.

Sepal (bracts)of the 'Seven Sons tree' Heptacodium miconioides

2007-10-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

Gaudy Gazania

2007-10-08T19:00:00.000-07:00

Wild morning glory

2007-10-02T03:39:00.000-07:00

I had a pleasant surprise when I came upon this wild morning glory while filling the bird feeders. I was completely unaware of the vine so was astonished to see such a beautiful flower in a weedy patch.

Anemone 'Andrea Atkinson'

2007-09-26T07:59:00.001-07:00

I bought this Japanese Anemone from Bluestone Perennials but the flower doesn't look much like theirs. Mine is a single petal flower which I don't mind at all and theirs looks to be double petaled but I wish they would label the plants correctly. Maybe it has to grow a bit and hopefully next year's flowers will be more robust and will resemble the one on their website eventually.

Goldenrod, Solidago canadensis

2007-09-20T06:10:00.000-07:00

The goldenrods are starting to bloom and this wasp was busily collecting nectar. We mainly have the Canadian goldenrod growing wild here. Though the goldenrods are often unfairly blamed for hay fever, it is the ragweed that causes the allergic reaction. The goldenrod pollen is too sticky and heavy to be windblown. One year we actually bought a Solidago (I don't remember what species it was but probably not S. canadensis) and had a good laugh when we managed to kill it. Imagine killing what is essentially a beautiful weed.

Fading roses

2007-09-14T05:23:00.001-07:00

Cyclamen

2007-09-07T06:29:00.000-07:00

This is a common Cyclamen (probably C. persicum) we bought from the grocery store last fall and is blooming again. We managed to keep it alive through the winter and planted it outside in the spring. This is the only one to survive out of several. It is frost tender so I'll have to pot it and bring it inside again for the winter.

Mystery plant, possibly of the nightshade family

2007-09-05T17:10:00.000-07:00

This wild plant's flowers reminds me of a eggplant. I was it growing adjacent to a parking lot and I thought the flowers were rather pretty.

Yellow toadflax , butter and eggs or wild snapdragons (Linaria vulgaris)

2007-09-04T05:01:00.000-07:00

A pretty but unfortunately an invasive plant. This was taken in the late afternoon near a parking lot.

Seeds of the noxious Pokeweed, Phytolacca americana

2007-08-30T10:29:00.000-07:00

I actually find the plant to be quite handsome and the pink stems and green and black berries attractive. I only wish it wasn't so highly invasive and prolific.

Crocosmia

2007-08-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Only this one Crocosmia out of more than a dozen survived the winter and is blooming now.

Unknown freebie rose

2007-08-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

This floribunda rose was given to me as a gift for buying a certain dollar amount of mailorder plants. I don't know the name of it. Although the plant was puny and I never thought it would amount to much, the rose has thrived and produces an abundance of blooms even after being almost denuded of leaves by brown chafer beetles in early spring. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Hibiscus syriacus, aka Rose of Sharon in North America

2007-08-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia: "The Rose of Sharon is a flower of uncertain identity mentioned in English language translations of the Bible. The word in question is the Hebrew חבצלת ḥăḇaṣṣeleṯ, which has been uncertainly linked to the words בצל beṣel, meaning 'bulb', and חמץ ḥāmaṣ, which is understood as meaning either 'pungent' or 'splendid' (The Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon). The name first appears in 1611, when it was used in the King James Version of the Bible. According to an annotation at Song of Solomon 2.1 by the translation committee of the New Revised Standard Version, this is a mistranslation of the Hebrew word for "crocus". Different scholars have suggested that the biblical "Rose of Sharon" is one of the following plants:

* A "kind of crocus" ("Sharon", Harper's Bible Dictionary) or a "crocus that grows in the coastal plain of Sharon" (New Oxford Annotated Bible);
* Tulipa montana, "a bright red tulip-like flower . . . today prolific in the hills of Sharon" ("rose", Harper's Bible Dictionary);
* Tulipa agenensis, the Sharon tulip, a species of tulip suggested by a few botanists; or
* Lilium candidum, more commonly known as the Madonna lily, a species of lily suggested by some botanists, though likely in reference to the "lily of the valleys" mentioned in the second part of Song of Solomon 2.1."

Flower-of-the-Hour, Hibiscus trionum

2007-07-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

Hibiscus trionum, aka Bladder hibiscus, Modesty, Venice mallow. Grows as a weed in our yard but I don't see it in our neighbors' yards.

Birch seed

2007-07-15T19:05:00.000-07:00

This birch seed was caught in a spiderweb. We have about 5 kinds of birches: Heritage river birch, paper birch, a couple of Japanese birches and an unknown one. I don't know which one produced this seed but I think it may be the paper birch because it was flowering heavily this spring.

Patch of small mushrooms

2007-07-10T05:31:00.000-07:00

Tiny mushrooms. Some kind of Coprinus? Coprinus lagopus?

Native bee with prismatic wings

2007-07-05T17:58:00.001-07:00

Hosta

2007-07-03T05:38:00.000-07:00

This is an early blooming hosta. None of the others have flowers much less buds, now.

Linden, Tilia tomentosa, Silver linden, basswood, lime

2007-06-27T07:43:00.000-07:00

Last year the flowering of the Silver linden brought hundreds of Japanese beetles which were apparently attracted to the sickly sweet smell of the flowers. This year I have only seen a single beetle so far and it was on the Edith Bogue Magnolia flower. I'm hoping this means a smaller infestation of beetles this year.

Delphinium

2007-06-26T04:29:00.000-07:00

White clover

2007-06-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

Red clover

2007-06-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

Presented to look like a large flower the common red clover blossom can surely rival any ornamental flower? Please click the photo for an enlargement.

Dying leaves of the water lilies

2007-06-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

The leaves of the waterlilies are in a constant state of dying and renewal until the cold weather arrives. The dying leaves exhibit the same brilliant colors of some tree leaves in the fall. They were so brilliantly colored that I was compelled to photograph them.

Clematis

2007-06-11T09:31:00.001-07:00

We've never had much luck in growing Clematis. This is the third year this unknown variety is in the ground. It produced only two flowers last year and only three so far this year.

I like the seedpod pinwheels as much as the flower!

Plantain flower

2007-06-10T18:53:00.001-07:00

Some of the weeds have the most interesting flowers. This is of the common narrow-leaf plantain, Buckhorn plantain, Plantago lanceolata. The tan skirt which forms the under part of the flower is actually the spent dried stamens. Click on photo to englarge.

Here's a good University of California website with extensive information on the two most common kinds of plantain - not to be confused with the banana relative.

A bed of poppies and other wildflowers

2007-06-08T05:37:00.000-07:00

Lupines

2007-06-06T08:15:00.000-07:00

I think these lupines came in a box of wildflower seeds because I don't remember planting any where they are located. The seeds were planted many years ago but the flowers still appear every year.

Water lily, hardy Nymphea

2007-06-01T09:00:00.001-07:00

This is a cold hardy water lily, probably Nymphaea alba, a common but beautiful water plant. It over-winters in our pond which has frozen over to a depth of about 8" thick. The fish and water lilies survive under the ice.

Rhododendron

2007-05-24T05:01:00.001-07:00

Buttercup, Ranunculus repens

2007-05-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

I found this Buttercup in an empty lot and dug it up for our garden where it is thriving, almost too well. The flowers have a very shiny sheen.

Dandelion

2007-05-11T05:20:00.000-07:00

White primrose Primula, Polyanthus group

2007-04-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

Viburnum pilcatum tomentosum 'Mariesii'

2007-04-12T06:31:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken last spring of my favorite Viburnum. This Viburnum will flower again in the fall and more sporadically during the year. Quite a lovely shrub with many flowers covering the branches.

Japanese quince Chaenomeles japonica

2007-04-09T06:52:00.000-07:00

This is a very nice pink and white flowered shrub. A different color than the usual red variety we see a lot of here in NJ.

Here's a wonderful website with more information and photos on this beautiful spring flowering shrub or small tree.

Tulip 'Angelique'

2007-04-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

This is a photo of my favorite tulip 'Angelique'. It is very long lasting on strong stems, very reliable and has a wonderful color. It dwarfs the tiny Japanese maple next to it.

Styrax japonica

2007-04-04T05:50:00.000-07:00

Japanese snowbell.

Old fashioned iris

2007-03-30T10:09:00.000-07:00

I don't know if this is an old variety but we always called it old fashioned because it looked like a color my grandmother would have favored. We love this iris and have had it for more than 8 years now. It doesn't seem to multiply very rapidly so it keeps a tidy appearance.

Pink Magnolia stellata

2007-03-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

Magnolia stellata

2007-03-16T04:26:00.000-07:00

Saxifrage

2007-03-12T05:51:00.000-07:00

Roses Camille Pisarro?

2007-03-08T04:52:00.000-08:00

Poppy Papaver orientale

2007-02-28T07:22:00.000-08:00

Poppy amongst arbor vitae and service berry.

German Iris

2007-02-05T06:13:00.000-08:00

Kalmia latifolia 'Minuet'?

2007-01-31T04:51:00.000-08:00

"Life's a holiday on ......."

2007-01-24T05:37:00.000-08:00

Kangaroo paws

2007-01-22T05:26:00.000-08:00

Anigozanthos, Bush Gems Series, 'Bush Gold' Kangaroo paw native to Southwestern Australia.

Anemone, poppies & columbines

2007-01-18T04:47:00.000-08:00

Calochortus venustus or superbus Mariposa lily

2007-01-16T06:59:00.000-08:00

Mariposa is Spanish for butterfly an apt name for these delicate flowers.

Phalaenopsis Wedding Promenade

2007-01-08T06:03:00.000-08:00

Mushroom coprinus?

2007-01-05T04:55:00.000-08:00

Phalaenopsis orchid

2007-01-02T07:03:00.000-08:00

Camellia Japonica 'Spring's Promise'

2006-12-21T06:19:00.000-08:00

'Spring's Promise' is mis-named. It starts blooming in November and keeps blooming until late winter.

Ilex verticillata, winterberry holly, coral berry holly

2006-12-18T09:54:00.000-08:00

I believe this is an Ilex verticillata with orange pumpkin colored berries rather than the traditional red.

Nandina flowers

2006-12-10T17:35:00.000-08:00

Penstemons and pinks

2006-12-08T18:46:00.000-08:00

Short dianthus and medium height penstemons - a good combination.