Pictures of Progress 5-13-15

Tutti Frutti Lupine

The 'Tutti Frutti' Lupine has bloomed out of nowhere! What a gorgeous display, and such interesting buds! Their 'flowers' are mainly purple with a splash of yellow and even a cerise color. This lupine is one of two, and the second hasn't bloomed yet. I wonder if it'll be purple as well. The 'Tutti Frutti' variety is supposed to bloom in multiple colors, so I'm interested to see how the other one performs. I will keep y'all updated!

John F. Kennedy rose

Above is my JFK rose bush. I left it uncovered during the winter, so it's finally starting to wake up (much behind schedule compared to the roses I covered over winter). I was so thankful to see the little shoots of green when I went to dig up this bush originally because I thought it had died! So I dug it up, added compost to the soil in which I would transplant it a little bit higher (the crown of the rose bush likes to be above the soil), and I have been rewarded with this tough li'l guy showing me his greens. This rose bush is meaningful to me because it is my late grandmother's favorite rose. She used to grow one in her garden so I thought I would give her something to smile about when she stops by to check on me from heaven. Who knows, maybe she's the reason this rose came back this year ;-)

Oklahoma rose

Above is my Oklahoma rose, which I also left uncovered during the winter (I think I learned my lesson in leaving my roses uncovered!) Though it is even slower in growth compared to my JFK, it is slowly coming along. The red is new growth and hopefully, this bush will be faster moving in the weeks to come because I love the flowers this bush procures. The roses are so bright red, they almost seem to illuminate from within themselves!

 

Climbing America rose

Above is my Climbing America rose bush. It's the first climber I ever purchased, wait, no it's not. I purchased a Joseph's Coat climbing rose 2 years back, and it's not climbing much. It's pretty scrawny, acting more of just a standard rose bush. But this one seems more vigorous. I decided to let it climb up a tomato cage so that I can weave the plant around it because I want to keep it off the fence. I am praying that this bush climbs so big and tall like it's supposed to! There are multiple buds about to open, I'm curious about the 'salmon' color that they are claimed to be. If you're curious about the roses I had in my garden last year, you can find a video on them at this link here 

Starsister Dahlia

 

Here are some Starsister Dahlias. They are so pretty that they look fake! What pomp they have with their bright red with yellow fluffy centers. I have them in a container planter alongside of some other (less interesting) plants. These are the focal-point though, so I figured I'd feature them here. I just learned that I should be dead-heading them, because they are supposed to flower now until the first frost. I sure hope so, because they are just so pretty! Alongside of the dahlia is a little spiller plant called the 'Snowflake Giant Snowstorm' (below) It is spilling so profusely, much better and faster than the 'Creeping Jenny' I planted a year back, and the constant white flowers are a wonderful accent to any flower or foliage planted next to it. I highly recommend! 

Snowstorm Giant Snowflake plant

Goldflame Honeysuckle

My honeysuckle is budding! To say I'm excited to smell this puppy once it flowers is an UNDERSTATEMENT! It is taking well to it's transplant and seems to be happy in the location it's in. Right now, the sun hasn't angled yet to give it the full sun that honeysuckles are said to want, but it is definitely getting enough light, because it has budded and has sent out new growth which is purple. To the right of the honeysuckle is my 'Belle of Woking' clematis. It was so tiny and fragile when it was shipped to me (my first online nursery purchase) that I was worried it would never pick up. WRONG! It's climbing quite quickly. It has doubled its size in the last 2 weeks. It's little green arm is reaching and holding on to the stake I put next to it. In an attempt to remove it from the stake and vine it on a rung of the trellis, this little guy wouldn't even let go! I gave up and just let him do his own thing. Ha ha! I doubt he will be a strong healthy plant fit for flowering this summer but you never know. Maybe he will surprise us all.