Thursday, June 14, 2012

Awash in GBBD 6 of 12

How can you not love Rudbeckia hirta and that bright sunny color. Lost the tag on this one.
As close as you can get to a black flower. Alcea from a big box.
Light pink and gray, one of my favorite color combos. Alcea rosea 'summer carnival' and Artemisia 'powis castle'.
Newly planted this past fall via bare root plants, Dalea purpurea-Purple Prairie Clover.
 Dalea purpurea, Perovskia atriplicifolia 'Little Spires'-Russian Sage 'Little Spires', Stipa tenuissima-Mexican Feather Grass, and Alchillea millifolium 'Terra Cotta' in the background.
Profiles:

And I leave you with the late great giant mullien-Verbascum thapsus.
Happy Garden Bloggers Bloom Day! As always follow fellow bloom busters from everywhere @ May Dream Gardens.
Yes, that's right! It's a weed. And cowboys used to use it, if you know what I mean.




57 comments:

  1. Your gardens look lovely. Lots of color showing through right now. Interesting about the weed. :)
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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    1. Love your gardens as always! Thank you for sharing and a Happy GBBD!

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    4. Not exactely sure what happen with the repitition of replies by Lee?

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    5. Yes the leaves were quite valuable for the cowboys and native americans.

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  2. Ah, the Giant Mullien! Friend of chaffed horse-riders and campers alike.

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  3. Great photos, they really pop! Beautiful colors.

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  4. Beautiful photos. I have to believe the Cowboys learned from the Indians.

    You'll have to rename the plant the Charmin Plant!

    Man I miss the southwest and gardening conditions out there. Even deserts have more potentials than I have in Sweden.

    Kevin

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    1. Sweden has to have it's own beauty, doesn't it?

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  5. You got me. How did the cowboys use the weed? Is it soft? BTW, love the Perovskia image.

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    1. Thanks for the sage love. Yes the leaves are soft.

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  6. Pretty blooms.
    The photo of the coneflowers and yarrow is stunning.

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  7. Your blooms are stunning! I like your pink and gray combinations, a little yin and yang.

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  8. That rudbeckia is stunning! Your June garden is beautiful. The rabbits have been nibbling on my echinacea. I hope I can keep what is left intact. Yours are looking strong and beautiful.

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    1. thanks, I am however seeing weird mutations on most blooms.

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  9. Your photos are just gorgeous. Love the pink and grey combination, and that black bloom, too! I didn't know about the mullien and cowboys. The things you learn from garden blogs! :)

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    1. Actually a young boy of native american ancestry told me the folklore name.

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  10. I like the artemisia and echinacea combo with the yarrow in the background. A friend of mine pointed mullein out to me when I first moved to NM and mentioned its usefulness on camping trips. :)

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    1. That's what i like a good sense of humor. he he.

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  11. You have some beautiful combinations there. Magnificent garden.

    Happy GBBD!

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    1. Thanks Shirley, I'm still in awe of your canna...wow.

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  12. Gorgeous, Greggo! I especially love the purple prairie clover - so pretty!

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    1. Yes the Dalea is very unusual. I see it a lot in the native prairie around here.

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  13. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at Verbascum the same again...

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    1. I agree. Sorry, just stating the facts ma'am. he he.

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  14. Lovely garden, and your are so way ahead of us here in the UK, especially this year where we haven't really finished with spring yet. Loved the Hollyhock, I absolutely adore (almost) black flowers, can't get enough of them! But I don't think this Hollyhock would thrive in my garden, haven't tried growing them as they are supposed to demand light, sandy soil - not what I have. Happy GBBD :-)

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  15. My Hollyhocks are struggling a bit this year--but the flowers are forming. Yours are gorgeous! I love the look of Hollyhocks bobbing over a garden fence. And I agree: Who wouldn't love the Rudbeckia?

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    1. Yes, the Alcea is a good test for proper site conditions. I just love the old fashion look. Mine have succumbed to the dreaded leaf rust and are just about done. Will keep until seeds dry.

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  16. Great post Greggo... I love the quality of your images! Larry

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    1. Larry, I am surprised you have time to do very much besides keeping up with your huge botanical garden. he he.

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  17. Now that is an impressive weed! Your Alcea is just spectacular, and the Prairie Clover is just gorgeous. Great photos.

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  18. Some gorgeous blooms for GBBD. I love that nearly-black Alcea and the photo of the echinacea and artemisia with the lemons and golds of the yarrow.

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  19. Happy GBBD! You have a lot blooming! That weed is hysterical. It is huge! The color on the Rudbeckia is stunning. Everything looks great!!!!

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  20. Hmm... I see where the softness would be good, but... maybe it's a little too soft and fuzzy? (Okay, it's the fuzzy part that is making me a little skeptical! lol.)

    Either way, it's a pretty plant. And apparently tall when in bloom. Love that!

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  21. Most of what you show looks so much nicer in your environment than out here...I think people could save money and time by visiting prairie blogs like your's, instead of trying to do it here! That giant mullein...wow. Those cowboys made good use of that and more, for sure.

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  22. Great flowers for this GBBD, Greggo. That opening R.hirta is not the typical variety. Now you have me very curious. You need to find that tag! Any guesses to its cultivar name?
    Long ago up in Seattle, Washington I taught wilderness skills at a camp. We had a wonderful, velvety soft leaf growing there that was great for toilet paper. Downside...it only grew in summer. Yipes! LOL
    David/:0)

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  23. Maybe R. hirta 'Denver Daisy'? Quick internet check brought this up:

    http://www.onlineplantguide.com/Plant-Details/4633/

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  24. That's what I thought originally but I don't think so.. Denver has a dark center flower. I remember I planted it real late last fall.

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  25. However, I did plant the Denver variety last summer.

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  26. You have such a wonderful eye for photography and your gardens are wonderful. Wondering what happened with the repeated initial message? Try using an I-Pad to blog for the first time at 5:45 am in the morning....doesn't work!!! Anyway-your gardens are certainly beautiful!

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    1. I knew it had to be something. Thanks Lee.

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  27. Happy Bloom Day Greggo! You made me smile. Don't you just love the dark hollyhocks? I sure do. They are so beautiful. Pink and gray are great colors next to each other too.~~Dee

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  28. thanks Dee. Hollyhocks are so....old fashion. It's hard to say that I suppose, that is getting older and liking older things. he he. Pink and gray are so good together.

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  29. That is one huge mullien! It's gorgeous but I'm not even going to think about cowboys:) Your rudbeckia might be a 'Prairie Sun'; I found some last fall and fell in love with it. I planted some seedlings this year in hopes of having even more of these beauties.

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    1. Rose, I'm sure you are correct on the R.hirta 'Prairie Sun'. I will have to collect some seed.

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  30. I love that black Alcea, almot as much as I love the next to last photo where the Echinacea are front and center.

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  31. Hahahahhaha...that comment on the Verbascum had me doing a double-take! LOVE your Dalea...I so want some here.

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  32. When I was growing up in Colorado and would see mullein in the mountains my folks always used to say that tall mullein meant a harsh winter. But I never noticed that they were right. (Cowboys weren't mentioned.) Love the artemisia, echinacea, and yarrow combination. My dalea aren't even close to blooming!

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  33. incredible post. the photos are great. My yarrow is doing well...

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  34. Those nice, soft leaves... They could give Charmin a run for its money. :) That is definitely one happy Verbascum. Ditto, Scott Weber. I want me a Dalea so bad! I've been searching for a plant (locally) for the past two years, to no avail. I might have to go Internet shopping soon. Although I'm not a huge Rudbeckia fan, I will admit, your photo of the green button variety is a beaut! Love the pink and silver/gray combo too. Your garden shots are fabulous!

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Thanks for leaving any comments, they are always welcomed. Sorry I had to add word verification as spam was becoming a huge problem. Greggo,