Sunday Selections # 146



Welcome back to Sunday Selections!

This once-a- week-meme was originally begun by Kim of Frog Ponds Rock, as a way to showcase some of the many photos we all take, but don't get around to showing on our blogs.
Kim spends more time writing at The Shake these days.

The rules are very simple:-
1. post photos of your choice, old or new, under the Sunday Selections title
2. link back to me, River, somewhere in your post
3. leave me a comment so that I know you've joined in and can come over and see what you've posted.
4. hop on over to The Elephant’s Child to see more of her wonderful photos.

Kath and Andrew often join in as well, although Kath has been quite busy lately and unable to join us.
There are several other participants now though:
Jackie K at WorkingThrough It

I usually go with a theme for my Sunday Selections and this week I'm continuing with some photos of my garden.

First up....I thought I'd copy Elephant's Child and show you my birds

a couple of cheeky lovebirds moved into the tree right beside my steps. At least I think they're lovebirds....

they've stayed so long a few spiders have moved in with them.

cobwebs from head to toe.

the birds don't seem to mind, they look quite happy.

moving into the garden....

hiding in between the roses and the agapanthus is this tiny bush of little daisies, hardly higher than my ankle. 

I like them, I think they're very pretty and a lovely colour. 

the next two photos aren't from my garden at all.....

a footpath hedge of erigeron, (the seaside daisies), this is what I hope to have once my plants all grow up and into each other. 

same hedge from the other end. I think one of these would look lovely in front of the roses here.

back to my front porch....

the buddleia bud from last week has opened and I'm surprised to find it is white. I was sure I'd taken cuttings from the purple bush.

I'm holding the flower spike upright for the photo. These blooms are too heavy for the thin stems they grow on and usually hang horizontal or downward.....

...like this. See the two smaller blooms forming on each side? That's what buddleias do. 

the florets open from the bottom first and as the opening continues upward, the bottom florets brown and die,

while the florets at the tip are yet to open. Once the whole spike browns, I will cut that one off and the two side spikes will continue opening. They are always a little smaller than the central spike.

Buddleias also come in a pink, which never seems to grow for me, the purple as I mentioned earlier, and there is a yellow form which I have seen in a few gardens, but not many and none around here. 
I once asked about the yellow at a nursery and was told they don't exist....next time I see one in a garden I will knock on the door and ask for a cutting.














Comments

  1. Love it. Those love birds were very, very laid back.
    We have the purple buddleia - and I would love to see a yellow one. And yes, have a cutting too.

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  2. Be thankful that those lovebirds aren't the live variety. Our neighbours had a pair - for 2 days. They look all sweet and innocent in the pet shop, but once they are home they scream the place down.

    We have two buddleia - a pink one and a multi-coloured one (Buddleja davidii 'Flower Power') that the bees and butterflies flock to in droves in the summer. They are stunning bushes and such graceful flowers. I agree - ask for a cutting of that yellow one!

    I really love that little mauve daisy - it looks so delicate. A bit like a November aster.

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  3. It looks a little like lilac. And those love birds....are you sure they aren't zombie love birds?

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  4. The love birds are cute, but perhaps it is time for them to have a wash. That's strange about the plant cutting. If it was grown from seed, I could understand it.

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  5. Maybe what Marie says explains it.

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  6. You're cultivating quite the flower bed. I don't know buddleia; it's lovely and delicate.

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  7. Love the lovebirds:-) Buddleias are wonderful for attracting butterflies - wildlife needs all the help it can get.

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  8. Maybe the soil decides the colour, they are pretty flowers, spiders are everywhere at the moment they are all moving under cover it's a bit worrying but the lovebirds do have some company.
    Merle...............

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  9. Elephant's Child; I learned from Marie via email the yellow variety is called buddleia x weyeriana "Honeycomb" butterfly bush, perhaps you could order one by that name.

    Marie; my mum had lovebirds in a large outdoor aviary, they seemed quiet, perhaps they don't like to be in smaller cages. I've had several pink buddleias over the years and they just up and die on me. The purples and whites grow like Jack's beanstalk.

    Delores; the flowers are similar, but lilac stems are more robust, a harder wood, so the flowers are more upright. I think zombie lovebirds would be grey....

    Andrew; I'll leave the birds alone, even spiders need a home, a place that isn't inside my house. The cutting is definitely from the white bush, I checked last time I was there and found the purple one has been cut down with only a stump being left. Since it was the bigger of the two a few years ago I just assumed I was taking cuttings from that.

    Joanne; google images of Buddleia Davidii, yes double "i", and see them. They grow quite tall and untidy if left alone, so should be cut back fairly hard at least every couple of years. My daughter's bush is huge and messy and glorious.

    jabblog; that's my plan, butterflies, bees and hoverflies.

    Merlesworld; the soil decides the colour for hydrangeas, but I haven't heard it does that for anything else. I simply got cuttings from the wrong bush, have since discovered the purple one has been cut down and is now just a stump under the spreading branches of the white one. I may dig up the stump a bit and see if it is still alive. I'd like to get it going again if I can.

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  10. Such pretty pics! I felt like reaching out and dusting off those poor birdies! :)

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  11. The lovebirds are cute but maybe a touch of flyspray would help tidy them up a bit or even a gentle squirt with the garden hose. Pretty them up for the festive season.
    Those seaside daisies of yours should spread fairly readily and they are so lovely. Are the blue daisies michaelmas daisies? Trying to place them. A beautiful colour.
    It's amazing but I've never seen buddleias before. They are so lovely and I must try and find some somewhere in a nursery. Will look them up and see what requirements they need etc.
    Thanks again for a lovely lot of Sunday selections.

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  12. We could learn a thing or two about chilling out and not sweating the small stuff from those birds ... In the 1st pic I thought they were real!!!

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  13. Happy Elf Mom; the birdies are very happy as they are. If I dust them off the spiders will have to find a new home, maybe in my home and that's a no-no.

    Kelley; and they're so tiny, about an inch across.

    Mimsie; I'll leave the birds alone, spiders need a home too. I don't know what the daisies are, I'll google tomorrow and see what I can find.

    Red nomad OZ; I'm getting quite good at chilling out, easy for me since I've never really sweated the small stuff anyway. The birds do look real from a distance.

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  14. Here in the midwest, everything is brown and drab, so seeing your gorgeous flowers perked me up. Do you live down under?

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  15. The little blue daises are lovely. My agapanthus are looking very sad and yellow at the moment - sitting tight until spring

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  16. Hello River,
    Lovely of you to stop by my blog (via Mimsie's) and I'm enjoying some of your posts!
    When I lived in the Hunter Valley, I grew the purple, yellow, pink and white budds (butterfly bushes) with the purple being the most robust.
    I thought your love-birds were real too in the first pic. :)

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  17. Linda O'Connell; yes I'm downunder, in Adelaide in south Australia. I'm happy to give you a little cheery colour. Have you been to see the Elephant's Child's postings? Her garden is so fabulous, and Mrelesworld too with her shady trees, paths and pots of colour, gnomes too.

    Molly; they're such a lovely shade of blue aren't they? Spring is a long time coming for you, so perhaps I'll include a photo of our agapanthus next week.

    Rose~from Oz; I always found the purple to be the most robust too. My daughter's white one has taken over that corner of her yard now though, with the purple being gone. I'll have to look up the Hunter Valley, not quite sure where it is.

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