Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae)

Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae)December 16, 2010
During the first trip we made to Busch Gardens in December, I took a picture of this gorgeous yellow flower.  Hurrying to catch up to the others I neglected to take a picture of the tag but I was sure I knew what the flower was so wasn't too worried.  Going through the pictures to edit some of them for my blogs I was sure I knew the flower

Pink Hibiscus

Pink HibiscusAugust 26, 2010
Daily walking has become my excuse for being a garden snoop.  This way I can check out what other great plants others are growing in their gardens and ones I may want to add to my gardens.  I spotted this pretty pink hibiscus on one of my walks.  Hibiscus is a member of the mallow family and while I haven't grown hibiscus I have grown okra and rose mallow, both

Rogue Daisy

Rogue DaisyJuly 9, 2010
An interesting thing happens after you rip out old garden beds.  Every once in awhile an old plant from the former bed reappears in the new garden bed or if the old bed was seeded/sodded through the grass.  A couple of days ago I discovered this pretty daisy poking through the now grass where a former garden bed was.  What really surprises me is this particular area was

Volunteer Violets

Volunteer VioletsApril 29, 2010
I love finding volunteer plants in my garden even if some of them are more in the weed category than plants.  Even some weeds are beneficial though as some act as companion plants, others are edible and others still are both.  On one of the paths between the garden beds I discovered several violets.  Now this doesn't surprise me as the new beds and paths on on part

Peonies

Peonies (Paeonia)April 12, 2010
We have two areas in the gardens that have Peonies.  The problem with both of these locations is they are in areas that will be ripped out.  So I'm letting them come up this year and will transplant after they are finished blooming.  In the meantime I'm looking forward to seeing their showy blooms.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

A Flower Mosaic From 2009

Flowers of 2009
April 6, 2010
I love taking a lot of pictures of my gardens and any other gardens I may happen upon. A great way to display some of my favourite pictures aside of online through my blogs is in scrapbooks. Yesterday morning I sat down to make a tutorial on making a simple mosaic for one of my blogs. I thought I would share the resulting mosaic with you as well. It was a fun

Corpse Flower

Corpse Flower(Amorphophallus titanum)January 23, 2010The Corpse Flower (Amorphophallus titanum) gets it name from the distinctive odor of the inflorescence that resembles rotting flesh. It has an unbranched inflorescence that can reach over 3 metres in diameter. The inflrescence contains a male and female flower. The female flower opens first followed a couple of days later by the male flower

A Taste of Summer - Yellow Petunias

Yellow PetuniasJune 14, 2009I have always loved yellow petunias. The problem is they are annuals here and hard to find. Pinks, reds, purples and fuschia tends to be the most popular petunia colours. Last year I did a lot of petunia seed collection specifically yellow petunias. I am really looking forward to an abundance of yellow petunias this year!Happy Gardening!Garden Gnome©2006-2009

Tulipa tarda

Tulipa tardaMarch 26, 2009The mystery plant has been identified! Thanks so much to those who commented on the previous post as well those who helped through email and Twitter. I appreciate your help very much in identifying this plant.It is Tulipa tarda a dwarf tulip species. It is a member of the lily family (Liliaceae). These tulips are planted in clumps along with daylilies to protect them

Petunias

Common Garden Petunia(Petunia x hybrida)Very few gardeners are unaware of the common garden petunia (petunia x hybrida) with their beautiful showy, cascading trumpet shaped flowers. These plants are members of the family Solanaceae (nightshade plant) that originated in South America and are thought to be a hybridization between P. axillaris and P. integrifolia. There is a wide variety of

Tulip Tips

TulipsApril 2007Tulips are one of the easiest to grow and almost problem free flowers for the garden. They are a true spring delight sure to bring a smile. Some of our tulips are finally in bloom and the rest are ready to follow suit. Each year the tulip clumps get larger. The majority of the tulip clumps are orangish red giving a blast of wonderful colour. Somehow a clump of rosy pink and

More Signs of Spring

Naked Lady LiliesAmaryllis belladonnaDespite the recent cold weather, signs of spring are all around us. Yesterday a house finch and goldfinch were visiting my neighbour's niger seed feeder. The bluejays are coming around for their daily peanut offering. If I don't have the peanuts out by the time they arrive, one of the bluejays has taken to sitting on the windowsill then tapping on the

Signs of Spring

There have been a few signs of spring here. The temperatures reached 77ºF here on Monday and that's after our first thunderstorm of the season. Yesterday I spotted our first robin, the bluejays were back to pecking at the window and the weather was very mild. So I did a little garden work, took the solar lights out to charge in the greenhouse and take a few pictures.ChivesI have two outdoor

Let the Fun Begin!

It's that time of year folks! Time to get all the seed packets in order, start seedlings indoors and get your hands dirty. It's also a good time to rejuvenate and start houseplants. Let the fun begin!Seeds Everywhere!I admit it, I'm just a little behind on starting my seeds indoors but only by a few days. Yesterday was sunny and a balmy 63ºF so that spurred me into action. Unfortunately the

Balloon FlowerPlatycodon grandiflorumThe balloon flower is one of my favourites. Platycodon means like a broad bell and grandiflorum means having big flowers. The plant gets its name from the shape of the buds. They look like small pillowy balloons. I only have one balloon flower plant. It usually blooms in early to midsummer. This plant does seem to be rather hardy. A well meaning family