The sidewalk planters we added this spring have provided some lovely additional space for these new strawflowers (Bracteantha) to catch the sun.
Category: Annual Flowers
Sunflowers In Bloom
These wild-strain sunflowers top out at three feet tall, so they aren’t as impressive as the giant forms, but they’re lovely nonetheless, and later in the season the seeds should provide some good eating for the birbs.
Developing Sunflowers
This looks like it could be some kind of scary monster, but it’s just the growth tip of a flower emerging in one of my planters.
Spring Floral Additions
We took a trip to Metropolitan Plant & Flower Exchange in Fort Lee and picked up a bunch of bedding flowers to be added to the garden planters and the treebeds here and around the neighborhood, including the following:
- Petunia — Starlet White; Tritunia White; Tritunia Plum; Tritunia Veined Mix
- Marigold — Taishan Mix
- Dwarf Snapdragon — White; Yellow; Pink Rose
- Dianthus (“Sweet William”) — White; Pink Mix
- Celosia (“Cockscomb”) — Glorious Mix
- Verbena (“Vervain”) — Obsession Blue with Eye; Obsession Pastel Mix
- Lobelia — Hot Brilliant Blue
- Lantana — Bandana Rose
- Calibrachoa — Conga Red
- Bracteantha (“Strawflower”) — Mohave Basket Yellow
- Coreopsis (“Tickseed”) — Beauty Sunrise
Morning Glory Color
I love the intense colors of the morning glory assortment outside my office.
Persicaria
This plant blew into the garden from somewhere a few years ago and is now well established. It appears to be a member of the Persicaria family, probably P. maculosa, “Lady’s Thumb,” a member of the knotweed family.
Some sources report that P. maculosa produces a yellow/green dye (with an alum mordant), although one source says red/brown.
Evening Primrose
Cheery yellow bloom.
