Poolside Containers

I finally got ahold of an actual camera! Just in time, too, to capture these fun container arrangements next to the outdoor pool on campus.

The red flowers here are some sort of salvia. Hopefully they grow a bit taller throughout the season, or else this combination will be very short compared to the height of the pot it inhabits. It looks like the purple-leaved plant here will spill out of the container, which will also look better as the summer progresses.

There are a lot of salvia in the greenhouse. I think I like the 'Black and Blue' cultivar more than the red, but it contrasts with the pool nicely.

These sweet flowers balance out the boldness of the salvia, and they do a good job of taking up space.

This cycad-looking plant is the real reason to pay attention to these containers. There was another one, but it's having a lot of trouble. I guess cycads can adapt to temperate regions, but I always think of them as tropical plants. This individual is taking the climate relatively well.

Down the path a ways from those containers were these eye-popping bushes. They are incredibly pink, and there are a lot of them. They would be simply overwhelming were it not for all the green bushes, trees, and mulch around.

Seeing tropical-looking blooms like these herald the approach of summer, so they're welcome in my eyes.

I've never seen a bush so covered with such large flowers before. It's a jaw-dropping effect.

Is my new camera acceptable? It's not as nice as my old one, but I am grateful to have it. I was worried that all of these pictures would be blurry since I'm not used to the camera yet, but it's not hard to operate. Also, what plants have you seen that are screaming, "SUMMER IS COMING"?

Next post: a visit to a farm.

Landscape Services Presents...

Today I bring you a couple of recent developments around campus. Disclaimer: while I may not always love everything that Landscape Services does, I respect them greatly, love a lot of what they do, and am grateful that they make our campus the most beautiful place I've ever inhabited. I sometimes may speculate negatively about the combinations, locations, formations, or types of plants they do or do not use, but speculation is all it is. Now onto the show.

First are some shots of two container plantings I spotted on my way to class (speaking of which, today was my last day of classes!). I am not a fan of the arrangement of these particular planters: their centerpieces are small shrubs of some sort. Their foliage is reminiscent of river birches, to give you a visual. That part of the planting is rather drab. However, below that were pansies and these:

These refreshing daisy-type flowers are fantastic on their own. I really don't know why they aren't the intended centerpiece of the arrangement. Below is another interesting plant in the container, which proves that foliage can, and often does, add a lot of visual interest. Foliage plants just have to be interesting to accomplish this.

Some sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima) graced a nearby container. I remember when these took up half a bench in one of the greenhouses at work. The smell was incredible. They're still looking good, even this late in the season.

On another side of campus, I found these flowering bushes. Their thorns would lead me to believe that they are roses, but their flowers are unlike any roses I've ever seen. They're gorgeous, though.

I've had little to report in the past few days, but I swear something big is coming this weekend. After that, though, is finals week, so I probably won't post again until I've moved, and things are settling down. Thanks for bearing with me.

Next post: the next thing I see!

Campus Hodge Podge

I'm still mourning the possible loss of my camera (so excuse the phone pictures), but that isn't stopping me from photographing the best in plants from around campus! Today I have a particularly eclectic collection to show off. The weather is super nice (as in, sweaty nice), so things are starting to liven up in the realm of flora.

The first plants I noticed were these white-flowering bushes. I'm not sure what kind of bushes these are, but they smell amazing. That's one of the great things about plants: they please at least four of the five senses, if you don't count the sound of tree limbs trembling in the wind, which I do.

Also, the flowers on these bushes are adorable. So sweet and innocent-looking.

Next I saw what I believe was a flowering Japanese maple outside my dorm. I couldn't get close enough to the foliage and flowers from the ground, so I took these shots from the inside of a window.

I think the image of the leaves coming out over the dangling flowers is a great one for this time of year. I've seen it in many kinds of trees around town.

This tulip bed was outside the clinic. The clinic's pretty close to the hospital, which has the really impressive tulip display. They have hot pinks, reds, purples, oranges--you name it, basically. This bed only had red and yellow, but tulips are adamant about being upbeat no matter their color.

Oh hi, thumb!

There were only two red tulips in this area, but they were my favorite of the bunch. Here's the better-looking one of them.

What flowers are intriguing you this week? What colors of tulips have you seen?

Next post: a plant list.

The Crops in Mid-April (With Special Bonus Flower Action)

There have been a couple of significant changes in the crops in my room. To supplement this news, I will include some eye-candy flowers.

First, my Swiss chard's true leaves are growing well! Slowly, but well. They're even developing the wrinkles characteristic of the species.

Also, another Swiss chard seedling has surfaced where the old one withered up and died. I knew I kept watering that spot for a reason!

In other news, I finally said goodbye to my wheat. Maybe I can repurpose this colander (as a colander, perhaps?).

Those are all the developments in my plants. There have, however, been lots of developments outside. This is one of the nicest. I don't know what kind of tree this is, but it has adorable green blossoms that I couldn't resist photographing.

That's all I've got for now. How are your crops doing?

Next post: another plant acquisition.

More Flowering Trees + Bulbs!

Today I bring you more blooms from my redbud walk the other day, though none of these include redbuds.

First is a clump of anyonymous trees with fluffy white blooms. These are not as sophisticated as the magnolia flowers in my previous posts, but they're still pretty heavenly on the eyes.

Some closer views:

The new growth on these trees, as you can probably see, is a rusty red color. I think that complements the white-green flowers perfectly.

Next is a spring bulb I can't identify. It doesn't look like a daffodil, hyacinth, tulip, or crocus, and that's about the scope of my knowledge on the topic. However, they are nice little flowers, though this particular plant does not seem to have bloomed very prolifically.

This picture is more detailed.

Finally, something I can identify! This tulip, partially because it is so oddly isolated, really catches the eye. If this was anywhere near a road, it would be a driving hazard.

I don't guess I've ever looked inside a tulip before. For those of you in the same unfortunate situation, here's what it looks like!

And this is a more traditional view.

That's all from this mid-April flower walk. What do you think is the ideal way to fit a striking plant (like a tulip) into a landscape? Do you enjoy seeing flowers from new perspectives? What are your favorite spring-flowering trees?

Next post: the Spring 2013 Vegetable Sale (Part 1)!

Flowering Trees are the Best

Trees are wonderful. Period. They give us so many resources that it's impossible not to take them for granted sometimes.

But spring allows us to appreciate them, probably because their blossoms are transient. Redbuds (Cersis canadensis) stimulate our eyes two weeks out of every fifty-two, so they never lose their luster.

Speaking of redbuds, they're the focus of my post today! There are a few really nice, big ones around where I live, so I'm going to show them off while I have the chance.

First is the one right next to my building. Most wild redbuds I see are not this tall, so that's impressive. This tree doesn't have a ton of flowers, but it still adds a nice contrast to the building and sky. It also distracts the eye from all the construction going on (see fence left).

This shot had too much backlighting for the color to be very apparent, but this angle does provide insight on the shape of redbud blooms, and this is an oft-overlooked aspect of the plant. There's a lot to interest the eye even without the bright hues.

Next are a couple of trees in the green space around which the natural resources building wraps (it's built in a C-shape around this mini-park). This first one is an average-sized specimen that seems to be flowering heavily for its size.

But here's the real king of this show. This tree is the largest (though not necessarily tallest) redbud I've ever seen. About half of its branches are done flowering, but this must have been spectacular a week ago.

Notice the grace in the curves of its trunk. I could definitely sit in this tree and read (and I would have done so today, were it not for the awful stink of the Bradford pears in this park, not pictured out of shame). This tree must be more than 25 years old. It looks healthy from what I can tell, too.

While the left side of the tree still has blooms, the rest of the branches are bearing fruit! Apparently these pods can become a nuisance, but I don't mind them.

Another interesting thing about these trees is that they can grow flowers directly from their trunks. The little, bumpy clusters of flowers are cute beyond compare, when it comes to trees. The colors of the blooms, the bark, the lichens, and the moss on this tree are lovely together as well.

What do you think when you see a redbud tree in a forest or a landscape? Do you consider its seed pods nuisances? Have you ever seen one this large (I know it's hard to determine scale from a photograph)?

Next post: other flowering trees, with a bonus of bulbs!

Spring Beauty Pageant

Since it's spring, it should be of no surprise to anyone that I saw a bunch of flowers on one of my many recent walks. Here I will display the highlights. All of these beauties are winners in their own special ways.

Up first is the grape hyacinth (Muscari botryoides). This spring bulb is gorgeous but deadly, as it imparts severe hallucinogenic effects to those who consume it.

These particular grape hyacinth blooms look much bluer than I'm used to seeing them. Perhaps this is a regional difference, or due to this year's odd weather.

Hiding behind the hyacinths was this cute flower, who's our next contestant. This plant would also appear to be a spring bulb, but I don't know what kind. The bloom looks like the combination of a daffodil and an orchid.

Up next is a white-blooming tree. There were several of these around. It's hard to picture the wonder of spring without thinking of a tree completely covered in white petals.

Scott's in this pageant too! He's blurry, though he is adding even more flora to the occasion.

I worked really hard to get exactly half of his face in this shot.

Moving on, the campus landscaping people have planted cool-season ornamentals in the massive containers near the library. While the heights of these plants don't warrant the depth of that container, their colors and general cheeriness do the trick.

I really like all these cool colors. White and violet always work well together, and pansies are some of my favorite spring flowers, so this combination is definitely a winner to me.

The reddish varieties add to the container as well. They make the collection more "sunset" than "midnight."

All the blue foliage in these containers is an interesting choice. It complements that purple flower to form our last contestant.

Which contestant would you vote for? What other spring beauties have brightened your day recently?

Next post: a private plant collection.