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If I Had to Pick a Favorite
I have been going on about the garden lately. I'm really immersed in it...trying to get things in order in what seems like way too short a time. But, of course, I had to take a time out and snap some pictures yesterday.
I have several types of plants that I just...love. As far as annuals go, I adore begonias of all kinds, the more unusual the better. The same with geraniums (pelargoniums, actually...) I comb the greenhouses for unusual fancy and/or scented varieties. I always have at least four hanging geranium baskets. My yard is lousy with pelargoniums and begonias...but, if I had to pick favorite annual, it would be these--Fuchsias. There's just something about the delicate elegance of the flowers, the generous nature of the plants, the way they lend exotic beauty to the shady areas of the garden. I grow tender fuchsias in pots...haul them into the greenhouse in the fall, and pray they survive until the next spring. I've planted hardy fuchsias right in the ground...(well, not in THIS ground), and thrilled to the green shoots coming up from the roots at the end of a hard winter. Or watched them bloom well into November during a mild one.
It's funny...I never liked growing roses, because they take so much painstaking care...I just didn't have the patience. But fuchsias...They are the first plant I ever tackled that was the least bit persnickety. You have to baby them some, but they reward your efforts with a continuous show of blooms that you never tire of gazing at. Roses don't do it for me, but... ah, how do you explain love? It's pure illogical emotion!
I don't like roses either...I thought I was the only woman on earth. It may stem from having the chore of picking off the Japanese Beetles from my parents' prize ones, but whatever. I must say I like the silk variety. RoseBUDS are super-cool, but anything that has thorns on it needs to be avoided, doesn't it? We Scots are supposed to like thistles, too. Such hostile plants? Nah.
ReplyDelete~~mumsy
Those fuchsias are beautiful. The cranky nature of roses is why I prefer wild roses. Even though, I noticed black spots on the leaves of one of mine today, wild roses tend to be easier to handle.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved fuchsias. They are spectacular. But I've never had good luck with them, either in the ground or in baskets. However...the year we lived in CA we had a LARGE fuchsia bush on the side of our building. That's where I first learned to love them. I'm not a big rose fan either. They're pretty and they smell nice but they don't grab me. We have a couple of rose bushes here but we leave them to fend for themselves. They seem to be surviving severe neglect.
ReplyDeleteKat--fuchsias are heavy feeders...I "Miracle Grow" mine every two weeks during the summer. And they like to be cool and rather damp. Our weather here is perfect for them, except in mid-summer...I have to mist them when it gets really warm and dry.
ReplyDeleteThat's the thing about roses...they seem to produce beautiful flowers no matter how much you neglect them. The plants can look like hell (and mine DO) but they still crank out the blooms. Lisa :-]
Great pictures. I love begonias, too. I love roses, though I don't have any at this house because my husband keeps wanting to move every few years and I'm not about to plant them for someone else to enjoy (aren't I sweet). But my dream is to have a house with beautiful roses all along the front of the house. You really do have a green thumb, it would appear...
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely description of these elegant plants! You do have a green thumb. My one attempt at fuchsias fell horribly flat; as you say, they like cool and damp and we mostly do hot and dry. So hardy shrubs like roses thrive, and delicate blooms...we just miss. I imagine your garden must be beautiful! I wish I had your gift. :)
ReplyDeleteI love fushias, too, but I sometimes think our weather is too hot for them here in the South. They don't seem to thrive here in my yard, but maybe that is because they don't do well with Beanie Babies making nests in them and plastic horses living in them...
ReplyDeleteLovely photos! I love flowers, but I'm not knowledgable or skilled with how to do anything with them. The best I can hope for is to enjoy other peoples' or the ones that happen to pop up unexpectantly. :-)
ReplyDelete