Hardy Begonia (Begonia grandis)
I got this little cutie at the plant exchange at my garden club. Mine is the white variety. I don't know much about Hardy Begonias and am looking forward to seeing how it performs in my garden. I have had the annual type come back from the roots in a mild winter, so I'm thinking this will do the same. I read that they self sow from seed. Hope this one does. I really like it!
Coneflower (Echinacea 'Cheyenne Spirit')
I had read about this new variety and was very interested in trying some of them. I searched each time I visited a nursery and found them at Kingwood Nursery this Spring. I purchased 2 plants ( I wish I had gotten more), planted them and waited for my surprise. I liked the fact that I wouldn't know what color they were until they bloomed! One is this lovely yellow. The other is a reddish brown, that I'm not crazy about. I'm going to save some seed and try growing some more next year. I'm assuming that I will get different colors. Can't wait to find out!
Pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia pulcherrima)
This plant grows very well in Austin and I had long admired it. I had the opportunity to pick some of the long brown seed pods off of a couple of plants. I placed them in a paper envelope and then into a larger plastic container where I keep a lot of my garden supplies. I promptly forgot about them! After our move in 2015 and after I had a garden bed ready, I was looking through the container and found the seeds. I planted 5 of the seeds in a semi circle towards the back of the bed. Every seed came up! They didn't get more than a few inches tall last year, but have really gone to town this year! All five now have buds, with some already open.
And of course now that they're doing so well, I realize that I planted them too close together and that I really need to move them. Ain't hind site grand?!
My Philippine Lily was very pretty this year. I dug up one small plant to bring with me in the move from Austin to Houston. Since I wasn't able to get most things out of pots and into the ground until May/June of last year, most plants did not reach their full potential. 2016 has proven to be a very good year!😀
A lot of my plants have sentimental value to me. I purchased this Lily in person from Chris Wiesinger of The Southern Bulb Company. He came to speak at The Great Outdoors nursery in Austin and I was in attendance. Since I am very interested in heirloom flower bulbs, I already had most of what he spoke about. However, I didn't have the Philippine Lily, so I got to add to my collection. This one is considered a miniature, as it only gets around 3 feet tall. They are normally 6 to 7 feet tall!
Chin Cactus (Gymnocalycium mihanovichii)
This little beauty was in bloom today. I got it at Walmart back in May and it has had several blooms since then. I really don't find the actual plant attractive, but I love the bloom!
I'm very pleased with how all my cacti have performed here in the humidity of Houston. I almost didn't bring them when I moved from Austin because, who thinks of cactus when they think of Houston?
I have a covered back patio and a covered front porch and they have been ideal for the cacti. I can position them where they receive some direct sun, but also are protected from rainfall, so that I can control how much water they receive. The humidity doesn't seem to bother them.
