Joe & Mindy's Perennials

Watering is an important part to gardening, especially here in Oklahoma. I try to do my best and help with the watering chores. Whenever Mindy and Joe forget to do the watering I remind them by sharpening my claws on the furniture and stereo speakers. This usually gets them moving around very quickly and when they put me outside it reminds them to water the garden. I am just making sure I contribute. I just wish they looked more pleased when I remind them....puurrrrr....reow meow.

Perennials

Caladium Hortulanum - "Candidum", "Frieda Hemple"      The striking arrow shaped leaves are spectacular!...paper thin and beautifully marked and colored. This vibrant foliage is not permanent and lasts only from late spring to early autumn. The flower is rarely seen. (Tuber)  Chrysanthemum - "Shasta Daisy",  "Pink" ,  "Pinker", "Mix" ,  "RedFace1",  "RedFace2" , "Picture2"      Joe & Mindy, "love me", they "love me not", they  "love me!!!" Meow!! I had to be sure that Mindy and Joe really like me by plucking off the petals on a daisy flower. We have been really impressed by this two year old clump of flowers raised from seed. (HP: Early Summer)  Cineraria maritima - "Dusty Miller"      Meow, this plant is a bit perplexing. Its leaves are covered with a powdery silver coating. When I walk by too close, I can ocassionally brush the leaves free of the silvering and see the green leaf below. Mostly these plants are grown for their foliage but they do produce yellow flowers. (HHP: Midsummer - Autumn)  Crocus chrysanthus - Picture      One of the first flowers to appear in the Spring. Since all cats, like myself, can read the minds of other creatures, I knew that last fall there was a mole rooting around the flower bed. Joe & Mindy were afraid the mole or gopher had eaten the crocus corms. We can report that most of them bloomed the this Spring. (Corm)  Dahlias - "Procyon" "Humpty Dumpty" "Edinburgh", "Edinburgh & Apeldoorn", "Apeldoorn" , "Edinburgh2",  "What is it?" , "Red Riding Hood"      Sometimes what you think you buy is not what you get. It seems that the varieties of big dinner-plate dahlias we thought we were getting have so far seemed not to be what have flowered. Hmmmmm, this has left Joe & Mindy just a little puzzled. They are trying to properly identify what flowers and plants they really have. The list of types above reflect what we thought we were getting. (P: Summer)  Dwarf Delphinium/Larkspur - "Neon Daze Blue"  Elephant Ear "Big Ears!",  "Elephant Ear Flower!"  Fuchsia - "Winston Churchill Variety" "Coachman", "Mission Bells"      Not an easy little shrub to keep happy. It tends to be a favorite of white fly and mealy bug. Of course, that could just be because Joe & Mindy are still learning what to do for this plant. We understand that this plant does best in a controlled greenhouse environment. We all think it has some interestingly pretty flowers. (GSh: Summer)  Gaillardia pulchella "Red Plume", "Indian Blanket" , "Big Flower"      This is a common wild flower in many southern states. They bloom wildly and abundantly. The plants will tolerate drought conditions and do best when nearly ignored. "Indian Blanket" can easily take over a hill or grassy area because they self sow their seeds. In fact, purrrrrr, some of our plants this year volunteered from last year's plants. There were easily hundreds of free seedlings this year. (P: Summer - Mid Autumn)  Gladiolus "Black Stallion" "Smokey Lady" "High Style" "Blue Ribbon" "Beverly Ann" "Green Isle" "Tiger Flame" "Nova Lux" & "My Love" "Priscilla" ,"Priscilla2", "Priscilla3" "Victor Borge" ,"April Fresh" ,"Plumtart", "Traderhorn"      I think Mindy wants to secretly be a commercial Gladiolus grower. At last count, which is sometimes hard for a cat, Mindy had collected nearly 250 gladiolus corms. And as the year progresses there will be many more images added to this spot. (Corm: Summer)  Hosta undulata - "Frances Williams" "Elegans", "Elegans2"      Hosta is a dual-purpose plant, grown for its spikes of trumpet-shaped flowers as well as its attractive broad leaves, often variegated or distinctly colored. Hosta thrives in partial shade making it ideal for garden situations that other plants do not prefer. (HP: Summer)  Hippeastrum hybrida - "Amaryllis (mistake)"      Amaryllis and Hippeastrum are often confused...both are large bulbs which produce clusters of trumpet-like flowers on thick  stalks. The popular "Amaryllis" offered for sale in autumn is really Hippeastrum hybrid. These hybrids are often orange, purple, white, pink, or red...they are sometimes edged or striped in other shades. (GP: Forced in December - March)  Hyacinthus - "Mixed Colors" "Close-Up" "A Bunch" "Pink & Purple"      Nothing is better to tickle the nose in early Spring than the wonderful smell of Hyacinthus wafting through the air. For a cat like me, it's almost but not quite as enticing as catnip. This is the perfect bulb for an early and gorgeous Spring flowering. (Bulbs: March - April)  Iris - "Bearded" Field of Blue, "Artistic" , "Heavenly Blue", "Blue2" , "Burgundy Wine"      Meow...Mindy loves Iris. It is a good thing too. I like iris as well. We bought a whole bunch of rhizomes last fall without knowing what colors and varieties we were getting, thus we are always surprised at what flowers we get. Only a few of the new plants managed a bloom this year, but one did bloom with a gorgeous dark burgandy/brown  wine flower. (picture above) (HHP: Late Spring - Early Summer)  Lilium - "Oriental Star Gazer", "Star Gazer2" , "Asiatic Cindy", "Asiatic Trendsetter" , "Trendsetter2", "Trendsetter3"  Narsissus - "Daffodils" "Butterfly Narcissi", "Close-up"      Unfortunately, most of Mindy & Joe's daffodils got zapped by a late hard freeze, but we did get some "Split-Corona" or "Butterfly" Narcissi to give us some flowers this year. The common name "Daffodil" is used when the central cup is as long as or longer than the petals. Best of all, nothing likes to eat the bulbs. (Bulbs: March - April)  Pelargonium domesticum "Martha Washington" "Prince" "Dolly Vavra" "Baron"      Martha Washington or Regal geraniums. Unlike the Zonals, the  Regals have only one season of flowering, but this is extremely spectacular. I get the impression that Joe really likes the flowers on the "Baron." (GP: Late Spring)  Pelargonium hortorum - "Zonal Geranium" "Staccato" "Grossersorten" , "Cherry Pink", "Cherry Rose" , "Stadtbern", "Red Zonal" , "Grossersorten & Stadtbern", "Red Zonal2" , "Pink Cherry", Picture1 , Picture2      The geranium is one of Joe's favorite summer bedding plants, but it is not really a geranium at all - it is a Zonal Pelargonium. The flowers can be different types; stellar, double, single, and cactus. The leaves can come in many fancy styles, and even scented pelargoniums are  available. From climbing ivies, to Regals, to Zonals the pelargonium is just a darned cool plant. (HP: Summer)  Pelargonium peltatum - "Ivy Geranium" "Mexicali Geranium" Picture , "Mixed Mexicali", "Red & White"      Another relative is the Ivyleaf pelargonium, bearing  succulent-like leaves with trailing stems and a multitude of different flower colors and types. (HP: Summer)  Tulipa - "Blue Parrot" "Attila"      The tulip was first discovered some 400 years ago in Turkey and parts of Asia. The "Tulip Craze" in the early 1600s was a time when tulip bulbs were traded for amounts of money, wine, crops, houses, and gold. The Dutch government outlawed this tulip speculation in 1637. Today they are a wonderful addition to the Spring garden. (HP/HA: Early Summer - Mid Summer depending on type.)