CityDiggity.com
A green space for urban gardenersArchive for Flowering plants
The mystery of orchids and the Mother’s Day garden timetable
Orchids. There’s just something about them.
And to the envy of mere mortal women, they manage to achieve the double feat of being beautiful and mysterious. And it’s hard to put your finger on just what makes them so entrancing…
Like a good mystery buff, I first became intrigued with the exotic flowering plant after following the exploits of fictional detective Nero Wolfe.
Author Rex Stout painted an intriguing portrait of the brilliant private detective who, in unraveling the evil men do, got a first-hand look at the uglier side of nature.
Not only did his stately brownstone — from which he solved his cases — provide refuge from this ugliness, it also was where he escaped to his beautiful world of orchids.
He owned thousands and devoted the upper level of his home to them, caring for and nurturing them as though they were his children. He was an obsessive and devoted hobbyist.
Of course, today we can all share in the orchid Read the rest of this entry »
Of four-leaf clovers and other rare plant-world occurrences
As visions of shamrocks danced in my head this week, I found myself suddenly transported back to first grade. One thing I recall clearly all these years later, is the vast, emerald field of clover that stood adjacent to my school.
The teacher would occasionally allow the class to while away recess period scouring patches of clover in search of that rare four-leaf specimen hiding among the three-leaf species. If a student Read the rest of this entry »
Color choices – blue, orange and I also want to paint it black
If you’ve followed this blog you know I love blue in the garden. Can’t deny it, can’t escape it.
And “true” blue is a hue that I find absolutely irresistible. Thus, it likely will always play into my garden color scheme.
This year is no exception.
But, I have flipped the script a bit with my companion colors. Orange, which was a minor presence last year, will assume a dominant role, and, I’m also exploring black as a primary tone.
I do realize that “black” is perhaps even more elusive than “true” blue in flowering plants, so when I say black, that translates into extremely Read the rest of this entry »
For urban balcony gardener, there’s no denying the coming of winter (or the promise of spring)
There’s still a week to go before autumn’s end, yet Chicago finds itself already wrapped in the cloak of winter.
After a bout of snow and bitter chill — with more in this week’s forecast — my cold-tolerant plants can no longer tolerate the harsh reality of our plummeting temperatures (smile).
I had wished for my balcony garden to last through Thanksgiving. Thankfully, it did. The first Read the rest of this entry »
Holiday countdown: will cold- tolerant plants go the distance?
After I discovered that not all of my balcony garden plants had given in to the frigid Chicago autumn, I got a second wind of sorts. (No pun intended.)
I began to think maybe, just maybe, I could cobble together enough of a display to keep a pleasing view to the outside through the fall holiday season.
As you’ll recall, I already have clear net lights attached to the balcony’s perimeter — a perfect Read the rest of this entry »
Gather ye seed pods while ye may. But after that, what?
I’ve learned a lot from other garden bloggers. At the very least I’ve been inspired to seek out new learning.
So a few months back when a fellow tomato fancier asked if I’d be interested in trading seeds with her, my curiosity was peaked.
(You see, for several years now I’ve been growing heirloom tomatoes using seeds purchased from a catalog. They’re cheap — less than $3.00 a packet — so paying for new ones every season seemed a minimal, yet high-yield investment.)
Eager to learn, I quickly acquiesced. Of course, I had no idea how to get the seeds from the tomatoes to swap. She assured me it was easy peasy.
That was in the spring and I hadn’t thought about Read the rest of this entry »
Despite cold and neglect, some balcony plants still blooming
Monday was a delight. It was bright and sunny and felt more like the beginning of spring than the middle of fall. I was drawn outside onto the balcony. Drawn to the garden I’d given over to hibernation.
While brown had replaced the once-green foliage in most of my planters, and naked dry stems stood where there previously was a profusion of blossoms, I was pleased to discover that there were a few flowers mixed among the ruins.
The petunia baby duck was still covered with its small, pale yellow blossoms; the lobelia is flourishing prolifically; and, the Nigella — which Read the rest of this entry »
Denial: not just a river in Egypt, but thriving in a Chicago garden
It’s pretty obvious that I’ve refused to acknowledge fall’s arrival 10 days ago — even in the face of the horrible weather that’s plagued Chicago this past week.
One day it was gale force winds (actually, I’m not sure how much force needs to be exerted to rate gale, but it was pretty severe); then it was temps that were hard pressed to break 60 degrees; and finally came the chilly, steady rain.
All these signals that the garden’s days are numbered, yet still I’m in that happy state called denial, fueled by the combination of hope and unreasoned belief that tell me there will be — have Read the rest of this entry »
By any other name: garden flowers with rose-like blooms
In preparing to show you the blossom of the final lisianthus in the tri-color group I purchased this season — lime green, joining the previously unveiled blue and yellow — I couldn’t help noting how much they lived up to their description. The distributor promised blossoms reminiscent of those on a rose.
Basically, to me that means the way the buds compact and the subsequent layers of petals unfurl look a lot like that most popular of garden flowers. The lisianthus bundle I purchased is in fact dubbed “rose bouquet.”
Unfortunately the lisianthus, an annual, doesn’t provide the added gift of fragrance that roses can Read the rest of this entry »
Postscript: one last photo of zinnia shown in previous update
In its final stage of evolution, you can see that all the petals of this zinnia “envy” have emerged. I took the photo just this morning, around 7 a.m. See the post below to read the full story…
