Rose of Sharon BudHibiscus syriacus
Most gardeners are familiar with this great summer flowering plant. I bought about 20 of them and planted them in one area and it is just a riot of color right now. For a lot of years the deer kept the flowering down but they also made the plants bushier and more compact (trying to make a positive here). I have since taken to pruning them hard in the spring to keep them from being overgrown. There seems to be a nice range of colors and flower types available now. I am partial to the blue ones but like them all. I have seen them grown as a shrub, a tree and a hedge so they seem pretty versatile. Looking around the net I noticed a lot of people complaining about the seedlings and that plants are late to leaf out. I haven’t had a lot of seedlings but the ones I am growing are named varieties so they maybe sterile. As far as leafing out late I have never noticed that (it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen) and I guess if I had it planted in front of the house that might be problem. Those are minor problems in my mind. The color these shrubs provide are worth it.
Both of these pictures are leftovers from trying to find something that started with the letter ‘A’. I also took this picture of Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima). I had a post on Alyssum awhile back:
This is a purple cultivar called ‘Oriental Night’. I bought a few growers packs of seed (it is like 25 packets) and spread some here and there, in situ.
I think this last picture is a Crab or Flower Spider (Thomisus spectabilis) sitting on a Coneflower. It is a master of disguise and ambush. This is the first time I have seen one at the Estate in over 20 years but from what I understand they like to keep a low profile. I took a few pictures of him (her, actually) and when I went back to show the person I was working with sure enough she was munching on a small fly. Unfortunately that picture didn’t come out.
