Viewing comments posted by jmorth

Luminous 6" blooms on a plant that stands four and a half feet tall make this variety garden worthy. The semi-cactus flowers are described as red with a blue undertone, though my experience puts it into the kind of black with red undertone group. Mine bloomed in August. This dahlia was bred by Swan Island a decade ago. With 6" blooms, it's in the BB (4 to 6") size range.

October Sky is an Informal Decorative dahlia bred by Swan Island Dahlias. With a 5 inch bloom, it's considered to be BB size (4 to 6"). The plant has an upright growing habit, topping out at 5 feet. Its soft orange color blends into the center, where it's golden yellow. It's a beautiful plant with a lot of appeal that makes a commanding statement in the garden. I was able to overwinter the tuber by putting it into perlite, after allowing it to thoroughly dry out upside down, and then storing it in the basement.

This is one of my favorite dahlias, bred by Swan Island in 1987. It is classified as a Formal Decorative dahlia with 5-inch blooms (BB size) on a 5-foot plant that blooms, you guessed it, in September. It produced a multitude of blooms. The tuber was overwintered in perlite in my basement for 2 or 3 years before remaining in the ground one year, which, of course, caused its demise. It's described as yellow with rose-orange shading by the breeder. Surprising numbers of garden aviators were attracted to it.

Punkin Spice is appropriately named as it was still in bloom when pumpkins were about to mature.This cultivar was introduced and bred by Swan Island in 2007. Seven-inch blooms graced a four and a half foot plant in my garden. A darker-hued orange formed the center, grading out to s softer orange. The petal ends show some degree of lacination. Though I didn't cut the blooms, this reputedly is a good variety for cut and display.

This waterlily-class dahlia was a spectacular specimen, growing over 4' tall with the blooms at 5" (BB size, ie - 4 to 6") of a peachy hue that grades inward to yellow. As the name applies, it came into bloom during the fall and was a welcome garden addition at the end of summer.when other parts of the garden were beginning to decline. With long bloom stems, it is good for cutting and indoor display. This dahlia was introduced in 1994 The grower (Swan Island) recommends it as a "show" quality variety..

This robust cultivar is worthy of garden placement where it makes a commanding performance late in the season. It possesses dark foliage that contrasts vividly with the yellow-hued single flowers on near waist-high plants. It performed admirably as a focal interest point and as a garden homing beacon to butterflies and other garden aviators from August through September and a bit beyond.

This white and yellow cultivar has been utilized big time in the world of daffodil breeding programs. It's been used as a seed parent 56 times and as a pollen parent 28 times resulting in 73 named daffodil descendants plus 11 noted seedlings. These breeding programs occurred in countries where English is the primary language. Most of the work happened in the 1970s but the most recent hybridization noted was in 2010.

The Green Daffodil.
Blooms in the fall with a strong fragrance in an umbel of 1 to 5 flowers.
Originally from rocky habitats in the Gibraltar area of Spain and Morocco.
At least one well-known West Coast American breeder (Harold Koopowitz) has been using it in his creative programs.

Indigenous to the Mediterranean area, it's been cultivated for centuries and it has naturalized Europe to Asia and spread around the world. Numberless hybrids exist.

Indigenous to Mediterranean coast.

Origin is in the mountains between Spain and France

This is a popular garden plant.

This rare species daffodil has been compared to Sternbergia (fall blooming bulb) because it has no apparent corona and it blooms in the autumn.
Native to the southeastern Mediterranean area, which includes the Iberian peninsula, Algeria, and Morocco (Atlas Mountains).
Leaves are absent when flowers bloom.

Native to Spain and northwestern Africa.
The original "hoop petticoat" daffodil.

Narcissus assoanus is an all-yellow species daffodil of short stature, usually with a couple of flowers per stem. It is native to the Pyrenees Mountains at the French-Spanish border, where it grows in meadows that are characterized as rocky. Purportedly fragrant (lemony).

90% of the pumpkins grown in the United States are grown within a 90 mile radius of Peoria in central Illinois.

Lyre-leaved sage is a wildflower found in the southern part of Illinois in moist a/o open woods, flowering in April, May, and June. The light blue flowers, w/ the upper lip shorter than the lower lip, are about an inch in length. They form as a series of whorls (appx. 6 per whorl) on the top of the stem. Bottom leaves, w/ wavy and lobed edges, have long, (to 8 inches) stalks and measure 3 inches across. Often there's a smaller set of leaves w/o a stalk attachment (right on stem). The single stem is square.
The plant is hairy and up to 2 feet tall.
Native Americans used the root on sores. As a folk remedy it was brewed as a tea w/ honey for asthma and to treat warts and cancer, hence another common name is Cancer Weed.

A winter annual wildflower and garden invasive in Illinois. Stems are square,leaves are opposite. Flowers measure about half an inch long w/ long tubes and red spotted lips (2).
Preferred habitats are crop fields, lawns, and roadsides.
Originally from Eurasia and Africa.
During Illinois' springs, millions carpet crop fields in a dazzling pink/purple splendor.
Common name Henbit derived from noting chickens eating seeds.

Another single jonquil, with the same great fragrance, tiny yellow flowers, and wildflowery vigor of our “Early Louisiana” — but it blooms two weeks later, extending the delicious pleasure. “Rustled” from an old Texas homesite, this strain shows a lot of variability. 13 Y-Y, 10”, zones 6-8S/10WC, from Texas.
Comment courtesy of Old House Gardens

Celebrated in gardens for over 400 years, ‘Maximus’ or ‘Trumpet Major’ is an especially fine form of N. hispanicus with a wild, primeval look. Its trumpet is boldly scalloped and flared, it’s petals make a dramatic star, and it lifts up its face as if worshipping the sun. It’s been treasured by Elizabethan, Victorian, and Arts-and-Crafts gardeners alike — 1 Y-Y, 14-16”, zones 5a-8a(10bWC).
Comment origin - Old House Gardens