Tree Peony Let-Down

So last Spring around this time I bought a tree peony at a local nursery, whose label simply read "Yellow", and which in person was a lush, double yellow flower with pink picotee edges. Gorgeous!:

Yellow Tree Peony May 2010

Unfortunately, this is what it is this spring--a single, pink flower:

"Yellow" Tree Peony May 2011

Now, don't get me wrong; it's still lovely, but...it's a bit of a let-down after last year. I've heard of the offspring of cultivars propogated from seed reverting to the cultivar's parent species, but the same plant blooming differently year to year? Huh.

The Brown Iris

Brought this baby from TX (where I had ordered it from some online company), sadly, I have long lost it's name-tag, so I just call it The Brown Iris. All my irises have buds on them now, but this one is blooming gangbusters first. The others may open while I'm on my trip to Maconga, so I ran out to take lots of pics of this one (as always, clicking the pics will take you to a larger view):

Monticello Inspiration

Inspired by our trip to Monticello this weekend!  Picked up a few plants for sale there at there gift shop and a few more here.
Clematis Pitcheri--this is an old-fashioned, native kind that blooms in little bells; related to the Clematis Texensis I used to grow, so I snapped it up at the Monticello gift shop.  Also found a similar one at a local nursery: Clematis Roguchi (although this is a newer Japanese varietal).  Another vining plant, this time for partial shade is the Dutchman's Pipe Vine--this is an awesomely cool plant and I had one in TX but gave it away when we moved.  Another native, this will attract Pipevine Swallowtails.  "Nora Barlow" Columbine--the tiny, very ruffled pinky-green flowers on this one are adorable!  Observe the one I brought home:

Aquilegia vulgaris 'Nora Barlow'

Final purchase at Monticello's garden shop was Dwarf Crested Iris.  Back in town I found Cornflowers or Bachelor's Buttons at a local nursery and bought a pot, since they were growing abundantly in the flower beds of Monticello, as seen here:

Cornflower: Centaurea montana in Monticello flower bed


Plus, you must admit, these flowers are like some sort of alien life-form:

This is pretty early for a perennial to bloom--and not only that, be in full bloom.  The one I bought has buds about to pop, so it'll definitely be among the earliest perennials, joined only by my heuchera right now.  Hopefully, my peonies won't bloom while I'm out of town next week--a couple of them do have buds.

New Post for New House--the Roses Edition

Well, in any case, I have to start somewhere, and since I've now been in the new house and working in the new yard for one year and one month, I guess it's about time.  The intention has been and is to put up some Before and After posts, but today, I'm just going to gush about roses.

I dug up several roses from the TX garden that I thought I might have a hard time finding again, and brought all the ones I had in pots.  When we moved in and started putting in the beds, I also bought some more roses online.  The roses I transplanted from garden to garden include:  Hot Cocoa, Brown Velvet, Ebb Tide, Distant Drums (all floribunda), and Sweet Chariot, a purple mini rose.

"Hot Cocoa"

"Brown Velvet"

"Ebb Tide"

"Distant Drums"

There are a couple more mini roses in the ground that certainly came outta TX but have lost their ID.  No wine tastings for them! (Until they bloom, and hopefully I  can figure them out--I'm hoping one is "Ice Tea"--an apricot blend, and one may be lavender).  I'm also pretty sure I brought a little groundcover rose called "OsoEasy Peachy Cream" (Rosa Horcoherent) from TX in a pot, but I wouldn't swear to it.  This pic is from last year, and already this spring, it's spreading an even wider footprint:

 

More Roses, After The CLICK: