First Impressions

Part II

Yesterday I posted two pictures of the plantings at the Front Door. After that Blog Post I took the camera to the closet. As I looked out the second story window I decided that I could get a better image to show the whole set up.

First Impressions

All Summer the urns which flank our front steps consisted of Green foliage. The Fatsia and the Potato Vine in the planters. Today I obtained two Mariposa plants and placed them in the concrete planters. They certainly add a nice bit of color to the formerly green plants. I hope they grow rather fast so that the scale will also be improved. I submit this post today to encourage everyone to consider dressing up the plantings near their front door. It is so easy to accept what we have done without adding to the concept to improve the eye appeal.

Angel Trumpet Blooms

I never tire of enjoying these blooms. These five blooms were on full display this morning. They are on the one plant that was acquired many years ago. I refer to this plant as "The Mother Plant." This plant is in a pot that I winter over in the garage, just in case we have a very cold Winter and the Angel Trumpet Plants in the ground are killed because of a freeze. Of course there are other plants and blooms that give great pleasure, but the beauty and delicate flower of the Angel Trumpet are tops on my list of plants that I must continue to cultivate. As always, I will have an abundance of cuttings this November.

Angel Trumpet Blooms

These plants have been in the garden for at least five years. Every Fall, before the first frost I cut them back to nothing and apply a heavy layer of pine needles/leaves about six inches deep.

When all danger of frost is past I uncover them. Thus the growth you see here is all from 2009.

This is an array of blooms on one plant. I took this shot using natural light in the early morning.

A Close up taken with flash which creates more vivid color. The shot was taken just moments from the first one above but I zoomed in on this blossom to show the detail of these lovely flowers.

On more flash photo with several blooms to show you the arrangement of blooms near the top of this plant.

Again, a flash photo. All of these pictures were taken before the morning sun was too bright. Using the flash at this time allows the distractions of the background to be somewhat muted. It was 8:00 A.M. when I took these photos.

You can be sure that I will also have cuttings of these plants this November to share with fellow garden club members.

Night Blooming Cereus

(The Morning After)

As you can tell this is an image of the Night Blooming Cereus the morning after the lovely display on the evening of 1 August 2009. Please scroll down to the next post to view the cycle of bloom of this lovely "Pass Along Plant" that we have enjoyed the past two evenings here in Middle Georgia.

Night Blooming Cereus

About five years ago one of the members of a local Garden Club here in Macon, of which my Bride is also a member, told us about a beautiful flower that blooms for only one night and is a lovely flower. We were told it was a Night Blooming Cereus. We were able to attend a late night garden party after she called us to tell us that the flower was in full bloom. Of course she shared several cuttings with us.

Our two plants have been growing and we bring them into the garage every Winter. The plants are potted and thrive in the shade. On July 21, 2009 I noted small buds forming on the edge of the leaves of our plants. The pictures below give you an idea of how this flower develops. Note the date and time of the image at the bottom of the picture.

Not only are these flowers lovely to look at, they also have a lovely fragrance. We had one flower on the night of 31 July 2009 and had friends and neighbors over to enjoy it. Then on the evening of 1 August 2009 we had eight flowers bloom. We started watching the flowers open at about 9:20 P.M. and the flower watching party did not end until Midnight.

If you desire more information about the care of this easy to grow plant may I suggest that you perform a search on the World Wide Web and look for organizations that are Land Grant Colleges. They appear to have the most reliable information. You can be sure that I will be sharing cuttings after the potential of a late September 2009 flush of blooms is past.

In summary a delightful flower and one that you will never forget. Now to show the complete the full cycle of this bloom please be aware that I will make an additional post to show what the bloom looks like on the morning after it's full beauty.

Summer Time Beauty in the Garden

Fatsia and Sweet Potato Vine make an interesting arrangement in the gun metal grey urns at both sides of the entrance. The Fatsia plants were able to survive the Winter Season in these planters.

The colorful Cordyline Plant is always interesting year round, but it certainly ads color in the Summer landscape. I have a pair of these plants that flank a metal bench in the shade garden. A restful area with a bit of color from these plants. I Winter over these plants in the garage.

The Dinner Plate Hibiscus remain in the garden year round. I have a planting that grows by the Deck and they come back every year. This is also a colorful that is enjoyed every Summer.

When taking pictures of colorful plants it is sometimes important to take a close up for the dramatic effect. I am confident that you will enjoy this view much more than the previous picture.

When taking pictures of garden plants I have found that using the flash in the early, almost dark hours of the morning allows the flower to be the feature in the picture when the background is dark.

You can click on any of these images to see a larger view. Additionally, should you desire additional information about any of these plants you can perform an internet search.

Enjoy the Summer Beauty that surrounds us all.