Bloom 2014 - Sweet Alyssum/Sweet Alison (Lobularia_maritima)

Life Cycle: Annual

Uses: Beds, Containers

Sun: Full Sun/Part Sun

Soil: Slightly Acidic or Alkaline

Water: Lightly

Spread: 5 - 8 Inches

Bloom Duration: 12 Weeks

Height: 4 Inches

My last bloom of the 2014 season, Carpet of Snow variety Sweet Alyssum! I waited the entirety of Spring and Summer 2014, but my slow growing Alyssum finally bloomed this week in Autumn. I won't go as far as saying it was worth the wait in regards to its tiny blooms, but it was a nice surprise to see it finally especially after witnessing some of my flowers dying off. Although some regard this plant as an easy to grow flower, I've encountered numerous problems throughout its slow growth ranging from over-watering and wilting from the Summer heat, so its a relief to see the fruits of my labor. Looking back, I've had some great success growing my indoor plants this year and had fun discovering the local plant life and wildflowers in my area. Can't wait till next year!

Bloom 2014 - Morning Glory: Grandpa Otts Morning Glory (Ipomoea purpurea)

8/27/14

Life Cycle: Annual

Uses: Beds, Borders, Cut Flowers

Sun: Full Sun

Soil: Slightly Acidic or Alkaline

Water: Moderately

Spread: 10 - 12 Inches

Bloom Duration: 12 Weeks

Height: 10 - 13 Feet

My most anticipated bloom of the season, my Grandpa Ott's Morning Glory has emerged! It is a beautiful shade of purple and was a welcome sight this morning. There are several buds all over the vine including one that looks ready to bloom by tomorrow. The flower that bloomed is already wilting and getting ready to fall off - ready to be replaced by another bloom tomorrow. I think I'm going to try and collect the seeds for next year.

8/27/14
This lovely purple variety of Morning Flower took about two months to bloom and is the September birth flower ( along with Asters)

8/27/14
This was a pretty low maintenance plant although some pruning was required while growing it indoors.

8/27/14
I can't get enough of this purple shade and I really like it. I might also try a Heavenly blue variety next year or Blue Star morning glory which is a beautiful light blue color.

8/27/14
This is the total height of my Morning Glory plant. 

8/25/14
Bud beginning to take shape 

8/22/14
The bud is a first sign of a bloom so I'm always very excited to see this!

Common Flower Gems - Classification # 8 - Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron strigosus)

This one was actually trickier to identify than I originally thought. This lovely white and gold daisy flower can be found worldwide and is commonly known as Daisy fleabane because it was once thought to repel fleas, and not the ox-eye daisy, which is a much larger flower. 

A colony of Daisy Fleabane on the sidewalk.

Despite all the tall grass, I spotted these partly hidden daisies without even trying

Bug Shots # 1

Here are some cool shots of insects I took with my camera phone this spring. Nothing more than your normal garden variety lady bugs, bees, and butterflies. I have to mention that the white butterflies are just too elusive for me to snap a picture of whenever I see them but I'll keep trying.

Been on white clover

The bee is a bit hard to locate on this shot but its there

Bee again...

Same bee different clover

Bzzzz...zzzzz

This was a nice shot I never expected to take

This butterfly was photogenic and didn't mind photos apparently

So I took some more

This is my favorite shot

Common Flower Gems - Classification # 7 - Chicory (Cichorium intybus)

This scraggly-looking plant is a sure sign of Spring

I spotted this Chicory flower species all over my neighborhood including parking lots, lawns, roadsides, and park areas. This is a personal favorite of mine because it resembles a Dandelion but has a variety of colors and shades as opposed to only yellow. Its also completely edible and is used as a coffee substitute. Blue shades are the most common but there are also white, purple, and pink varieties. I've yet to encounter one but I will be sure to be on the look out.

I found a rare pink/purplish version but this is as close as I could get...thanks fence.

Here are some images of White and Blue Chicory. (Proxy Image)

Common Flower Gems - Classification # 6 Yellow Woodsorrel/Yellow Oxalis (Oxalis Stricta)

The yellow flower of this clover species has 3 heart-shaped leaves 

Wow I keep coming across a new species of flower I previously missed every new trip to the park. Common Yellow Woodsorrel is known by many other names including common yellow oxalis, sour grass, shamrock, sleeping beauty, sour trefoil, and sheep's clover. This woodsorrel is unique because tends to grow in a more upright fashion than other wood sorrels (stricta means "upright"). Other varieties include white, pink, blue, and purple

The vivid yellow flower has 5 petals. All its parts are perpendicular to the stem nearly horizontal to the ground 

Far out shot of the lemon grass bunch, which also happen to be edible.

Bloom 2014 - Common Zinnia: Green Envy Zinnia (Zinnia Elegans)

Life Cycle: Annual
Uses: Beds, Borders, Cut Flowers
Sun: Full Sun
Soil: Acidic
Water: Moderately
Spread: 12-14 Inches
Bloom Duration: 12 Weeks
Height: 30 Inches

Although last years Red Carousel Zinnia came close, disappointingly they failed to bloom. Well the good news is this year, I've finally managed to grow my first indoor Zinnia to maturity and shes a beauty! I guess you can say every who sees her is green with envy...sorry I had to. Anyway, as happy as I am about the bloom, it was pretty measly  which was probably due to the small container space and multiple flowering heads.

8/22/2014
I was pretty surprised to find that my Zinnia had branched out and was growing three flowering heads. Actually 5, because the bottom of the stem branched out as well, but I clipped those two in an attempt at larger blooms. I'm actually trying to propagate one of the cuttings I saved and am currently growing the roots in a jar of water and plan to transfer it to soil.

8/8/14
The container is pretty small, but does the job I have to say. Its pretty amazing that such a large flowering plant can thrive in a peanut can container, although I'm sure its a bit cramped.

8/22/2014
A look at the bud opening up

8/8/14
Close-up at the flower-head forming

8/9/14
The florets are opening up and stacking it seems

8/9/14
Another picture of my Zinny. Really makes me want to retry and grow a Red Carousel Zinnia.

Common Flower Gems - Classification # 5 Dandelion (Taraxacum)

White Dandelion puffs are composed of hundreds of seed heads which are often carried as far as 5 miles from their origin!

I pulled some info online about Dandelions so I urged you to learn more about this common flower gem that is native to Eurasia and North and South America. Every year Americans spend millions on lawn pesticides to have uniform lawns of non-native grasses, and we use 30% of the country’s water supply to keep them green. The dandelion is the only flower that represents the 3 celestial bodies of the sun, moon and stars. The yellow flower resembles the sun, the puff ball resembles the moon and the dispersing seeds resemble the stars.

Fun Facts :

• The dandelion flower opens to greet the morning and closes in the evening to go to sleep.
• Every part of the dandelion is useful: root, leaves, flower. It can be used for food, medicine and dye for coloring.
• Up until the 1800s people would pull grass out of their lawns to make room for dandelions and other useful “weeds” like chickweed, malva, and chamomile.
• The average American recognizes thousands of logos for commercial products, yet recognizes fewer than five plants that grow in his/her area. Dandelions are most likely one of those familiar plants.
• The name dandelion is taken from the French word “dent de lion” meaning lion’s tooth, referring to the coarsely-toothed leaves.
• Dandelions have one of the longest flowering seasons of any plant.

Yellow Dandelion head is composed of hundreds of florets

Common Flower Gems - Classification #4 Yellow Toadflax/Wild Snapdragon (Linaria vulgaris)

Its yellow, showy petals are quite a sight.

Today's common flower gem is the Perrenial Yellow Toadflax, known also as Wild Snapdragon because of its yellow and orange Snapdragon-like flowers. According to Wikepedia, it is a species of toadflax, native to most of Europe and northern Asia, from the United Kingdom south to Spain in the west, and east to eastern Siberia and western China. It has also been introduced and is now common in North America as you can see from these pictures below which were taken here in my local NY neighborhood.

I found these in the same empty lot as the amazing Bull Thistle wildflowers which I identify here.

I've Over-watered my Alyssum! Oh no, poor Ally :(

Proxy image of an over-watered plant. Signs are curled leaves, light green color, and droopy stem.

My Alyssum, Ally, is showing signs of over-watering and is not looking good. Basically the symptoms are light green leaves, droopy stems, curled-up leaves, and moist soil. Seeing that Alyssums prefer dry soil and how much I water my plants, its no wonder this occurred. The general green rule of thumb is to water plants whenever the topsoil is dry to the touch. I'll hold back on the daily watering and pay more attention to the moisture in the container before adding more water from now on.

In an attempt to save the plant, I've transplanted the plant into a different container with a drainage hole, trimmed it to focus the root growth, and am keeping it away from direct sunlight to avoid transplant shock. I just hope its not too late and the roots haven't rotted away. I've planted some more seeds in case it doesn't survive the transplant.

* The Alyssum was actually able to bounce back and now looking pretty good. It was sagging because it was pretty top heavy so I decided to trim it back down and avoid over watering.

Common Flower Gems - Classification # 3 Bull Thistle (Spear Thistle)

The Bull Thistle or Spear Thistle wildflower gets its name from its prickly flower parts. Birds and insects love it because of its delicious nectar. 

I spotted this one in an vacant lot near in my neighborhood and this is the first time I've ever seen this flower. It is an attention grabber and classified as a invasive weed in some areas. It is widespread and grows everywhere from the US, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Scotland. 

Apparently its been watered daily with coffee as you can see by the cups. In all seriousness, hold onto your trash and don't litter.

Bloom 2014 - Impatiens (Jewelweed, Touch-me-not, Snapweed)

Life Cycle: Annual

Uses: Beds, Containers

Sun: Full Shade, Part Sun

Soil: Neutral to slightly acidic

Water: Lightly to moderately

Spread: 12-14 Inches

Bloom Duration: 14 Weeks

Height: 10-14 Inches

8/26/2014
These impatiens have been in bloom for over a month now lasting a week before falling off and the leaves have grown quite large and are a deep forest green. 

8/11/2014
The green foliage growth on my Impatiens has increased dramatically and there's a new bloom almost daily.

7/23/2014
The Burpee seeds I bought were a mixed variety and came in pink and purple as you see and also white. Wish there was a way to tell which color is which before you plant the seed.

7/21/2014
I usually remove the wilting flowers at this point and wait for the budding ones to take its place.

7/18/2014

7/17/2014
My first blooms of the season, pink Impatiens.

 These flowered yesterday and today the second flower bud also bloomed. These seem to grow pretty well crowded - I planted 3 inside a small pot and they just keep getting bigger. I found these easy to grow, hard to over-water, and find that they make a great indoor plant. The foliage shape is quite lovely and covers a lot of ground so the leaves on this plant seem to be a decoration in itself. But I'll get the pruning scissors ready just in case. 

My First Bloom 2014 - Star Lily/Mountain Lily (Leucocrinum montanum)

Here's the online image I used to make my comparison

So this  unidentified plant has been around the house for years, blooms every Spring, and I never really knew what it was before today. After quite a bit of online image research and comparing photos, I am near certain this specimen is the Star Lily wildflower, known also the Mountain Lily. The only reason I can't be a hundred percent certain is because Wikipedia mentions this species is stemless but there are about 5 flowers budding or already bloomed on the stem in the image as you can see below. I'm going to guess it may have grow a stem because of the extra water its been receiving as a houseplant if it is in fact a Star lily. 

I originally believed this to be a star of Bethlehem flower but the features between the two didn't quite match.

This is a Native US species and will bloom randomly for weeks then suddenly stop during Spring.

Heres another shot of the Sand Lily as I prefer to call it. It has 6 white, star shaped petals,  yellow stamens, and thing long grass-like tepals or leaves