BBG’s Tiger Orchid Blooms

It’s not every day that a tiger orchid blooms in Brooklyn. It’s not even every year. In fact, BBG’s Grammatophyllum speciosum had only bloomed twice in its 13-year residence here—until now. The 300-pound tropical orchid has thrived since it was repotted in June 2010 and is now producing a magnificent display of hundreds of yellow-and-brown-spotted blossoms. Even in its native habitat of Southeast Asia, the species blooms infrequently—reportedly once every two to four years. For a specimen to blossom in cultivation and at this latitude is a special event indeed. Don’t miss it.

Source Brooklyn Botanical Garden: BBG.org

Green thumbs up: A joyful journey through the July garden

Despite the challenges of this cool, damp growing season, two consecutive weekends of sunny skies have dramatically improved the outlook for our gardens and those who tend them. While our summer bloom season seems to be running a week or two behind, warmer temperatures and brilliant sunshine are quickly bringing the borders along to reveal their summertime splendor. Most lawns are thick and dense, the velvety green carpets providing a perfect backdrop for the glorious blooms of July. Read more:

Deadhead flowers to encourage more blooms

Barbara Raskauskas
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Wilmington Gardening Examiner

You plant perennial flowers and annual flowers in your garden for their beauty. Once the blossoms live their short life, the plant switches its energy to seed production unless that blossom, which is now the dead head of the stem, is removed. However you see it, dead head, deadhead, deadheading, the action represents removing the expired flower from the stem of the plant.

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What’s Blooming in Baltimore-July ‘09

Catherine Mezensky
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Baltimore Gardening Examiner

On this Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day there are plenty of thriving perennial blossoms in Baltimore. These include wildflowers, bulbs, tubers, and flowering shrubs. These different flowers need varying types of care, but most of them provide lots of mid-summer color and plenty of blooms for cutting. To see how flowers like coneflower, hydrangea, and dahlia are faring around the city, view the slideshow at the bottom of this article.

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A Towering Flower

Posted on June 23rd, 2009 by ghanisek

Our woodlands lack flowering trees at this time of year. Most of the trees with showy blossoms bloom in spring, such as Flowering Dogwood, the various cherries and the largest of the shadbushes, (Amelanchier arborea). There is one tree in spectacular blossom right now, however. It’s not native to our area, but it has escaped to roadsides and other open areas. The Catalpa has bigger, showier flowers than any of our native trees, and it grows as big as many of our oaks and maples. The trees are covered with huge white flower clusters at the moment. There are many of them along Route 8 from Beacon Falls to Waterbury, and they’re scattered in many other locations as well.

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