Best in Bloom...This Week

The last post featured groups of plants. Today I want to highlight the individual blossoms of several varieties currently blooming in the garden. As always, click on the picture for a larger view.

The amaryllis bulbs available for sale in December are conditioned to bloom around Christmas. Around here some folks plant the bulbs directly in the ground. Mine stay in pots so I can move them inside if it gets cold. Without forcing they bloom around this time of year here in Athens.

I thought roses were hard to grow. Some are, but others do surprisingly well with little or no care. A few, like Georgia's state flower the Cherokee Rose, are downright thugs in the garden. This pink rose (Town & Country, Monticello) is a well-behaved, no-maintenance variety that just gets prettier every year.

Certain Hydrangea blooms vary with the pH of the soil. In limey soil they bloom pink. In our acid soil they bloom blue. This one is a lace-cap called 'All Summer Beauty'. By summer's end the blooms will fade to tan.

Peonies are hard to beat. I got this double-pink for $4 at Walmart more than ten years ago. Even with a grow-through plant support the stems fall over from the weight of the blooms--a problem made worse by wind or rain. They make great cut flowers though I find the scent cloying after a while.

Until next time...

The Crotchety Old Man