It's hard to remain hopeful these days when every newscast brings new reasons for worry - or anger. I've tried to limit my news consumption but I still read and digest more than may be healthy on a daily basis. My garden remains a refuge and, whether walking through it to water, pull weeds, deadhead flowers, prune rampant growth or simply snap photos, it manages to distract me, bringing my blood pressure down and clearing my mind, if only for awhile.
I thought I'd share a few of the casual distractions that caught my attention this week as my Wednesday Vignette, rather than enumerating the circumstances that had me climbing a wall.
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For some reason, a Gulf Fritillary landed on this Agave americana medio-picta 'Alba' and spent enough time there to allow me to get a couple of decent shots
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Agapanthus 'Stevie's Wonder', planted as bulbs last year, produced their first blooms. I arguably don't need any more Agapanthus but I couldn't resist its dark blue color when I saw it in a catalog last year.
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I planted a handful of Crocosmia last year and promptly forgot all about them. I've no record of how many I planted or where I put them but this one made a surprise appearance in the back border.
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This unusual Sisyrinchium called 'Quaint and Queer' was in full bloom this week but I had a devil of a time photographing its tiny flowers. This was my best shot.
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The seedpod of my Moroccan peony (Paeonia cambessedesii) ripened and burst open to reveal shiny dark blue seeds against a bright red background
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I cut the peony's seedpod and planted those seeds in pots in the hope that at least one or two will produce a new plant.
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I couldn't find any references describing the requirements for growing these peonies from seed but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. Each of these pots got 3 seeds and I planted the the last one directly in the ground.
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All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
