Sunday Selections #55
It's Sunday Selections time again!
Time to post photos that have been hiding away in your files, photos that you may have thought would never see the light of day. a tree that you love but thought nobody else would be interested in, for example. Or the one sunset that looks good out of a million sunset photos. Find these shining examples and post them under the Sunday Selections title, then link your post back to Kim at Frog Ponds Rock, because this wonderful idea is hers.
You can use random photos, or choose a themed set, or just put up one single photo.
Add your name to Kim's linky list, then leave her a comment.
My selection today is AGAPANTHUS.
The garden at the western end of the complex I live in is a veritable sea of blue in the weeks just before Christmas.
Agapanthus as far as the eye can see. Well, almost, but there is a lot of agapanthus.
Not my favourite flower, but pretty enough to be photo worthy.
The thing I don't like is how the plants can look so messy once the flowers are gone and the leaves begin to die down.
The flowers are gone now, and the bushes have been cut back by the maintenance gardeners. The leaves are still green, so they don't yet have that messy dying down look.
somewhere in my files, I have a macro shot of an agapanthus flower, which shows that the flowers aren't plain blue, they're delicately striped, in a similar fashion to this white plumbago bloom.
Blue plumbagos have the same centre petal stripe, while the stripe in the agapanthus is often a double stripe.
And I can't find the macro shot, even after a half hour of searching.
I bet I find it when I'm looking for a particular fence photo, or the ham&cheese omelet photo....
Anyway, won't you join us in Sunday Selections?
The rules are above and so very easy.
Time to post photos that have been hiding away in your files, photos that you may have thought would never see the light of day. a tree that you love but thought nobody else would be interested in, for example. Or the one sunset that looks good out of a million sunset photos. Find these shining examples and post them under the Sunday Selections title, then link your post back to Kim at Frog Ponds Rock, because this wonderful idea is hers.
You can use random photos, or choose a themed set, or just put up one single photo.
Add your name to Kim's linky list, then leave her a comment.
My selection today is AGAPANTHUS.
The garden at the western end of the complex I live in is a veritable sea of blue in the weeks just before Christmas.
Agapanthus as far as the eye can see. Well, almost, but there is a lot of agapanthus.
Massed and in full bloom, they can be rather spectacular.
And I can't find the macro shot, even after a half hour of searching.
I bet I find it when I'm looking for a particular fence photo, or the ham&cheese omelet photo....
Anyway, won't you join us in Sunday Selections?
The rules are above and so very easy.
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How lovely to be still looking at flowers.
ReplyDeleteBlue agapanthus, lovely, but as you say, once their flowers die, so messy. And good old plumbago, another gorgeous blue but how it sticks to your clothes when you brush past.
ReplyDeleteI love both agapanthus and plumbago, but they do need some regular maintenance to stay looking good. That gorgeous blue makes it worthwhile though!!
ReplyDeleteLovely, lovely massed agapanthus. Thank you. I really like the stripes as well. It is years since I have had a plumbago. It might be time to renew the friendship.
ReplyDeleteI also like white agapanthus and once I saw a pink one. I have never seen it again though.
Blue agapanthus have been planted around my block units but not as many as around your place. Won't be long before they've finished flowering, the hot weather we're having at the moment will help 'em along :-).
ReplyDeleteDelores; something to make you smile as you gaze out at the snow in your yard.
ReplyDeleteElisabeth; I like the white plumbago more than the blue, maybe just because I don't see it as much. Blue is everywhere.
Toni; regular maintenance is something a lot of people don't think about when choosing plants. They select a pretty little thing in a pot at the nursery, then grumble about it for years after it grows "all over" the yard or fence.
EC; I've never seen a pink agapanthus. I like the dwarf agapanthus now available.
Windsmoke; the flowers are finished now, and the plants have been trimmed to about half their height, so they won't die down too messily I hope.
Love the sea of blue, have you seen the deep, dark blue ags lately?
ReplyDeleteThey are lovely but equally messy.
Arrgh! Plumbago is the bane of my life, hubby is forever covered in it's stuff from brushing underneath our bush to get the bikes out lol.
We dislike agapanthus here, probably as it is so common and often used in shopping centre car parks and the like. In some areas in Vic it is considered a weed, which we totally get.
ReplyDeleteIt is a fun word for 5 year olds, and a great car game is "Agapanthus" (developed by us). First to see an agapanthus has to shout agapanthus. The problem is, confirmation is sometimes difficult as by the time you have finished saying "agapanthus" you are well passed it :)
I believe I have seen pictures of black agapanthus on the internet somewhere ...
I do like agapanthus, the little individual flowers in the large flower head are just so nice. Also last week I love your black hollyhocks. I a had some of them here for years and have only just lost them. Your photos remind me to go searching for some seeds I had saved. Thanks River :)
ReplyDeleteAgapanthus always remind my of my great aunts place. They lined her driveway and led down to her nursery. I think they're a beautiful plant.
ReplyDeleteSam (Learn. Create. Do.)
Agapanthus is my dad's favourite flower, so I've always been around them. We have blue ones and white ones here. So lovely! Not my very favourite either, but beautiful. The plumbago is beautiful, too, and I learned the hard way not to put plumbagos in my hair!
ReplyDeleteJayne; I've seen some that are deeper than the common ones, but not much darker, are they a regular variety or in the new dwarf range? You probably should trim the plumbago, or put the bikes somewhere else?
ReplyDeletepermanently amanda; black agapanthus?? That would be gorgeous!! I have to google now...
Kim; I hope you find your hollyhock seeds. I could send you some, but I'm not sure I'm legally allowed.
Sippies71; didn't recognise your new name there, a lot of older gardens had them, they're a no-fuss plant. Put them in and forget them until pruning or dividing time.
Cassandra Louise; welcome to drifting. My dad's favourite was carnations, he tried forever to grow them, but never could. When he died I put a huge bunch of then in his coffin with him. Agapanthus aren't my favourite, but I do like a massed display like this, and of most other flowers too.
GORGEOUS sea of Agapanthus. I do really like them, but they don't survive our winters here, so can only be kept in a pot. And I'm not good with plants in pots. Can't even keep a cactus alive, let alone an Agapanthus *sigh*. Otherwise I would have lots of them ;-)
ReplyDeleteCarolina; cactus are pretty hardy and hard to kill. Is it possible you're over-watering them? They're desert plants so like drier conditions than usual potplants. Most plants don't like wet feet, so this is something to guard against with potplants that don't have the drainage of plants in the ground. agapanthus are also pretty hardy.
ReplyDeletenice flowers
ReplyDeleteFeel like I'm on another planet -- how do I not know about these flowers?!
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, in the Northern Hemisphere, the ground remains frozen. COME ON SPRING!
Pearl
Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThe agapanthus are lovely. Thank you for sharing these photos. I love flowers and am highly anticipating spring.
ReplyDeleteAdam; welcome to drifting. Agapanthus comes in white as well, also a dwarf version that grows about a third as high as the big ones.
ReplyDeletePearl; I feel for you. Everytime I open my freezer...
Cindi; welcome to drifting. Thank you.
Jenn June; welcome to drifting. I love flowers too, but don't like spring so much as I have bad hayfever with so many pollens around in the later part of the season.
That's too bad they can't stay like that forever. That's perfect!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Elf Mom; you can have them like this forever; just print out one of my pictures.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved agapanthus because they grow anywhere and each flower always looked like a bunch of flowers to me.
ReplyDeleteKath Lockett; they're hardy alright! They have to be to survive in Adelaide with our clay soils.
ReplyDelete