I spent my Fourth of July out in the garden moving potted plants back into their usual summer spots on the front and back steps from the far corners of the garden where I had situated them temporarily while we had the house painted. The tuberous Begonias had just begun to flower when the painting process started, and while they were all clustered together under the Douglas firs in the back garden, many began to flower in earnest. I was delighted that I got to examine each one closely while I moved it back into its spot. Of course, the painting also coincided with a time of year when the firs drop a lot of debris, so all that needed to be cleaned up too.
 |
| One group of pots sits right at the bottom of the stairs |
 |
| Another group is not far away, in front of our seldom used grill |
Most of them don't have names, they came from bins at either a nursery or hardware store where they were hanging around loose. There's always a chance when they bloom that they won't even match the description (red/yellow picotee, for example) given that the corms are loose and people don't always pay attention to putting them back where they might have picked them up after handling them.
So I'll just give them numbers.
 |
| Contestant Number One |
 |
| Contestant Number Two |
 |
| Contestant Number Three actually has a name -- 'Flamenco' and because of the mottled watercolor-ish nature of its petals, photos of it always look like they're out of focus |
 |
| 'Flamenco' again |
 |
| Contestant Number Four |
 |
| Contestant Number Five |
 |
| Contestant Number Six |
 |
| Contestant Number Seven, described on the bin as 'Hanging Roseform' is also hard to photograph (it's not from Blooming Advantage, I just used one of their old gallon pots to pot up the tuber) |
 |
| A cluster of 'Hanging Roseform' in my hand -- I actually have five of these, all flowering profusely |
Do you have a favorite? There's no swimsuit in this beauty pageant competition and their talents are all the same -- looking beautiful and being almost carefree. I'll always be grateful to my blogging buddy Peter
The Outlaw Gardener for introducing me to this wonderful flowering plant, that can be overwintered easily in my garage and so far has come back for me without trouble. I'll never have another garden without them.
