Garden flowers 5

Photographed this beautiful Iris at the Reader Rock Garden late afternoon on 25 June 2014. Drove there on my way home from a volunteer shift, as I wasn't all that far away. The sky had darkened and I was expecting it to rain by the time I got there, but the sun came out (along with the wind). "Iris is a genus of 260–300 species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species. As well as being the scientific name, iris is also very widely used as a common name for all Iris species, as well as some belonging to other closely related genera. A common name for some species is 'flags', while the plants of the subgenus Scorpiris are widely known as 'junos', particularly in horticulture. It is a popular garden flower." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_ (plant)

Several years ago, I saw this plant growing at the Reader Rock Garden, and I was happy to see it again yesterday, when I called in after a volunteer shift. I was focusing on some small, white flowers, and trying to remember what they were called, when I suddenly spotted this lone flower that was barely noticeable. An unusual and quite fascinating flower. I never walk across the soil and amongst the plants when I'm there. The plant was quite a distance from the path, so this is a fully zoomed and cropped image. It's the only photo I have of this Wild Ginger and, despite being grainy, it gives an idea of what the flower is like. "Asarum canadense, commonly known as Canada wild ginger, Canadian snakeroot and broad-leaved asarabacca, is a herbaceous perennial plant which forms dense colonies in the understory of deciduous forest throughout its native range in eastern North America, from the Great Plains east to the Atlantic Coast, and from southeastern Canada south to approximately the fall line in the southeastern United States. Leaves are kidney-shaped and persistent. Underground shoots are shallow-growing, fleshy rhizomes that branch to form a clump. The flowers bloom from April through June, are hairy and have three sepals, tan to purple on the outside and lighter inside, with tapered tips and bases fused into a cup." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asarum_canadense

This photo was taken at the Reader Rock Garden yesterday, 27 April 2016, when I called in after a volunteer shift. These Hellebore flowers are so beautiful and I was happy to see that a couple of the flowers were growing so that I could just see the inside of the flower. Usually, the flower heads are hanging down more. I didn't realize that this plant bloomed so early in the year. "Commonly known as hellebores /ˈhɛlᵻbɔərz/, the Eurasian genus Helleborus comprises approximately 20 species of herbaceous or evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, within which it gave its name to the tribe of Helleboreae. The scientific name Helleborus derives from the Greek name for H. orientalis, ἑλλέβορος helléboros, from elein "to injure" and βορά borá "food". Many species are poisonous. Despite names such as "winter rose", "Christmas rose" and "Lenten rose", hellebores are not closely related to the rose family (Rosaceae). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellebore

A couple of days ago, on 27 April 2016, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was peeping through the clouds, I called in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including a small cluster of these attractive Tulips. I wasn't sure if I was going to be too early or too late for Tulips, especially as this year has so far been most unusual, weatherwise. There was also a bush of gorgeous pink Hellebore flowers, hanging their heads as they tend to do. There was enough colour and variety of plants to make this visit worthwhile - and it should only get better and better with the coming weeks. So good to see colour! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip

Three days ago, on 27 April 2016, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was peeping through the clouds, I called in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including the one in my photo. I couldn't find any other photos of this plant in my photostream, but I'm sure I have photographed it before. So far, I haven't been able to find out the name of this plant. Thanks to Rob & Sharon Illingworth for letting me know the ID of this plant. After checking again the Reader Rock Garden's website, I discovered that this species is growing there. Apparently, this is a quite easy to grow perennial from the Caucasus and Turkey.

Yesterday, I posted a macro photo of just one single cluster of these flowers. I had tried to find an ID for this plant, but had not been successful. I was delighted when Rob & Sharon Illingworth let me know that this is Physoclaina orientalis. After checking again the Reader Rock Garden's website, I discovered that this species is growing there. Apparently, this is a quite easy to grow perennial from the Caucasus and Turkey. Four days ago, on 27 April 2016, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was peeping through the clouds, I decided to call in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including the one in my photo.

I posted this photo immediately after posting the other two this morning, hoping that people would see my photos in the order I wanted. However, this image was still obviously barely being seen at all, so I decided to delete and repost. Apologies to the two people who had made this photo a fave! Flickr has made such a mess of view stats for some members, myself included, the last maybe month and a half to two months. Flickr has done nothing to fix this, despite many people complaining. Four days ago, on 27 April 2016, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was peeping through the clouds, I decided to call in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including this beautiful European Pasque Flower with its tiny visitor. "Pulsatilla vulgaris (pasque flower, pasqueflower, common pasque flower, Dane's blood) is a species of flowering plant belonging to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). It used to be considered part of the Anemone genus, to which it is closely related." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulsatilla_vulgaris

Lol, I'm staying up all night, tonight - will explain later tomorrow or the following morning when I post my next shots. Thought I'd post my daily three now, otherwise I might end up missing a day : ) Four days ago, on 27 April 2016, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was peeping through the clouds, I decided to call in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including a scattering of these attractive Tulips. I wasn't sure if I was going to be too early or too late for Tulips, especially as this year has so far been most unusual, weatherwise. There was also a bush of gorgeous pink Hellebore flowers, hanging their heads as they tend to do. There was enough colour and variety of plants to make this visit worthwhile - and it should only get better and better with the coming weeks. We do need rain, though. So good to see colour! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip

Six days ago, on 27 April 2016, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was peeping through the clouds, I decided to call in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including several shrubs/trees covered in blossom. I wasn't sure if I was going to be too early or too late for Tulips, especially as this year has so far been most unusual, weatherwise, but there were a number in various colours. There was also a bush of gorgeous pink Hellebore flowers, hanging their heads as they tend to do. There was enough colour and variety of plants to make this visit worthwhile - and it should only get better and better with the coming weeks, hopefully. We desperately need rain, though. In fact, this week's botany walk was changed, as either the wildflowers were already over or else they just hadn't grown because everywhere is so dry.