Roses

Posted on by capentalc

It goes without saying that roses are one of the most classic beauties of all time. Everyone has seen a rose at one time or another. At one point, I thought they were too common and spiky to grow. The spiky stems made it even harder to like. However, overtime they grew on me because of their beautiful petals and sweet fragrance. I am very partial to scented flowers!

“At Last Rose”

The all time favorite rose in my garden right now is this “At Last” rose. It has shades of deep orange like the above picture and then it also has a lighter peachy color like the ones below as well. Every time I see them bloom it always amazes me by how beautiful the colors are. So far this one is fairly easy to maintain. When I have time I will probably propagate this plant and spread them all over my garden.

Roses are one of the moderately easy to grow flowers. I say moderately because they are not the kind of flowers you can just leave them dry or unattended like succulents. They require regular pruning to encourage new flowers, particularly after they bloomed. If they get too leafy and had too many side shoots, you have to prune those so that the plant spends its energy on flower production instead of more leaves. They need fertilizer to keep them blooming. They also need moist soil. All those things will help them to be prolific bloomers.

I love pink roses and have been looking for many varieties of pink roses. The rose on the top left is called “First Prize” has a marbleized effect. The one on the top right is the “Peace” hybrid tea rose and it has shades of peach and pinks that sometimes changed throughout the day, like captured on the bottom right. I love it best when it is both pinks and peaches together. Extremely exceptional!

The yellow mini roses are such cuties. They are mini in every way and one of the most adorable! I wish I can place them all over in my yard as well. I started to like yellow flowers because of them.

This reddish, with a hint of pink rose above is the “Oklahoma” hybrid rose, I put my hand next to it for comparison of the size of the flower. It was almost 5 inches in size.

The above gorgeous reddish pink rose bush was supposed to be an indoor plant but I put it in the ground and it seemed to like its new home because it is blooming heavily.

This mini pink rose is also most ADORABLE! It started out a light pink like above and then faded out to white after long exposure to the sun. It was another one of the mini roses that should have been in a container but I liked the colors so much I wanted it to survive and multiply outdoors. I tend to over-water container plants and eventually kill them so whatever plant I treasure, I put it in the ground. I dislike growing things in containers!!!

Take time to enjoy all the roses out there in the world. They can be found almost anywhere in warmer or cooler climates. Once established in the ground, they are extremely hardy and can tolerate just about anything. The best thing is that they bloom almost year-round if you live in warmer climates.

Chicory

Posted on by capentalc

I love the color of blue in the garden and chicory plants are the answers to that! A couple of years ago when I was trying to fill my barren garden, I wanted to arrange the garden by color. All the flowers I grew in each of those areas have the same color either in pinks, yellows, oranges, purples, or blues. It seemed hard at the time to find nice plants in blue colors that would thrive in our hotter zone 10, Southern California. Most of the blue flowering plants only do well in the cooler climates.

Love the delicate blue filaments and stamens inside the flower
The blue color fades the longer it is exposed to light during the day.

When I was looking for seeds to grow, I found out that chicory served many purposes. Most people know that chicory roots can be used to make chicory coffee but may not know that the leaves and flowers are also edible. Chicory also has many health benefits such as aids in digestion, improves heart health, relieves anxiety, reduces arthritis, and treats constipation. I didn’t really care about all of that at the time of planting seeds but I was glad that I was growing something that does more than look beautiful!

Here are my simple tips to grow chicory: full sun is best, can tolerate part sun too but not much flowering; no fertilizer or special care; staking may be necessary since they can get up to 3-4 feet tall; leave about 2 feet wide room to grow; can grow in dry tough soil. They do tend to look like a garden weed when they are little though, so be careful when you weed.

These were grown in a larger pot and it is leaning and out of control.

Brugmansias

Posted on by capentalc

Brugmansias (Angel’s Trumpet)  are one of the best and easiest plants to grow.  The large bell shaped flowers are large and fragrant, especially at night.  They have a very wonderful, intoxicating scent so grow them where you would like to smell them regularly. They can reach as high as 10-12 feet tall, provided you trim the side shoots.  They like moist soil but can tolerate heat and dry soil as well.  I usually give them a deep watering each week.  I rarely fertilize and they still bloom prolifically. But if you fertilize, choose a fertilizer that has the higher phosphorus which is the P in the N-P-K of most fertilizer compositions.  

Side shoots from brugmansias should be trimmed back every few weeks because they grow very quickly.  I sometimes take the trimmed branches and leave them sitting in water for days and even weeks so that they root.  They are very easy to propagate.  

Flowers most of the year but particularly more prolific in late spring and summer.

If you grow these beautiful trees, beware that all parts of the plant are poisonous.  Bees love these flowers. This tree also attracts a lot of white flies and pests.

If you don’t have a lot of space in your yard or patio, this plant is also good in large containers. Choose a heavy pot though as they can get pretty top-heavy with flowers and branches. These plants are not usually found at Home Depot or most garden centers. I usually purchase them online and they can be very pricey. If you live near me, I could give you a cutting 🙂

Makes a great SCENTED flower arrangement in the home for about a day.
This tree I grew from a cutting of another plant. Plopped it in the ground and 2 years later it is about 12 feet tall.

It’s worth it to grow these though because they smell wonderful, flowers every few months throughout the year, and great as a privacy bush.