Flowers On My Deck

Started by gitano, July 28, 2018, 11:31:58 AM

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gitano

I'll start with the poppies, as I like poppies and this is the first year I have tried to grow them. These plants are from seeds collected from a plant that my daughter found growing wild alonside the road to our house. I waited for the plant to ripen, collected the seeds, and stored them in a small vial. That was two years ago.

This spring I decided to try to germinate some of those seeds. If they germinated, I would plant them 'with abandon' around my property. Not only did they germinate, they grew with enthusiasm!

The following is a sequence in time of their blossoming to date. This first picture is just prior to the first blossom coming out.


Here is that first blossom:


Here is the plant on the day after the first blossom came out. ("Day two".) The first blossom is not on the tallest on the plants, rather it is the one nearest the camera.


I thought I got a picture of the plant on the second day after the first blossom (Day three), but apparently I just thought about taking the picture instead of actually taking it. Here is the plant on day four.


As you can see, they are producing a flower per day.

Since the flowers were produced one per day, today on 'day four', I can take a sequence that shows the progression of development of the flower from first day of flowering through the fourth.











Notice the development of the seed head on a daily basis. There is significant change with every passing 24 hours.

The next batch of flowers aren't particularly 'sequential', as the other species aren't as predictable as the poppies have been.



Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

recoil junky

Humming birds should love those!!

RJ
When you go afield, take the kids and please......................................wear your seatbelts.
Northwest Colorado.............Where the wapiti roam and deer and antelope run amuck. :undecided:  
Proud father of a soldier medic in The 82nd Airborne 325th AIR White Falcons :army:

Paul Hoskins

I like poppies. Muffin does too but we've been unable to find seeds for them in local nurseries or any other place that sells seeds. The poppy is the "official" flower of the American Legion. I suspect that's because "Flanders Field " where so many veterans are buried has so many poppies growing in it. Thanks for sharing this with us, Paul.   ,......Paul H

gitano

I'll send you a packet of seeds from these plants, Paul.

As for hummers: Hummingbirds come to Alaska, but not this part. I have never seen one within 250 miles of here. The flower that really has nectar for hummers is the nasturtium. That's the next flower pictures I will post.

Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

gitano

#4
Look what I found! A picture of the progenitor of the above poppies. Alongside the road. Notice the difference in the quality of the growth when they are put it a 'friendly' substrate.



That plant had to work hard to produce that one flower. I have three plants in a relatively small container, and each plant has AT LEAST 5 buds on it.

Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

gitano

#5
As promised - Nasturtiums.

Nasturtiums come very close to being my favorite plant, and there are good reasons:
1) They grow like WEEDS! I don't particularly care for plants that have to be 'encouraged' to live. Plant nasturtiums, and they ARE going to grow!
2) They have very pretty flowers. Just about every shade of red, orange, and yellow, and very pretty shape to my eye.
3) They produce A LOT of flowers! Once they get going, you can NOT stay 'ahead' of them! And here comes the 'good' reasons.
4) You can eat EVERY part of them: Flowers, stems, leaves, and seeds. (Never tried the roots, but I don't expect they'd kill ya.) The flowers have a little spice to them, but they have a nectar reservoir in the 'spur'. I pick the flower, bite the very tip off of the spur, suck the nectar and then eat the flower. Delicious! I put the leaves on sandwiches as a substitute for lettuce. Fairly spicey (I like that) and not too "green" tasting. Excellent in salads. The stems of the flowers are tenderer than the stems of the leaves, but both are another tasty addendum to salads or sandwiches. Finally, the seeds. I have never done this myself, but folks pickle the seeds and use them as cheap substitutes (with a mild bite) for capers.

There's just nothing to not like about this plant!

The first batch of pictures will be from previous years because they show the color variation and the growth capabilities. This year, I only planted in planters in order to keep them under control so to speak.















And this year's.


This camera is very sensitive to red and yellow, and especially red. It's very difficult to get the color right for red things when red is the dominant color in the frame.

If you look closely at the third picture near the top of the bunch of flowers, you can see a few flowers from the side which shows the spur. I'll take a picture of one just to illustrate that feature.

PS - Here are some pictures of the flower from the side.








You bite the very tip of that spur off and suck the nectar out. Very sweet with just a touch of 'spice'.


Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

gitano

#6
How many of you grow grass for their FLOWERS?







The above grass plants are growing in a planter. I planted them specifically to get the dried flower heads. They look like rattlesnake rattles to me. However, I like the look of the seed heads before they dry out too.

Here's a picture of it when it's mature.




Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

gitano

I was just 'googling' Briza maxima, and see that one of its many common names is "rattlesnake grass". I'm clearly not the only one that sees rattlesnake rattles in the seed heads.

Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

JaDub

Would love to grow them here but I`m betting they wouldn`t survive our dry climate.  I`m always amazed at the flowers you can grow up there .  I`ve never seen such huge Columbines in my life.

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