Friday, July 09, 2010

Fantastic Annuals and Delphinium Season

I usually grow my own bedding plants for the pots, but was unable to this year, so I have a not-so-coordinating collection of potted plants. Here is the colorful bunch at my front door. I've got Thunbergia (Black-eyed susan vine) and blue morning glories climbing up a sphagnum-filled topiary frame, with chartreuse sweet potato vines overflowing around the bottom of the big pot. Sweet potato vines and Dichondra (silver or green kinds) are among my favourites for spilling over the edges of pots.

Here's the blue morning glory flower from that same planter. I love the size of this flower!

The self-seeded somniferum poppies are in bloom right now. This one appears to be expressing a bit of the fringed-edge petal trait, though I've never had those kind in my garden before. I'm planning on planting a great variety of them for next year, though.
Pink Papaver somniferum (color combination courtesy of the bees):

I lost track of this annual's name, since I planted it intentionally several years ago and it has self-seeded and returned ever since. I have since realized that it is Nemophila, likely "Baby Blue Eyes". It grows well in a rather dry and hot flowerbed in full sun, adjacent to the house.

The delphiniums are getting into full bloom this week:

Like all members of the buttercup family (includes Monkshood/Aconitum), all parts of Delphinium plants are poisonous. They contain alkaloids that cause weakness and paralysis. I'd hope this means they are left alone by deer in those places troubled by grazing animals. Our neighbourhood currently has a marauding bear. One neighbour was upset that it ate his long-awaited strawberries!

Papaver somniferum poppies in the foreground (unfortunately not thinned very well):

3 comments:

Philosophical Karen said...

Love the poppies! I have about two pounds of poppy seeds (not the edible kind) that were mailed to me from someone in England who harvested them from her back garden. I've been afraid to plant them, so they just sit on my shelf. Maybe when I have a decent amount of land, I will plant them.

Clayton said...

Love the colors. I am a big fan of Morning Glories and am growing them as a hanging basket plant this year with assorted varieties. They do well but I did not pinch them enough to get them more compact. Also have a ton of poppies blooming this past week. Glad to see the things coming back for you!

Northern Shade said...

Your delphiniums are gorgeous. I love their tall eye-catching beauty. I don't grown them anymore, as they used to get attacked by leaf tiers that ate them down, but I miss their spectacular show.