Cosmos Double Click Cranberries

This year I ordered seeds for a new color of cosmos in the Double Click series - cranberry. Even though our very cool spring slowed down germination and growth - and they were planted in part shade, which slowed them down even more - I finally saw some flowers starting last month.



The deep crimson color is almost exactly the same shade as my 'William Shakespeare 2000' roses. Very romantic.



While most of the flowers are large and very double, a few of the small plants in shady areas put out simple flowers like the one above.



A few years ago I grew Double Click Rose Bonbon cosmos, which were a lighter pink. They grew like crazy since they had plenty of sun and warmth that year.



All of the cosmos in the Double Click series get to be 4 ft tall by 2 ft wide and bloom from summer until frost. They do best in full sun with regular water, but can handle most any type of soil.



I'm hoping that a few of these flowers have time to form seeds for next year. This is a flower I'd like to keep around.

Fall Flowers 2011

As much as I appreciate the long-blooming perennials that have been in flower all summer, it's fun to see some new blooms appearing just for fall. Above are a couple of Colchicum 'Waterlily' flowers coming up through bellflower (Campanula) foliage.



Here are some asters that came from my friend Kathy's garden.



They're blooming cheerfully despite being transplanted this spring and getting too little water from the sprinklers.



Diminutive flower spikes are popping up on 'Big Blue' lilyturf (Liriope) all over the front yard.



Here are some pink chrysanthemums, which also came from Kathy's garden.



I love this color of pink and hope to find more spots for this type of mum in the front yard.



This was the only flower on my tiny Japanese Anemone, which was also lacking in water this summer. I think this plant came as a start from Kathy's yard, too. I guess this post could have been titled "Thirsty Plants from Kathy".



These lavender flowers are from 'Farmington' double aster.



You can see a bit of mildew on the leaves, which tells me that these plants should have had more water this summer. Many types of asters get powdery mildew when they're water-stressed. Maybe next year I'll keep up on the watering better and get a better show.

Colchicum cilicicum: Photos of Flowers, Leaves and Bulbs

Colchicums are fall-blooming bulbs that send out their leaves in the spring, then bloom with lavender-pink or white flowers while their bulbs are dormant (with no leaves or roots growing). I have 2 or 3 types of Colchicum growing in my yard. The information and photos in this post are about Colchicum cilicicum.



Catalogs usually show a picture of the flowers, but not the leaves. So when these tulip-like leaves started peeking up this spring, I could not figure out what they were.



Gradually I remembered planting Colchicums last year (obviously I didn't keep good records, oh well). Their leaves are often described as similar to hostas. I'd say they're like a mix of hosta and tulip leaves.



Here are the leaves in full growth. They stuck around through June, then started dying back.



Now - in September - the flowers are starting to appear. Although Colchicums are deer-resistant, the flowers I having growing outside appear to have been nibbled on by slugs. So these photos all show another batch that I ordered and didn't get planted yet. Since they bloom while dormant, these new ones are happily blooming on my windowsill, without needing water or soil.



The bulbs look like distorted tulip bulbs. Eventually they can grow to be very large, and some types put out up to 25 flowers per bulb.



These new bulbs are blooming with 5-7 flowers each. The flowers grow to about 6 inches high and have a faint scent. They should be planted somewhere special where you'll notice the floral surprise in the fall.



Colchicum cilicicum is hardy in zones 5-8 and prefers well-drained, fertile soil and shade from intense sun. These bulbs aren't inexpensive, unfortunately, but they do come back year after year if they don't rot in waterlogged soil. I ordered mine from Brent & Becky's Bulbs.



If you're looking for something a little unusual or just want some fresh flowers in the fall, check out the Colchicums. There are a number of different types - some double - and their flowers are all exquisite.