Garden Shots June 30 09

You have a 28 year old hibiscus? I was not aware they could survive that long. Wow.

-- Zone 4a or 4b... depending on where you are standing!

Is that a tropical hibiscus, jroot? What a vibrant colour.

I love the pic of the mama flycatcher and the babies. :-)

Great shots of the individual blooms. I did not grow any dahlias this year. I would like to, my dad aways had them, but they are a large plant and I don’t know where I would put them. They have such a variety of blooms and long lasting too. You will have a steady supply of beautiful flowers now till freeze-up. Lucky you.

The water lily is gorgeous. Such an exotic flower.

Thanks for sharing.

-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'

Actually, I have two hibiscus trees that I bought for my old house, the first year after the 1st addition. They were purchased in 1981, so if my math is correct …. I have transplanted them into larger pots a couple of times, and feed them regularly in the summer. In the winter, they come inside and are put beside the family room window, where they bloom all winter as well …. after making new leaves to adjust to the different light condition … a bit messy , but well worth the effort.

Iris, yes, it is a tropical hibiscus. I have some others in various shades of single and double yellows also.
I actually have three different waterlilies in the pond. One white, one pink as you can see, and one orange which has yet to bloom, but it looks good and strong. I eagerly await its bloom.

-- jroot

and you have a water lily in flower? I’m so jealous! (again).

Beautiful flowers… beautiful

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a) http://www.execulink.com/~yohan

This one is my second one. The first one was a beautiful white. ... and I have a huge frog often sitting among the lilies, just waiting for an unsuspecting fly … the ones that the fly catchers don’t get. LOL

-- jroot

Very nice. The pond must be lovely, the lily is beautiful.

-- Xploreorganics, 5b Canada, LFD 06-20

Love those dahlias Jroot.Sure wish I had room to grow a bunch of them.My red hibiscus is in bloom again too.I just love that bush.All year long it flowers.

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

Hey JRoot, just a question. I notice you have lots of Dahlias but are you not in Zone 5 in Canada? It’s my understanding that Dahlias are for Zone 8 and higher . I am zone 7 and want to grow some, will I need to winter them inside? Or will they do just fine since we are so close to zone 8 we may as well be it….lol.

-- my work in progress

Actually, I AM in zone 5 in Canada.

You are correct about your understanding that they need protection in the winter. Many people in the south leave them in the ground, if it doesn’t get too cold. You of course realize that they will have to be separated in the spring to get maximum production.

In every zone there are microclimates. Yours MIGHT be okay in zone 7 if near the house, but it is hard to say. Why not try an experiment? Bring some inside for the winter, and leave a few out, just to see if they survive. That way, you will learn about your own growing area. Here where I am, some parts of the property are like zone 5B or even 6, but other parts are like zone 4. Getting to know your property’s personality is the fun part of gardening. There are no pat answers, just general trends. LOL

-- jroot

Same situation here. I am in zone 5a, but right along the southeast corner of my house is more like zone 6. Go out 3 feet, yoou’re back in 5, the northwest corner is more like 4 ( heavily shaded, and catches the wind to boot.)

-- the day you quit learning is the day you quit living.

Yup, that @#$% northwest corner. Same here. ;-(

-- jroot

Beautiful flowers, jroot. You obviously give them exactly what they need to be happy and healthy to bloom so beautifully, some for 28 years! I really like the orange color of the one nastutium.

-- Robin, Massachusetts - "Live simply so others can simply live." M. Gandhi