Introduced by Delbard in 1997 and sharing the name of Prince Rainier of Monaco, the Grimaldi rose leaves a lasting impression of exceptionally elegant beauty – delicate but strong.
This robust and highly disease-resistant shrub rose which flowers from season start to season end and all the way in between, is a magnificent sight when planted in groups so that the flowering bracts can be supported and pushed upwards by each other.
Not caring about what the weather is, this magnificent shrub rose grows easily to 1.5 mts and 1.2 mts wide and just continues to produce branching canes of deep green foliage loaded with single, open and lightly fragrant blooms which, when cut, are very long-lasting in the vase. Grimaldi is ideal for planting as a rose hedge-row, certainly en masse and should be pruned accordingly – with a mechanical hedger or shears.
This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme,
and also part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.
Moss rose, Portulaca grandiflora, is a drought and heat tolerant annual native to hot, dry plains in Argentina, southern Brazil, and Uruguay. This herbaceous plant in the purslane family (Portulacaceae) is cultivated throughout the world as a garden annual for its showy flowers that bloom all summer long with little care. It is related to the weed purslane (P. oleracea), and like that plant has escaped to naturalise in some parts of the country on roadsides and in waste places. In the ornamental industry moss rose may be listed as P. oleracea, P. umbraticola or P. grandiflora, but many cultivars are likely hybrids.
The saucer-shaped, rose-like flowers are produced on the stem tips, held facing up above the foliage, opening from buds that resemble little popcorn kernels. They are only open in bright sunlight, closing at night and on cloudy days, but most of the newer hybrids will remain open throughout the day.
This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.
Dahlia Mystic™ Enchantment is a striking dark-leaved flower. Dahlias are old-fashioned favourites for the flower garden. Plants are usually treated as tender perennials, the tubers lifted in the fall and stored indoors for the winter. This selection from the Mystic™ series, features stunning purple-black foliage with a great show of starry single orange-red flowers with a gold-brown eye. Midsized habit. Excellent in containers and in the border. Be on the lookout for aphids and spider mites, and control these as soon as noticed. Terrific for cutting.
This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.
Sambucus (elder or elderberry) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. It was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified due to genetic evidence. It contains between 5 and 30 species of deciduous shrubs, small trees and herbaceous perennial plants.
The genus occurs in temperate to subtropical regions of the world. More widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, its Southern Hemisphere occurrence is restricted to parts of Australasia and South America. Many species are widely cultivated for their ornamental leaves, flowers and fruit.
The leaves are pinnate with 5–9 leaflets (rarely 3 or 11). Each leaf is 5–30 cm long, and the leaflets have serrated margins. They bear large clusters of small white or cream-coloured flowers in late spring; these are followed by clusters of small black, blue-black, or red berries (rarely yellow or white).
This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.
Agapanthus praecox (Common Agapanthus, Blue Lily, African Lily, or Lily of the Nile) is a native of Natal and Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Local names for this species include agapant, bloulelie, isicakathi and ubani. Most of the cultivated plants of the genus Agapanthus are hybrids or cultivars of this species. The plant is reportedly naturalised in Great Britain, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Eritrea, Ethiopia, St. Helena, Victoria, Norfolk Island, New Zealand, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica and Tristan da Cunha.
Agapanthus praecox subspecies orientalis (shown here) occurs in Eastern Cape and southern KwaZulu-Natal. It has up to 20 poisonous, strap-like leaves per plant which are arching and are not leathery. These range in length from 20 to 70 cm long and 3 to 5 cm wide. Flower colour ranges from various shades of blue to white. Shiny black seeds are produced in three-sided capsules. These have perianth segments which are less than 50 mm in length.
Agapanthus praecox subsp. orientalis is highly regarded for being tough in sun and heat, long-flowering, and is a favourite for many councils in Australia for the landscaping of roads and other public areas which do not get watered. The plant is still widely planted but in some areas it is considered a weed, and planting has been discontinued, although it is not generally regarded as highly invasive.
This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.
