topic Re: Flowers in Community Chat

Flowers

Plaid Pants2 — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 19:40:38 GMT

I love flowers!

They are beautiful and some are so fragrant, that the scent can really fill up a room.

Some of my favorites are

roses

lilacs

hydrangeas

and lilies

What are some of your favorite flowers?

Re: Flowers

JustJazzmom — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 19:46:28 GMT

Roses that are disease resistant-- like Kordes roses

Peonies-- Japanese shaped varieties like 'White Cap' and 'Port Royale'

Viburnums-- Korean Spice Viburnum in the spring time with white flowers and burgundy leaves in the fall (now).

Asiatic Lilies like the 'Tiny series'

Daylilies-- too many to love.

Re: Flowers

deepwaterdotter — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 19:46:57 GMT

Yellow tulips are my favorite, they remind me of the sunshine in my mother's smile.

Re: Flowers

Lucky Charm — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 19:51:46 GMT

I grow flowers and shrubs to cut for indoor use.

Daffodils, forsythia (branches), azalea (branches) tigerlily, hydrangea, and begonia (sprigs for shot glasses on kitchen sink windowsill).

That's at home.

Just bought a house and I have no idea what *surprises* await me in the spring.

I know one thing, I got rid of the ugly hostas, irises, and rose of sharon!

Re: Flowers

maestra — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 19:58:23 GMT

I love Lily of the Valley, Violets, Hydrangeas, Lincoln Rose (very fragrant), Marguerites, and Gerbera Daisey.

These flowers all have wonderful memories associated with them.

Re: Flowers

JustJazzmom — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 20:01:55 GMT

I'm in agreement about rose of sharon trees/shrubs but if you like the hibiscus flower-- look at perennial hibiscus to replace those rose of sharons. I did that at my house and am glad I did-- got tired of raking seedlings everywhere. All you have to do is find either some green stakes (some varieties are close to 7' high) and stake the stems as they emerge from the ground in late May by us and enjoy the summer to fall blooms.

Try to locate 'Disco series' or rose mallows as they are commonly called.

Lots of hostas now are not just plain green-- many are variegated and come in all sizes from miniature to gigantic.

Look at astilbes for shade loving flowers that bloom in summer and look at summer blooming Dicentra exima (bleeding hearts). These are perennials.

Recommended for sunny area-- dwarf fothergilla--deciduous in winter but has white to creamy bottle brush flowers in spring and then the green leaves. In the fall (like now) leaves turn red, orange and yellow before falling off for winter. Great shrub as it is disease and insect pest free.

Re: Flowers

missy1 — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 20:08:40 GMT

Mini carnations. They last the longest in a vase. I also like sunflowers.

Re: Flowers

Lucky Charm — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 20:26:42 GMT

@JustJazzmom wrote:

Lots of hostas now are not just plain green-- many are variegated and come in all sizes from miniature to gigantic.

At one of our places we have beautiful variegated hostas along the sides of the house. Even though it's shady, I still have awnings-dark green and white striped. So many people comment on how the plants match the awnings or the awnings match he plants.

Re: Flowers

Nightowlz — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 20:28:11 GMT

I have an Abelia Bush out front. The little white flowers are very fragrant. In the summer when you walk up to the front door you can smell it. Smells wonderful. Love the smell of Hyacinth in the spring. I love carnations & freesia.

Re: Flowers

ROMARY — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 20:36:17 GMT

I love carnations. Anyone here know of a fragrance that actually smells like carnations? ......... Also I'm loving the vibrant deep orange/yellow varigated blend of roses right around this time of year.

Re: Flowers

JustJazzmom — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 21:45:12 GMT

@Nightowlz

I used to have glossy abelias in my back landscape-- I had a pink flowering variety called 'Edward Goucher' -- it was not a bright pink but more of a shell pink color.

It's a great shrub that is also disease and insect pest resistant and can tolerate being pruned to shape-- I did not make 'meatballs' out of these shrubs.

Re: Flowers

chickenbutt — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 22:17:24 GMT

I'm so lame, I don't know what most of them are called.

But I do know that I like dahlias. There are so many designs and colors - very nice. We had some one year but haven't since. You have to plant them new each year and I just don't do yard work. I don't like getting my hands dirty.

Re: Flowers

Burnsite — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 22:37:43 GMT

There's a Massachusetts orchid, "Lady's Slipper" that can't be picked, or couldn't when I was growing up. It was rare, but grew in profusion in a stand of pines behind my house. Those were beautiful, lavender freckled, tiny things.

I also love hydrangeas and peonies and lilacs (all still in the ground). Cut flowers can make me a bit sad. I got some sunflowers recently from a guest, though--oh, my: they look beautiful in a vase!

Re: Flowers

chickenbutt — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 22:39:39 GMT

Burnsite wrote:
There's a Massachusetts orchid, "Lady's Slipper" that can't be picked, or couldn't when I was growing up. It was rare, but grew in profusion in a stand of pines behind my house. Those were beautiful, lavender freckled, tiny things.

I also love hydrangeas and peonies and lilacs (all still in the ground). Cut flowers can make me a bit sad. I got some sunflowers recently from a guest, though--oh, my: they look beautiful in a vase!

(bolded by me) I totally know what you mean. I get sad that they have to die so fast. The best you can do is take their picture while they still look nice and at least you have a lovely picture.

My husband used to bring/send me flowers all the time and, while I was gracious receiving them, I finally asked him not to do that anymore because it just made me sad that they would die in a vase in the house instead of in their natural habitat. ha! (I know, weird)

Re: Flowers

JustJazzmom — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 22:44:00 GMT

Lady's Slipper need a certain environment to grow well-- if they were picked and transplanted to your yard, your yard better be the edges of a forest. They do well growing in a specific pH as well as the proper light conditions.

I really like the clumping versions of 'toad lily'or tricyrtis hirta.

The variety I have here in my yard is Tricyrtis hirta 'Tojen'

These are the flowers it makes in August through about now. The photo shows a close up but they are about an inch in diameter on the actual plant.

Re: Flowers

Burnsite — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 22:59:19 GMT

@JustJazzmom Those are beautiful! Very similar. Where I grew up it was pine-y and pond-y and swampy. And so beautiful.

I found out the name of the flowers I loved in Brownies, where we were warned that it was illegal to pick them.

Re: Flowers

Lucky Charm — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 23:02:37 GMT

I would bop my husband over the head if he brought home a bouquet from a florist.

I grow what I like (and what can handle sand) and what matches the colors in my rooms.

If I don't enjoy my daffodils, the rabbits will. A branch from an azalea isn't going to kill it.

And it blows people away when they see how I arrange forsythia and lilacs in huge ceramic floor vases.

Hydrangea just go on forever and even make beautiful flowers underwater, tucked in the bottom of a full vase.

I'll put anything but liquor in a shot glass, just to have something smiling back at me at the kitchen sink. A sprig of geranium, begonia, even a Knockout rosebud.

Re: Flowers

PINKdogWOOD — Sun, 08 Nov 2015 00:15:03 GMT

@JustJazzmom Well aren't y ou the Jazzy one with your tricyrtis!!! Love toad lilies too! Our's just ended blooming out back.

My recent new love is my growing collection of epimediums. These are very special to me. Then there's my spigelia marilandica - these flowers just send me!!! My orange hibiscus is STILL blooming. I love caladiums, so many gorgeous species & colors. And of course can't leave out our clematis (clematii??) - we have a few great ones - My Angel has tiny fleurs but very sweet. This one grows up through our dragon's eye pine tree and is now as high as our 3 story home is tall!!!! CRAZY!!!!

I love roses that are fragrant (many aren't), lilacs, star gazer lilies, hyacinths. And my heliotrope is still going strong too - wow, what a frangrance there too.

Just a few of MY favorite things. But really, there isn't much that I don't love!

Re: Flowers

151949 — Sun, 08 Nov 2015 00:49:55 GMT

I love carnations - I like how they look and adore their scent.I also like lily of the valley. When we were young and going to events where DH would buy me a corsage ( like prom) he knew to always buy carnations along with whatever other flower like a rose he bought.

Remember when ladies would get a corsage to wear to church on Christmas eve and Easter? I wish gentlemen still did that.

Re: Flowers

JustJazzmom — Sun, 08 Nov 2015 00:56:38 GMT

@Lucky Charm

Rabbits and squirrels are more likely to nibble on tulips and crocus than daffodils which are bitter tasting to them and poisonous. Saw once a young squirrel take a nibble of a daffodil bud and he writhed on the ground after he tasted it.

Its suggested that if you want tulips to interplant the bulbs with daffodil bulbs so the rodents (rabbits and squirrels) stay away.

@PINKdogWOOD

I want to suggest the Kordes Parfuma series of roses which are very fragrant and disease resistant. Look at this website then google the names for places to purchase.