Pink rose

This is my favorite rose growing here in the city. I love the old-fashioned shape of the flowers with many petals and flat centers. It may be four or five years old. The leaves don't look too healthy this year, I guess because I have not been attending to the plant properly. It didn't get fertilized and mostly relied on the rain - of which we had plenty - for watering. Pictures taken on June 21st.

Parrot tulip Estella Rijnveld

I can't believe I have not posted pictures of the single best of my tulips this year. First waiting for them to finish flowering, so that I could sum up their peformance, and then amidst the turmoil of the most unfortunate month of June I had, I simply forgot.

I mentioned planting them last fall and you might have thought they didn't come up. Oh no. Estella Rijnveld, aka Gay Presto, developed handsome buds in the first week of May,

opened its flowers in the second,

and bloomed until the end of the month, when the rains and wind finally helped it drop its gorgeous petals.

The tulip is not very tall and doesn't even look much like a tulip, especially from a couple of yards away and to the unsuspecting eye. But belive me it is fabulous. The red and white of the flowers looked so crisp and refreshing! They literally sparkled in the morning shade of the spot where I had planted them.

Fascinated by the color and shape of the petals, I spent many minutes crawling in the grass to take pictures. I kept peeking at them through the window. I simply couldn't get enough of them!

The flowers are quite large and resistant to the elements - a mere rain doesn't harm them at all. They just dry off and keep turning their heads to follow the sun whenever it shows again.

Sturdy and beautiful, Estella Rijnveld is worth every penny it costs. Which is twice as much as the more common tulips. A true feast to the eyes. I can't say how well it returns because I've enjoyed it for the first time this spring. But I'll definitely be buying it again.

Sweet iris

I like to think this is iris pallida, commonly known as sweet iris, however if indeed it is I don't know. I bought it unnamed and have had it for at least ten years now, multiplying freely. It does well in considerable shade and the flowers have the nicest, light, fruity smell.

The stalks are tall and quite many, the flowers are small but of a gorgeous, bright, bluish lavender color. They stand out from a distance, particularly well against a dark background.

Iris Indian Chief

A very reliable bloomer. Many large flowers of reddish purple color. Also reliable and lasting as a plant - doesn't deteriorate within two-three years from planting.

In the above pictures the color of the flowers looks a bit too pink and purple. The actual color is closest to the below (all pics are of the same plant, taken on May 30th).

Purple iris

Another store bought iris which bloomed for the first time this spring. It turned out to be the first iris germanica to bloom. It is very tall - you can see the flowers are higher up than the garlics - but the flowers are quite small.

It is not terribly interesting by itself, as well as it's too tall for a spot right next to a narrow path through the flowerbed. I will probably move it somewhere more to the background and out of the way.

Pictures taken on May 16-19th.

Small peach iris

These are small but not dwarf - perhaps one foot tall - irises which appreciate a bit of well-watered dappled shade rather than a dry full sun spot. They bloom early, when tulips are still there. Picture taken on May 16th.

Yellow and red iris

This store bought iris has been in my city garden for about three years. It seems to need dividing quite often, as its stalks are already getting shorter and fewer. They were about three feet tall when first established in their current spot. Picture taken on May 28th.

Iris Sultan's Palace

iris germanica Sultan's Palace

Bloomed first time ever after I planted it last spring here in my city garden. Picture taken on May 30th.

Dame's rocket

hesperis matronalis

I saw a beautiful photo of these on the web last year and read about how sweet they smell on spring nights. I decided to grow a whole batch from seed. I was very proud of the results, because I don't think I had had success with seeds other than zinnias before, and I actually managed to produce about two dozen containers of seedlings.

After all the watering, shading and snail picking I did, imagine my surprise when I discovered them growing wild, in abundance, in the shade of the lime tree at the farm. I could have simply transplanted them from there...

Pictured is one of my seedlings, which are now waist high, in its sweetly scented flower.

Parrot tulip Rococo

First time I've tried this variety. I hesitated whether to buy them or not because they are both red, which I'm not crazy about, and parrot, which means they grow short and twisted and never return after the first year. I finally decided to only plant a few and try them as an accent close to the path. It turns out they are lovely!

The color is velvety fire engine red with some yellow visible inside - almost like flames - when strong sun shines on the flower, while the outside of the petals has an equally velvety purplish tint. I have them planted in dappled shade, which was a truly brilliant idea, because it brings out the colors just enough to make them shine instead of dulling them the way strong sun does.

The shape of the flowers is fascinating and gorgeous from every angle. Opulent, yet elegant, this tulip is definitely a keeper.

Parrot tulip Erna Lindgreen

First time in my garden. The picture was taken at dusk, so there's a tad too much blue in it but the color is not affected beyond recognition. Contrary to what I read on the web, Erna is a deep, bright, perhaps slightly reddish pink and not a red tulip. The flowers are cup-shaped with only slightly irregular edges of petals, so the overall impression is more of a Triumph, or perhaps a modest double tulip rather than a parrot one. The inside of the flower is adorned with a blue stripe encircling the bottom.

Erna is quite short, has strong stems and flowers early. The pictures were taken on May 3rd and they are of the last tulip remaining. A late bloomer, it is somewhat smaller than the ones that have already faded. It doesn't truly reflect how attractive they all looked in full bloom - in a bare April garden, they stood out like bright colored roses.

Tulip Blushing Lady

Water and watch it grow twice as tall as other tulips!


Blushing Lady and Toyota

A Darwin Hybrid. The tallest of all flowers in my garden, including perennial sunflowers.. perhaps excluding the Jerusalem artichoke. They must be about three feet tall and are visible from quite a distance.

The flowerheads are initially small and pale colored, but with time they grow to size L and develop the most lovely deep pastel shades you'd expect from a ripe peach - yellow melting with pink and hints of orange. They are spectacular, even though they tend to crawl like snakes if the spring is very windy. They are completely charming even then. I remember I had to tie them to supports last year, this year, however, we have had drought and truly summer temperatures almost without wind, and they are doing just great. The flowers open towards the sun, but they don't go completely flat, which I don't find attractive, they remain cup-shaped.

At dusk they close tightly.

Second year in the ground without being lifted.

Tulip Marilyn

One of my long time favorites, with large white lily-shaped flowers striped pink. Quite tall but not too thin, it definitely deserves its name - it's just sexy. Pictured growing in my front bed with Elegant Lady and Blue Heron. All of them second or third year in the same spot without being lifted.

Tulip Ballerina

They are very reliable and tend to come back well, or even naturalize. It's at least their third year in the same spot and there are only a couple fewer than I originally planted. A bit smaller, I admit. But if I took proper care of them, such as kept watering, weeding and fertilizing, they'd probably multiply. The spot where they grow is partially shaded, extremely dry and almost never watered. They share it with iris pallida.

They start out orange and develop the red and yellow as they mature but remain thin and delicate, as many lily-flowered tulips are.

Tulip Daydream

This variety is famous for changing color from medium yellow to flaming shades of orange. I discovered it while browsing pictures of tulip plantings at Chenies Manor House and then, in the fall, stumbled upon it at the garden center.

Indeed, it does change color but it cannot really compete with either Orange Emperor or the below mentioned unknown pink Darwin tulip because it is shorter than both of them. Unfortunately, I didn't know that and I planted it right at their back, where it remains largely hidden from view. Well, I can only count this as its trial year.

I also didn't realize the Orange Emperor, being a fosteriana tulip, would be that tall. They are over two feet tall, almost exactly twenty six inches. It's quite incredible but, considering both their bright color and height, they would be best planted in a separate group away from other varieties. I made the picture small because I only managed to take it when the tulips were already fading. They are actually toast from the drought by today and need to be deadheaded.

Mislabeled Fosteriana tulips

Another, luckily the last, case of mislabeled tulips I acquired last September, this time at a large chain home and garden supply store. These were labeled as fosteriana Orange Breeze, which means they were supposed to be as orange as young carrots, with some green on the outside of petals. I trustingly planted them next to their equally orange sister variety fosteriana Orange Emperor and the yellow-turning-to-orange Daydream, in my yellow and orange bed.

Well, you can see for yourself what has come up. Judging from the shape of the flowers, they are not even fosteriana tulips, and they are thoroughly pink, with a mere hint of orange. Actually, they are very beautiful, and I'm glad I now have them. I just have to remove them from the yellow area of the garden. Since they are tall and fat with very large flowers, I suspect they are one of the Darwin or cottage varieties.

The striped one is the queer one of the bunch, and also the prettiest. I am afraid that the stripes originate from a virus, though, and that I should get rid of this beauty rather than allow it to grow. I read that the virus spreads readily and would ultimately destroy other tulips.

Mislabeled Rembrandt tulip

I bought these last September labeled, no less, as the gorgeous purple flamed white tulip Zurel. There were only two or three packs left on the store rack and I took two of them - ten tulips. I was really excited because I had not expected I'd find this relatively new variety locally, and I've continued to look forward to finally seeing them in my own garden for months.

And what do you know. For the past couple of days I've been waiting for the purple to show because I noticed the flowers were just about to open. Something only seemed to be wrong with the leaves, namely their white edge, which I didn't think belonged to this variety. Alas. This morning, while taking pictures to document my tulips before they fade, it finally struck me that these are not Zurel. There is no bold purple flame, there's only a red and very delicate one. Combined with the white variegation on the leaves, it can only mean one thing. They are Happy Generation. How disappointing. Especially that I already have a bunch of Happy Generation growing merely a few yards away, where I planted it two years ago.

And I bought these tulips from one of the most respectable suppliers in town. Frankly, I didn't expect they'd sell mislabeled bulbs. It's the first time ever I've had what can be called a bad experience with them.

I'm still on the lookout for the glamorous Zurel. I've just checked madame Miho's blog and discovered that she also planted them this year (either that or in 2007, I can't be sure because her blog is in Japanese). Clearly got more lucky than I did. I can't link directly but see pics in her Garden Diary under April 30th, 2009. I think she has them planted with Arabian Mystery (also a very appealing tulip, albeit on the short side) and Black Hero, which I mentioned in my previous post. Check out how gorgeous they look. I'll definitely be buying them again this fall.

Black tulips

Tulip Queen of the Night with euphorbia polychroma, catmints and iris in the front bed of my garden here in the city. The iris is yet to bloom, as well as the huge catmint, the lower part of which is visible behind the euphorbia. The small catmints are beginning to bloom already. The tulips are there their third year, so only a few flowers remain, and they are about half as tall as they used to be. Interestingly, the flowerheads are not much smaller.

I originally planted Queen of the Night there along with its sport, the double black tulip Black Hero, and they looked really classy with the chartreuse flowers of the euphorbia, against the background of the emerging golden hops and prairie cordgrass. But, despite its name, Black Hero is not a sturdy tulip. It hardly came back in its second year, and no trace remains of it in the third. (Also, its flowerheads are quite small, which is usually not stated in nursery catalogs, so it is best viewed from up close.)

Picture taken this morning past 9 a.m.

Wild anemones

Last Sunday around noon I took my little niece to the nearby woods to take a closer look at the wild anemones. For the past few springs we've been seeing them from either car or bus windows and there were always so many, sparkling in the sun! It's been a joyful sight, the first wild flowers to bloom after the long winter, and in truly astonishing quantities. I've been intrigued by how exactly they grow and what the flowers look like, as well as by whether they appear transplantable from the natural woodland to a garden setting. This year I finally managed to get some answers. We first cycled to a spot near which I had seen the flowers, which is merely two bus stops away from my house, then we dropped our bikes and proceeded to investigate, trying not to crush the delicate plants with our feet.

path we took through the woods next to the power plant offices, anemone patches to the right


birches and wild anemones


standing tall (ca. 5 inches)

Because the wood is a reserve, we couldn't dig to see how deep the roots grow. I still don't know how well they might transplant, or how they spread. But we thoroughly enjoyed the masses of flowers, the gorgeous weather - sunny but cold enough to make us wear gloves, and our ride, which was the first bicycle ride this year for both of us. Today, a week later, all the little white flowers are still blooming.

First tulips

tulipa greigii Toronto

These are the first tulips to bloom in my city garden this year. They've already been in flower for a good couple of days. I took the picture before 7 a.m. yesterday, trying to capture the color, that's why the flowers are closed. Normally, they open very wide during the day, however, in full sun the color looks completely different. They appear coral red, while I prefer the nice shade of pink visible in the morning light. Unlike the majority of tulips, this variety tends to produce more than one flower per a bulb - notice that some bulbs have two headed stems. They were very accessibly priced when I bought them last September, so if I find them again this fall, I may also be planting some at the farm for next spring.