|
Several weeks ago I posted a photo on Facebook of a Dunce Cap succulent in my garden that was producing a death bloom. (See the top photo) This is a tower of buds that indicates the main plant is going to die, but not before producing a lot of seeds. I had never seen this before and so was curious about what would happen next. Well, it has been so interesting to watch! First, the blooms extended up to the top of the tower and then, over time, proceeded to turn pink and then reddish. (See the last 2 photos.) Currently, all that is left are dried, brown stalks but, of course, all the pups that had been sent out from the old plant are doing well. So, now I know! It's such an interesting plant!   
0 Comments
We've been enjoying temperatures that hovered around 20C• but the winter winds have finally arrived! Today the high is 13°C and it looks like more of the same ahead. Oh, that wind is strong and cold! And yet, I still have flowers blooming in my garden! YES! There are just a few purple toadlilies in bloom at the moment. Their season is coming to an end. However, a white and yellow one I bought this year is still blooming away. They are quite small compared to the others and, at first, I wasn't sure if I was going to have any luck. Looks like they really are "late bloomers"! (^.~)  Every year the local ward office gives away 1,000 rose bushes. People who live in the ward can apply and the winners are chosen in a lottery. We applied 2 years in a row and had luck both times! This is the one my husband won. It's called "Blue Moon". I've had a lot of trouble with my roses this year and, at one point, I wasn't sure our "Blue Moon" was going to survive. Thinking the end was near, I put it in a corner of the garden and left it alone. (At that point I had done everything I could.) To my relief, it continued to grow, then produced buds, and finally bloomed just a few days ago. I'm so pleased! (There are 2 rose season here in Japan: late spring and fall.)  It's cold out - maybe +11C - and I've been outside doing garden chores most of the afternoon. There is always debris to clear away and plants to fuss over. My hands are now ice but I certainly can't complain since Canada is currently experiencing a severe cold snap that makes +11C look positively tropical! Yikes! There isn't very much that is interesting out there now, I'm afraid. Everything looks a rather bare and there are few flowers although my geraniums are still blooming regularly. Bless them! All my maple trees are completely bare except this one tree with the two seed pods that you see below. We had a ferocious wind storm last week. It was so bad that trains stopped running and schools were closed. I'm not quite sure how these two managed to stay attached! Despite the cold, there are already signs of spring. Various bulbs that I planted in the fall are already sending up greenery. It always makes me a little uneasy since it's going to get a lot colder in the coming weeks. They should be fine, of course, but it partly depends on how cold it gets. Let's not break any cold weather records this winter, please!  Ah! It's spring! The weather is glorious and the garden calls but, unfortunately, there is much work to be done. This means that I spend more time than I would like sitting at my computer and wistfully counting the hours until I can get back out there. Thankfully, it's a relatively easy time of year as the garden doesn't really need me and I'm reaping the rewards of months of hard work. Still, I wish I had more time just to sit out there and enjoy it. (Who doesn't! (^.~)) There are lots of flowers blooming out in the garden right now but the current garden thrill has to be my purple iris. I have several varieties of iris but I bought this one last year hoping to add some colour to my small collection. Goodness, did it ever! I knew it was going to be purple, of course, but I had no idea it would be so beautiful. Such a lovely surprise! Thank you, purple iris! (As for the others, not a single iris bloomed this year which is most curious. I gave them all the same treatment and they all look healthy but there's not a bloom in sight. I'd love to hear from you if you have any suggestions or advice.) (Click on the thumbnail for the full image.) |
BLOG
I'm a photographer based in Osaka, Japan. I love to take photographs. I like to share.
Archives
December 2021
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed