GBBD - I'm sorry it's late! Black Dahlia

April 18. I bought three Arabian Nights Dahlia tubers at Home Depot and I was very skeptical about them because I read that they were hard to grow, that you couldn't grow them in pots, etc. But - they actually were not hard at all! Here is the result - It took less than 8 weeks I would say from planting to bloom. Maybe longer though - I am bad at estimating time.

This one isn't fully open, but I like the color

I'd like to take credit for being an expert Dahlia grower, but these really were VERY easy. Aside from the one pot I left in full sun (which almost died - don't do that) They've been basically on my front porch the whole time.

This is a pot with a plumeria in it, but I decided to plant a bunch of annuals as well. I can't wait until they all bloom. From left to right - Centaurea or something else I can't remember, Petunia, (you can't see it) but Alamo Fire bluebonnets, Laurentia, and then at the very top is Asperula.

Here is my first Asperula flower bud

GBBD is my favorite day of the month

I am afraid I do not have much blooming right now but my petunia bag and my 'Spooky Mix' Dianthus. Today we FINALLY got some sunshine in Austin, and no rain. So, I dug a couple holes in the backyard and planted some stuff. I am going to be sore tomorrow. The soil here is basically clay/mud, so it was hard work digging holes for Echinops, candlestick plant, sage, and strawflower. The beds basically look like .... well not so good right now, but slowly I hope to finish digging them out and putting mulch down. I am so ecstatic for this spring.

March Flowers

Well I haven't posted in a while, but here are what I am looking at. A lot of my pictures have the same viewpoint, macro, so I need to get more creative, but I'll worry about that later

Amaryllis 'Lima' that I ordered from easytogrowbulbs.com. I got it on sale :-)

Pink tulip from Home depot. It was small, but hopefully it will grow and have a bigger bloom for next year

Amaryllis 'Papilio' also from easytogrowbulbs.com. Also on sale. I like this better than the pink surprise and red ones because the scape is much more compact. I'd say this is just the right size.

I am not usually a fan of Dianthus but this one is a perennial and it's called 'Spooky Mix' It has purple, pink, and white flowers (not all on the same plant). I'm going to try to get a pic of the whole container next week.

If anyone has any tips for my photography skills, feel free to let me know! Keep in mind that I ony have a Sony digital camera, no fancy lenses. I basically only know how to use the Macro setting haha

Blooms!

I haven't posted in a while, but here are some recent pictures I've taken of some flowers.

This is from a mystery bag of hyacinths. I love the color

Red Lion Amaryllis

Lily that I ordered from Van Bourgondien. I'm not crazy about the color, but oh well!

And lastly, white hyacinth!

Pink Surprise Amaryllis - Jan 2009

Winter is dreary for the most part. No one posts about their gardens because they're all covered in snow (no offense to those who don't get snow!) Amarylles (?) Amaryllises? Amarylli? are a real highlight for me. This the first one I ever bought. I bought it Dec 2008 at WalMart for $7.00+ tax. It is a pink surprise, and I'm pretty impressed! Enjoy

It was labelled as Pink Diamond, but I think actually it is Pink Surprise

late GBBD

The following two pictures are actually from December. I bought two new plants.

This is Salvia - not sure what kind

Shrimp plant. I am glad they are hardy here!


And the following three are more recent

Paperwhite blooms. When I planted the bulbs, they were very curved over from being pot bound for so long. However, they did straighten out eventually. Some people do not like the smell of paperwhites, but I don't think it's too bad. They seemed like such a boring concept to me before I actually owned any. An all white flower just seemed--- sort of boring. However, and it's not evident in the picture, the petals actually have sort of a nacreous finish and sort of shimmer in the light. It's nice.

I bought this last plant at Home Depot recently. It is Gynura aurantiaca or purple passion plant. It is actually a vine, and I'm not sure how long it takes to start 'extending.' The woman at Home Depot said that it has ugly yellow flowers - however I think they are sort of cool. You can find a picture if you google 'gynura aurantiaca yellow flowers'