Skywatch Friday

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These blue colors and my little rainless rainbow are addictive.

I keep looking at them.

I think I am ready for spring.

I love you, Mr. Double Otto!

Have you ever got frozen after clicking a flower picture to enlarge it? It looked good, very good right after you downloaded it from your camera. But when you clicked it and it jumped on you from a computer screen? This is what happened to me when I saw the image of these fuchsia flowers. I saw the petals as I never saw them before and then, droplets - tiny and not very tiny - resting on the petals. I was startled, paused for a few seconds and then started to cry (well, almost). Isn't it a BEAUTY itself? Thanks God for creating such a wonderous sight. Thanks humans for inventing devices to catch a wonderful moment and keep it so that we could enjoy it again and again.

This picture was taken in late November. It was misty that day, not rainy, just misty.

Fuchsia Double Otto.

I have two plants, both of which grow in containers and bloom til frost. Very good information about growing hardy Fuchsia can be found on the Northwest Fuchsia Society Website:

http://www.nwfuchsiasociety.com/

Rules are different for plants in containers and plants in the ground. Those in containers need shade, more water and more food.

HAPPY GARDENING! I HOPE YOU ENJOYED LOOKING AT THESE FLOWERS AS MUCH AS I DID.

Another picture of this plant is here: My Best Bloom of 2008

I lived with a stranger for 4 years...

I looked at him for 4 seasons. I smelled him, I touched him, I admired him. I showed him to my girlfriends and they got jealous. I was amazed by his reproductive abilities. I did nothing special for him, but he returned every summer to my garden, and not alone - with hundreds friends. I didn't know his name (see previous post). I know now, thanks to fellow blotanists. Karrita, Cameron, Tina helped me in my search for his identity.

Jared (Pleasant Hill Rambles ) put the final world. My mysterious stranger is

Silene armeria. Thanks, Blotanical!

I love this plant. Some web sites call it invasive. It doesn't bother me that it self-seeds, since my perennial bed is pretty big. If I don't like it in certain place - it is very easy to remove. I like that it appears in large groups. It creats waves of bright pink spots.

Other names: None-so-Pretty, Catchfly.
Height: Up to 2 ft.
Flower Color: Brilliant magenta, pink.
Plant Type: Annual. Grows quickly, blooms heavily. Regrows next spring if seeds fall on bare ground.

It feels good to find an answer. And it is somehow ... sad. I enjoyed looking through the books, web sites, comparing pictures, guessing. I found an answer and lost a mystery. I think I need to find another one. This time it could be in my garage. Another stranger. I knew its name, but forgot it. It's huge and very particular. I killed it once, but it survived. Well, it is a different story.

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From Wikipedia:
Silene armeria, commonly known as the Sweet William Catchfly, is a plant of the family Caryophyllaceae. Originally a native of Europe, it has become widespread in the USA. A small-growing form is known as Dwarf Catchfly. The name comes from the way in which small insects are trapped by the sticky sap exuded onto the stem. However it is not currently regarded as a carnivorous plant, though it has been identified as a carnivorous plant in the past.[1]

References
Williams, Amy. (1913). Carnivorous plants of Ohio. The Ohio Naturalist, 13(5): 97-99.

What plant is this? HELP!

I have this misterious plant in my perennial garden. First year, after we moved here from Midwest, I took all the seed packages I had and spread the seeds around. I think everyone has such packages received from relatives, friends, from catalogues, garden shows, etc. I had a bunch of them, some were already expired. I said my usual: If you want to live, you'll survive! Sure enough, next spring I got several survivors. This one, on the picture, looks like an annual, selfseeds, and goes strong already for 5 years without my help.


There are thousands of them and they create beautiful bright pink wave in the corner of the garden.

I am sure it is some ordinary plant and you can help me to get its name. I took it once to a nursery, but a person whom I asked couldn't help me.

Thanks for your time!

Worth planting - Japanese Aralia (Fatsia japonica )

This is one of my favorite evegreen shrubs. Gorgeous big tropical-looking leaves, magestic creamy white flowers followed by clasters of black fruits...

The flower head looks like a giant snowflake, doesn't it?

I love Fatsia because of its hardiness. My three plants looked dead after December heavy snowfall.

Yes, some leaves and branches got black, but plants survived!

December Hummingbird

I was walking around the house after that heavy snowfall when I heard a fluttering noise - a little bird jumped out of a fuchsia bush. Fortunately, I had my camera and managed to take a picture. Poor bird, everything was absolutely white around! Those bright flowers got her attention. I hope she found some nectar!

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I Love You, Arizona!

It was nice to spend a couple of days in warm, sunny, colorful Arizona, this time a year.

Thank you, Mary Ann, for letting me pick up those ripen bright yellow lemons from your wonderful tree! I am just wondering how did I get so lucky to pick that particular fruit that looked like a giant among others?

Just look at him! I marked him with O on the picture above.

I am glad I didn't take him home. I could never eat such a character! By the way, what have YOU done to him?

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MY PICTURE OF THE DAY. HYDRANGEA

Hydrangea is one of my favorite plants. Isn't it beautiful, even now?!

Name origin: From the Greek hydro (water) and aggos( jar); referring to the cup-shaped fruit.

I never thought that Hydrangea had fruit! I called those little things "seeds".