Sorry it's been a while since I've last posted! My birthday was last week, and I have been working basically nonstop, so I've been busy. But I have returned to show you some tropical touches on campus, and some flowers that are just as sweet by any other name.
One day I was bicycling to work when I saw a Landscape Services truck carrying these trees through a parking lot. They looked even healthier than they do in this picture, and I couldn't help but wonder what they were. I had no idea where they had been taken, either. However, when I went around campus looking at various planters, I found them. They seem to be handling the Midwestern summer just fine.
So what are these exotic plants? Carica papaya, more commonly known as papaya trees. While I doubt they will flower and put on fruit in this climate, I sure wish they would. I've never eaten a fresh papaya before.
I found these hydrangea bushes a little farther down the path. Their mops look pretty angelic there, floating above their foliage. I know the acidity of the soil affects hydrangea flower color, but I also know that there are different cultivars which apparently can influence color as well. I'd love to know how these plants were manipulated into producing white flowers (as I would love some of these plants in the moonlight garden I dream of creating).
I've seen these bushes all around campus; little did I know they are also hydrangeas. These are Hydrangea quercifolia, or oakleaf hydrangea. I like them a lot. They usually have subtle flower colors, which keeps your eyes from being overloaded when these are placed near regular hydrangea.
Here's a closer shot of the blooms. This is one of my favorite pictures I've ever taken.
Onto the roses! Rose season had started ending when I took these pictures, and it's even closer to over now, but I wanted to show them regardless. Campus has pink and red roses...
...and a few white roses.
Actually, there were a lot of white roses. Stay tuned for the next post to learn more. These were the best-looking clusters of the bunch.
Next post: roses and daylilies.
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