SPEEDWELL

Veronica peduncularis (creeping speedwell) is a plant in the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. The ‘Georgia Blue’ Speedwell (USDA Zone: 4-9) was introduced a few years ago from Russia. This creeping speedwell has proven to be an outstanding selection for a bright display in the Spring garden. Plants form a low creeping mat of deep green leaves, evergreen but turning bronze in the colder months.

Small sapphire-blue flowers are studded all over during the spring, and sometimes again in late summer. Perfect for underplanting with spring flowering bulbs of all kinds, particularly miniature Narcissus. Plants may be easily divided in early Autumn. Clip back hard immediately after flowering, to maintain a tight, thick habit.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

AZURE SAGE

Salvia azurea, the azure blue sage, azure sage, blue sage or prairie sage, is a herbaceous perennial in the genus Salvia, family Lamiaceae, that is native to Central and Eastern North America. Its thin, upright stems can grow to 1.8 m tall, with narrow, pointed, smooth-edged to serrated, furry to smooth green leaves, connected to their stems by petioles to 1.0 cm long. There are no basal leaves.

The blue (rarely white), flowers  nearly 6.4 to 12.7 mm long, appear summer to autumn near the ends of their branched or unbranched spikes; their calyxes are tubular or bell-shaped and furry. Two varieties are Salvia azurea var. azurea (azure sage) and Salvia azurea var. grandiflora (pitcher sage). It is found on the wild on roadsides, glades, fields and pastures.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

CLEMATIS

Clematis is a genus of about 300 species within the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Their garden hybrids have been popular among gardeners, beginning with Clematis × jackmanii, a garden standby since 1862; more hybrid cultivars are being produced constantly. They are mainly of Chinese and Japanese origin. They're very popular in gardens with stunning large flowers.

Most species are climbing and look beautiful trained up a trellis. They will grow best with cool moist roots and plenty of sun. They'll grow in most types of fertile soil. They are fairly easy to grow but are susceptible to various diseases and also to pests so they can be a little high maintenance. There are many different colour varieties, from white to lilac, pink and rich burgundy. The flowers are usually large and star shaped. 

This variety, 'Etoile de Paris' was hybridised by Christen in 1885 and has large, showy blue flowers.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

FOUR SEASONS

The changing moods of the big pond at the Darebin Parklands in suburban Melbourne. Different seasons change the atmosphere, but it's all beautiful!

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Blue Monday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

CITY MORNING

COVID-19 is still at large and wreaking havoc with our lives, not least our travel plans. Local travel and tourism is fortunately an option here in Melbourne, with many places in Victoria still offering a wealth of options for local tourists both in the metropolitan area, as well as further afield, daytripping!

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

PIGEONS

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

TWEEDIA

Oxypetalum coeruleum is a species of flowering plant, native to South America from southern Brazil to Uruguay, in the Apocynaceae family. The synonymous name Tweedia caerulea is also used. Growing to 100 cm, it is a straggling evergreen perennial with heart shaped, gray-green, downy leaves. It is grown for its clear pale blue, star-shaped flowers, which are long lasting and cut well.

The summer flowers age to purple and are followed by 30 cm long, boat-shaped seed pods. The seeds have downy parachute-like tufts (cypsela). The cultivar 'Alba' has white flowers, while 'Rosea' has pink flowers. Oxypetalum coeruleum requires full sun in a well-drained soil that is dry. Propagation is via seed. With a minimum temperature range of 3–5 °C,  it can be grown outdoors in a frost-free, sheltered environment. Alternatively it can be grown as an annual. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

SKY, CAPTURED

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

POLEMONIUM

Attractive, dense ferny foliage makes Polemonium pulcherrimum 'Blue Dove' (also known as Jacob's ladder) a valuable plant for all year round interest in the garden. As an added bonus loose sprays of open bell shaped flowers in a soft shade of blue can appear from spring right through to and including autumn. Its 'lacy' appearance makes it a useful plant for softening hard lines and edges created by rocks, garden edging or paving.

Polemonium is a genus comprising of around 30 species of mostly perennial herbs which are native to regions of North and Central America, Europe and Asia. An excellent plant for general garden use and suitable for most colour schemes. 'Blue Dove' looks particularly at home in woodland type settings or in the cottage garden. It may be grown in semi shade although this may decrease flower production. This, however, is not necessarily a reason to avoid planting it in such locations as the attractive foliage alone will lend a visual appeal to these often difficult landscaping zones. To accent the foliage further create a foil of foliage behind it using larger, broader leafed plants or those with tall slender foliage such as that of Irises.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DALMATIAN BELLFLOWER

Campanula portenschlagiana, the wall bellflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Campanulaceae, native to the Dalmatian Mountains in Croatia. It is a vigorous, low-growing, mound-forming evergreen perennial with deep purple flowers in summer. Other common names include Dalmatian bellflower, Adria bellflower.

The plant forms a mat of foliage about 10 cm high and 50 cm or more wide, with many heart- or kidney-shaped leaves. Deep lilac or blue, funnel-shaped, 5-petalled flowers, 2 cm long, are borne in profusion, completely covering the plant from mid- to late summer. Flowers may be pollinated by beetles, flies, bees and butterflies, but are also capable of self-pollinating. The Latin specific epithet portenschlagiana commemorates the Austrian naturalist Franz von Portenschlag-Leydermayer (1772–1822).

Campanula portenschlagiana is an alpine plant requiring sharp drainage, so is suitable for an alpine garden, rock garden, or as groundcover, in sun or partial shade. Given suitable conditions, it will rapidly colonise cracks and crevices in walls and pavements. It is hardy to USDA hardiness zone 3. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

VERONICA

Veronica is the largest genus in the flowering plant family Plantaginaceae, with about 500 species. Taxonomy for this genus is currently being reanalysed, with the genus Hebe and the related Australasian genera Derwentia, Detzneria, Chionohebe, Heliohebe, Leonohebe and Parahebe included by many botanists.

Common names for veronica include speedwell, bird's eye, and gypsyweed. The species are herbaceous annuals or perennials, and also shrubs or small trees if Hebe is included. Most of the species are from the temperate Northern Hemisphere, though with some species from the Southern Hemisphere.

Veronica chamaedrys (Germander Speedwell, Bird's-eye Speedwell - shown here) is a species of Veronica, native to Europe and northern Asia. It is found on other continents as an introduced species. It is a herbaceous perennial plant with hairy stems and leaves. It can grow to 25 cm tall, but is normally about 12 cm tall. The flowers are blue, with a four-lobed corolla. The form of the leaves are similar to white deadnettle. The 2 to 4 mm wide blossoms of this plant wilt very quickly upon picking, which has given it the ironic name "Männertreu", or "men's faithfulness" in German.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

LOBELIA

Lobelia erinus (Edging Lobelia, Garden Lobelia or Trailing Lobelia) is a species of Lobelia native to southern Africa, from Malawi and Namibia south to South Africa.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

RAINY

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme.

FLIGHT

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

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RAINY

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DAISY SKY

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

BLUE ANGEL

Salvia patens 'Blue Angel' is a striking garden plant with delightful blue flowers. Since the 1838 discovery of this herbaceous species from Central Mexico, Salvia patens has been a mainstay of the perennial garden. Blue Angel is one of the smallest of the full-sized varieties of the so-called 'gentian sages'. Well branched and compact, this variety has 6 cm flowers that are a deep, royal blue and bloom from Summer into Autumn.

It is a reliable perennial, returning year after year in Zones 8 to 11. However, it is so lovely that it is worth growing as a summer bedding plant in colder zones. Blue Angel likes regular watering and rich, well-drained soil. It grows in full sun or partial shade and can handle moist corners of the garden. Use it as a path edging, border, ground-cover or container plant. British horticulturist Graham Stuart Thomas called Salvia patens 'the best plant in cultivation.'

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

CAPE PRIMROSE

A popular house plant, Streptocarpus, is an Afrotropical genus of flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae (the Gesneriads). The genus is native to Afromontane biotopes from central, eastern and southern Africa, including Madagascar. The flowers are five-petalled, salverform tubes, almost orchid-like in appearance, and hover or arch over the plant. In the wild, species can be found growing on shaded rocky hillsides or cliffs, on the ground, in rock crevices, and almost anywhere the seed can germinate and grow.

For the home, there are now many hybrids of various colours and forms available. The genus is defined by having a spirally twisted fruit (from Greek via Latin, where strepto = twisted, carpus = fruit - Greek: Στρεπτόκαρπος), although this character is also found in some other Old World genera of Gesneriaceae. Although generally referred to simply as "Streptocarpus", or "Streps", the common name for subgenus Streptocarpus is "Cape Primrose", referring to the nativity of several species to South Africa and their superficial resemblance to the genus Primula. The common name for subgenus Streptocarpella is "Nodding Violet".

There are a few odd Asian species of Streptocarpus that however do not belong in the genus. Molecular systematics has shown conclusively that they are not true Streptocarpus and should be placed in another genus. DNA studies have shown that, despite not having a twisted fruit, the genus Saintpaulia (African Violets) evolved from within the Tanzanian Streptocarpus subgenus Streptocarpella. This particular hybrid with the striking dark blue flowers is "Anderson's Crows' Wings".

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

MINE

Two creations of mine about 20 years apart. The blue pastel sketch on the right was done first in a live figure drawing session. The photograph on the left was taken yesterday. They both depict similar feelings I was experiencing at the time.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

FELICIA

Felicia amelloides (blue daisy) is a herbaceous perennial of family Asteraceae, native to South Africa. Its beautiful blue flowers are quite striking and do well without much care. Pruning and dead-heading is essential, though.

This post is part of the Floral Friday meme.