Plants – Page 8 – Bloomingdale Garden

Burdock & Ladybugs

Another reason I like burdock is that it supports a lot of insects. A week ago, I noticed that seemingly overnight, the undersides of the flower clusters had been swarmed by hundreds of aphids. I pulled out the hose and blasted a bunch of them off with a few quick squirts, but that only thins them out, it never gets ’em all, so I was very pleased to find a couple of ladybugs crawling around on it the next day. Although they’re cute, I know they’re fiends for aphids.

And even better, by the end of the week I was seeing ladybug larvae crawling around, clearing out the lingering aphids. A few days later, I can no longer find any aphids at all.

Burdock

I’ve heard people dismiss burdock as a nuisance weed, and I’m sure there are situations in which it is unwanted, but I love its odd little flowers, and since I’m growing it in a container, the burrs really aren’t a problem.

Hyacinth Seed Pods

The hyacinth flowers from this spring have all died back, leaving stalks of seedpods that are turning translucent and releasing their little black seeds.

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.

Dianthus Blooms

You can see why one of the common names for dianthus flowers is “pinks” — some of them are such a hot pink my phone camera doesn’t know what to do with it.

Rose In Flower

Our little rose bush is going full blast.

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.

First Rose Buds

The little rose bush a neighbor donated to the garden last year has just bloomed for the first time this season.

Giant Allium

That’s no moon — it’s a giant purple allium!

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