I Found a Couple of Blooms

Hooking up with Jean from MsGreen Thumb Jean for Bloomin Tuesday.

http://msgreenthumbjean.blogspot.com/

Can anyone identify this plant. It must have come from some seeds I spread but I have no idea. At first I thought Verbena but I don't think so. One of you out there will no it. It is tall and lanky and I only have 2 stalks. I bet it looks good planted in masses.

 Glad I found another Okra Hibiscus in bloom. I love their sunny look. Wish they lasted more than a day.

 Lots of zinnias blooming. These were on the same plant so it made a nice photo.

Glad to see another dahlia rearing its pretty head.

Bougainvillea are coming around for their third round of blooms. I'm loving this plant more and more.

I am so disappointed this year that this is all there is of my Johnsons Blue Geranium. Last year it was awesome and bloomed early in the season and continued into mid summer. This year there is barely a plant.

Check out my snapdragon here. The only foliage is on the tops of the plants and a couple of blooms. All I can figure is the dry conditions in Apr May and Jun contributed to their appearance.

 Here you can see better that the foliage is nearly gone. I watered the gardens but I don't think it was enough.

Love the sun against the clouds.

I am excitedly planning my next spring garden. Getting it all on paper. I love perusing the catalogs and dreaming of what I want it to look like.

What websites for plants and seeds do you prefer? I'm interested in checking out more sites. I use Bluestone Perennials and Park Seed.

We have had plenty of rain over the past couple of weeks.

Hope you all are having a great day.

Some Blooms to Share

I'm happy that I found a few new plants to feature today. I was about to get bored with the same old blooms. Not that they aren't pretty by any means but it sure is nice to see new things.

I shared this one yesterday but I think it deserves a repeat. I'm proud of the Jean Marie Dahlia.

The bougainvilla is revisiting with some new blooms. I've never seen one as it was going into a bloom stage. It appears as if it is taking on new leaves and growth and then this. The blooms start out looking like leaves and are turning pink as they age. Neat.

Glad to see the milkweed blooming now. I've noticed some activity but not as much as it should be. But I expect it'll pick up soon.

I can't get enough of the geranium. I think the name is strawberry sherbet. Ya'll correct me if I'm wrong.

I have two shades of the butterfly weed. This one is more on the pink/fushia side. They are very hard to photograph.

While this one is more purple. It is blurry - sorry. The flowers in the background look nice this way though.

The marigolds are looking nice now. I gave everything a fresh shot of Miracle Gro Bloom Burst this weekend. I think bloom burst works pretty quick - perhaps within 36-48 hours. I noticed a big difference. You can see the nemesia behind the marigold taking on new blooms as well.

This is my first year to have the Shasta Daisy. They sure do get bigger than I thought. But they are so pretty. The plants are full of buds.

Today I'll be joining the following parties:

http://msgreenthumbjean.blogspot.com/2011/05/its-bloomin-tuesday_16.html

http://www.sidewalkshoes.com/2011/05/garden-tuesdayblueberries.html

http://www.anoregoncottage.com/2011/05/tuesday-garden-party-still-waiting-for.html

Ya'll head on over and check out these parties and see the other blooms gardeners are sharing today.

Hope you have a great day.



Bougainvillea

The Bougainvillea is a hardy and versatile plant. It can grow on a wall or a trellis or it can be pruned to be a more compact patio or garden plant. Particular pruning can even shape the Bougainvillea like you would for a bonsai. Bougainvillea is a tropical plant and is best when the night temps are at least 65 and up and the days up into the 90's. They are frost sensitive and does best in zones 9 and 10 but that's not to say they don't do well in other places. If taken care of during the cold winters they should do fine. They can be planted in the ground but is recommended that if you live in zones colder than zone 9 and 10 that they be dug up and brought in during the winter or preferably a pot grown plant. In the cooler zones if planted in the ground they could be used as an annual. They usually do not bloom indoors.  They thrive in the sun and even like the soil a little dry. They also like to be a little root bound. Bougainvillea is a thorny plant too and has heart shaped leaves. It is a proficient bloomer if the right conditions are met. It is at it's peak when the nights and days are mostly equal which is in the spring and the fall. Bougainvillea will bloom at least as much or even more in the winter than it does in the spring. Standard fertilizer is not recommended - instead the formula should be 6-8-10. This puts nitrogen levels where there will be green but  not a lot and the energy goes into making flowers and keeping the plant more compact.

I hope this helps you if you purchse a Bougainvillea for your gardens.