Viewing comments posted by Newyorkrita

Quail Ale is one of the Iris introductions from Kasperek of Zebra Gardens. Kasperek specializes in broken-color irises. This one is a lovely pale yellow broken-color flower.

Kickapoo Kangaroo is one of the Iris introductions from Kasperek of Zebra Gardens. Kasperek specializes in broken color iris. This one is a deep wine broken color and quite striking.

Amazing Don is one of the Iris introductions from Kasperek of Zebra Gardens. Kasperek specializes in broken color iris. The introductions really are unusual and quite pretty.

I started my own seeds, but I wish I could say how the Green Machine melons tasted. I never did get to try any because the vines came down with the worst case of powdery mildew, and I ended up pulling them all out.

I have Blanche Sandman honeysuckle growing over an arch at the far end of my garage. It looks simply stunning. Blanche Sandman is one of the trumpet honeysuckles. As with all trumpet honeysuckles, it has no scent.

Golden Zest is a Jackson & Perkins rose from before the company was sold. I don't know whether J&P carries Golden Zest for sale anymore. If not, that is a shame because this is a fabulous rose. Much neater growth habit and less sprawly than the Austin Rose Golden Celebration. I had a Golden Celebration and replaced it with Golden Zest.

Pink Lemonade is a lovely honeysuckle that blooms nonstop most of the summer. If it has any scent, I can't detect it, but the flowers are so nice that I don't mind the lack of scent.

Everyone should grow Chives and Garlic Chives. I find that chives work well in salads or as garnish. They also can be substituted for onions. It is so easy to go out into the garden and just snip some fresh chives when needed. I grow my chives in pots.

Winter Waltz is well named as the color of the flower reminds me of the sky on a winter day.

Pursuit of Happiness is one of my favorite irises because the flowers are just so pretty. Still, I do wish it had taller stalks. It has a great name, by the way, because the flowers make me happy.

Midnight Blue has a small bloom and often varies greatly in color. At its very best, it is a dark dusky purple that looks almost black. At the other end of the color possibilities are the reddish light-purple blooms that still don't look bad.

Otto Luyken is the only cherry laurel that I am growing in my yard. I like the fact that it forms a really nice, tight, totally evergreen hedge. This variety of cherry laurel does not get over three feet tall, so it was a very good choice for my front corner.

Rosario is a lovely deep violet colored Dutch Iris.

Merchant Marine is simply a stunning iris. Gosh, I love those blooms. Merchant Marine has such very ruffled, full flowers. A good grower with lots of bloom each season. I think it is my favorite iris.

I love this daffodil. Nice large flowers bloom on nicely tall strong scapes. I found Gigantic Star at Brent & Becky's Bulbs, so of course I had to order it. I'm glad that I did!

I was fortunate to find small potted shrubs of Regent Serviceberries in a local nursery. Regent has really nice large berries and it sets a lot of fruit. A lot of fruit! You can eat the berries fresh or make jam, but I just leave mine for the backyard birds to eat.

Avalon has a white trumpet on a yellow background. Simply stunning daffodil flower. New for me this past spring as I only planted them last fall. I can see that Avalon is going to be a favorite.

Tulip humilis is an early, very early blooming species tulip that is small and rather reminds one of a crocus bloom. They are the earliest tulips to bloom in my garden. There are some different clones in the humilis category, such as, for instance, humilis black base and humilis yellow base.

Showwinner is a really nice early blooming tulip of the kaufmanniana species, so it returns reliably year after year. The blooms are a nice eye-catching vivid red.

Alfalfa is commonly grown as hay to feed livestock, especially horses. It also makes a nice grazing meadow for horses. Personally, I think the blooms are pretty. Every once in a while I grow some alfalfa as an ornamental plant.