The Bees Were Hiding

This is a cute picture of a bee deep inside of a Ducher rose bloom. I've actually never seen bees getting pollen much from roses until just recently. They've suddenly developed a taste for these blooms. A side mention goes to this lovely little rose that does so well for me in the humid heat of Louisiana.

"I Have a Dream"

My Belinda's Dream rose may be putting on her best show to date. These blooms are full, huge, fragrant, and plentiful. I could not ask for a better rose in Louisiana.

Notice the whole plant. There's not a spot of disease showing. The plant is thriving and blooming like crazy. I have not put any spray on this plant since April. The only care it has had was 2 scoops of rabbit pellets in the spring and a layer of mulch that is now overgrown with bermuda grass. I do have an irrigation system so it gets plenty of water even in droughts. Please click on this bottom photo so you may see it in larger format.

Bloom Progression on Confederate Rose

I love seeing blooms in their various stages of opening. These pictures show a nice progression on my wonderful Confederate rose. This plant is just starting to really come into its own right now. I'm hoping we don't have a frost for several more weeks so this plant can really show off for me. Such a nice plant to have in bloom at this time of year when there aren't many pinks in bloom. Not really a fall color, but who cares?

Long Live the....Monarch?

I just came in from two weeks of working on the ocean. I wasn't expecting to see any monarchs around, but there were two of them fluttering all over my flowers this morning. They really like my tithonias and butterfly bush blooms.

Confederate Rose

The Confederate Rose (Hibiscus mutabilis) is a true Southern favorite. This plant is so easy anyone can grow it. Around this time of the year, they start blooming and what a show they put on. The plant gets huge and voluminous and filled with these lovely flowers. These flowers start off a very light pink in the morning and gradually get a dark rose color by evening. The plant completely dies down after a freeze, but will get huge again the next year. Even when not in bloom, the plant is very handsome in the landscape. My particular plant makes these large single blooms. You can also get the double-bloomed type. They require pretty much no care at all. Put them in a well-drained place, water till they get rooted well, and leave alone. Another great thing about them is that they root very easily so it makes for a wonderful pass-along plant.

Quit Acting Like a Child!

My Julia Child rose is starting a nice fall flush of bloom. Of course, this nice little rose has been blooming all summer long, so it's not like we haven't seen any of her blooms in a while. With the cooling weather the yellow has been a deeper color, so they do look a little nicer. A great little rose to have that smells wonderful, blooms away, and gets little disease for me. The bush does not get very big either, so it's perfect for a small area or a container.

Screensaver Close-ups

Here are some close-ups of flowers around my yard this morning. I like using these for screensaver photos or desktop backgrounds on my computer.

Belinda's Dream Bloom Progression

The bud starts to open. 10-05-09
The bloom opens even more. 10-06-09
The fully open and mature bloom. 10-07-09

An Encore of Encore

Several days ago I posted a picture of one bloom on my Autumn Twist Encore azalea. Here is a picture showing all the variations on the plant. See that some of the blooms are solid magenta while others have the stripes? This is such an unusual trait in a flower. I have this azalea planted in more sun than most azaleas since this is the recommendation for Encores to get the maximum blooms from them all year.

How 'bout Them Pinks?

This is a bud on my Belinda's Dream rose. Such a nice and tight bud that opens into a very full and blousy pink flower.

In cooler and cloudier weather Madame Alfred Carriere blooms tend to be a light pink instead of the normal white. This is a fine example. We have had tons of rain and clouds over the last few days along with cooler weather.

You "Cant" Have Too Many Moonflowers

This is a wonderful combination that is blooming right now on my front fence. It's the rose Mrs. B. R. Cant and a moonflower that has twined its way into the rose bush. The moonflowers are really going to town right now and have definitely become a vine that I intend to plant every year.


Here's a better picture of a Mrs. B. R. Cant bloom. I've sung the praises of this rose in past posts. Suffice to say that it continues to live up to its accolades. Not a speck of disease on this plant for this entire year - and that's with no spraying.

A Couple of Skippers

This is one of the most common butterflies seen in my part of the country. It's called the Long-tailed Skipper. It's very distinguishable because of the long tail. It has a blue coloration on its back, if you can see that area of the butterfly. As you can see, they are fond of Mexican sunflowers (tithonia.) They are also fond of lantana. Click the photo to get a larger view where you can see better.


Yet another butterfly to add to the list of those found in my yard. This is a Checkered Skipper. Rhonda found this one and quickly got the camera so we could get a picture. This one was roosting on my vitex shrub. There are quite a few members of the skipper family and this is one of the most attractive.

Twists and Swirls

This is my Encore azalea, Autumn Twist. It's got swirls and twists of magenta mixed with white. Sometimes a completely magenta bloom will come out. I love this azalea because it blooms all through the year as opposed to the normal azaleas blooming only in the spring. However, it is not nearly as profusely covered in bloom as the once blooming varieties.


Just another shot of my Luna Swirl hardy hibiscus blooming away. I cannot say enough about how everyone should grow hardy hibiscuses. They are such easy and pretty shrubs. Their only issue is they don't take drought very well.