Wordless Wednesday: Orienpet Lily "Satisfaction"

The Constant Gardener

The great empty space beneath the Japanese Maple of my front entry border was bothering me so much, that I decided to implement my new garden design right away. We are having sizzling high-90s temperatures in the D.C. region at the moment, and so I know it is not wise to introduce new plants at this time, but with attentive watering I think they will be okay. I planted a pair of Hydrangea Endless Summer, one on each side of the Maple, and then patches of perennials for shade (left side) and sun (right side). The size and health of these plants has convinced me to resist the lure of cheap mail-order perennials/shrubs in the future, because it is so worth it to pay the extra few dollars (Goldstrum was only $8.99 for a 1 gallon container) to get a high performer that will bloom the very first year.

New Garden Design
3 Astilbe 'Maggie Daley' (back left)
3 Astilbe 'White Gloria' (back left)
3 Lady's Mantle (middle left)
3 Geranium Biokovo (front left)
2 Hydrangea Endless Summer (back center)
3 Coneflower Goldstrum (front center)
6 Echinacea 'Magnus' (back right)
6 Salvia 'May Night' (middle right)
3 Geranium Biokovo (front right)

Wordless Wednesday: Panama Wildlife

--6/5/2010 (Panama City, Panama)

Flora of Panama

Travel is such a huge part of my life, and no matter where I go, there always seems to be so many interesting forms of plant life awaiting me. I vacationed in the Central American nation of Panama for a week earlier this month, and I really enjoyed exploring all of the bright tropical nature that was on offer. The scorching heat and high humidity notwithstanding, I trekked through a "jungle" and hiked through a rain forest, and the biodiversity present was truly impressive.

Butterfly on the Bottlebrush

The recently purchased Bottlebrush Buckeye is doing exceptionally well, giving me 5 foot-long bloom spikes that are apparently very long-lasting.


Best of all, the delicately scented flowers are attractive to butterflies, and a large gorgeous one stopped by to graze this morning.