Blooming in my garden: Gladiolas

Unknown cultivar © Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Bearded iris ‘Megabucks’

Bearded iris (Iris germanica), photographed at Green Spring Gardens; I think this is the ‘Megabucks’ cultivar, and it’s one of the most unexpected, gaudiest (and prettiest) color combinations I’ve seen to date in a Bearded iris!

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Carpenter bee on Blanket Flower

Carpenter bee on Blanket Flower (Gaillardia grandiflora) ‘Oranges and Lemons’ cultivar

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Bell Agapanthus

Native to South Africa, the Bell Agapanthus (Agapanthus campanulatus) is commonly known as Lily of the Nile, although it is not a lily. This herbaceous perennial blooms in summer and is hardy from zones 8 to 10. Several cultivars and hybrids are winter hardy to zone 7. I photographed this emerging bloom yesterday at Green Spring Gardens.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Daylily

Daylily (Hemerocallis); I think this might be the ‘Black Eyed Stella’ cultivar; photographed at Brookside Gardens

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Lilytopia 2011

From the Lilytopia signage:

About the Designer: This breathtaking exhibition of lilies was created by Dorien van den Berg, the famed and world-inspired designer from The Netherlands. Dorien was born in The Netherlands and at the age of fourteen was introduced to flower exhibition at the renowned Keukenhof, The Netherlands. She was inspired by these shows and focused her studies on horticulture. She traveled the world and learned different flower arranging styles in Brussels, Vienna, America, Japan and other countries. Years of experiencing different cultures and learning new flower arranging styles have made Dorien what she is and what she creates today. For Longwood Gardens, she carefully selected materials and lily cultivars that create a design that balances color, texture and form to transform the Conservatory into a true LilyTopia.

Lilytopia 2011 showcases over 11,000 cut lilies and 1,500 calla lilies. Learn more about Lilytopia behind-the-scenes in the following links:

http://www.marthastewart.com/270900/lily-glossary?video_id=0

https://longwoodgardens.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/countdown-to-lilytopia-2011/

Photo © Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Oriental Lily ‘Apogee’

New Oriental Lily ‘Apogee’ from Gebr. Vletter & Den Haan

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Oriental Lily ‘Pink Coral’

When we visited Longwood Gardens yesterday, we were smitten by “Lilytopia,” the main Conservatory exhibit that will run until this Monday, May 30. More than 13,000 stems graced the Conservatory, including varieties that have never been seen in North America. The exhibit was inspired by the world-famous lily show at Keukenhof, a historic park in Holland. The show designer is Dorien van den Berg, a floral designer who designs the annual Keukenhof Lily Show. There were lilies everywhere—from tall towers covered entirely with the blooms to individual vases full of flawless specimens. There were several hundred types of hybrids and cultivars—some not even named yet. I shot several photos of the displays and will share them in a future posting, but in the interim, check out Longwood Gardens’ blog here to see behind-the-scenes of Lilytopia.

Over the past five to six years, I have been growing lilies in my garden and now have more than a dozen different types. I added two new ones from Longwood Gardens to my garden yesterday—Gizmo, an extra large white LO Hybrid, and Bonbini, a cream/white Orientpet with pretty pink accents. I was looking for “Eyeliner,” but they were sold out (take a look at the link for it and you’ll see just why! It’s a beautiful white LA Hybrid with thin dark outlines around the entire petal—making it look like it stepped off the pages of a coloring book, just waited to be filled in! Check it out here.

You can order directly from The Lily Store online here. Lilies have always been one of my top ten flowers because they are extremely showy, infinitely photogenic and so easy to care for. Demure, they are not. That—I can most certainly relate to.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

White Spiderwort

I think this is the Tradescantia x andersoniana ‘Innocence’ cultivar.

Photographed at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, Virginia

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Japanese Bleeding Heart

Japanese Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis) is a perennial that prefers partial sun to full shade. A good plant for naturalizing, it works well in woodland settings and should be divided every three years. Photographed at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, Virginia

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Blooming in my garden: Iceland Poppy ‘Champagne Bubbles’

The Iceland Poppy (Papaver nudicaule), a hardy but short-lived perennial, is native to subpolar regions of North America and northern Europe. This cultivar is ‘Champagne Bubbles’ and the flowers bloom in orange, pink, scarlet, apricot, yellow or creamy white. They prefer full sun but are not hardy in hot weather. The wild Iceland Poppy species bloom in white or yellow.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Sinonome Toad Lily

Herbaceous perennial Sinonome Toad Lily (Tricyrtis x ‘Sinonome’), photographed at Green Spring Gardens. A very old cultivar grown as a cut flower in Japan, this exotic perennial blooms in late summer/early fall and prefers moist to wet well-drained soil in partial to full shade. It grows 2-3 feet tall, spreads 12-18 inches and is hardy in Zone 5-8.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.