Flora of Disney, Part One

I admit, I have an addiction to plants. Not just shopping for them, and planting them; not just caring for them, doting on them, and maybe even talking to them. I am also addicted to appreciating them. I truly get forlorn and withdrawn when I'm away from plants for too long. I'll even admit, I'd rather live among plants than people. Sure, I value the human connection, but plants are a lot easier to get along with. Most people don't understand this, only furthering my love for plants.

So when Disneyland had us waiting for rides, or disconnected from our group, waiting for them to get off rides, I remembered just how awesome their landscaping is, and set out to entertain myself. I took a TON of pictures, so this will be a two part entry for your viewing pleasure.

First up: the entrance to the haunted mansion- I've blogged about this garden before, I'm sure. It is shade garden, mostly, and they've used plants to evoke a spooky feel. The gravewayrd here includes moss, heuchera, coleus, and more. I love the colors, statues.

Perhaps my favorite part of Disney is that outside of a sweeper or ride wrangler, you never see anyone working. I thought it was fun to think of whomever planted this, and whomever tends to it, having to do so at night, when the park is closed.

The whole haunted garden makes me want to change up all the colors in my front yard for Halloween, and pray frost/snow holds off long enough for me to interplant headstones among my very own heuchera.

I also found a few treasures on the island; this azalea was blooming:

And I love this ferny plant along this stream.

The highlight of Disneyland landscaping is the Disneyland rose. I grow this one in my own garden. It is a stunner! This planter bed was in the New Orleans section:

I could not believe how many people just passed right by it...

Near the Mexican restaurant there are a some stunning bougainvillea. This orange is my favorite, and I've grown it in my own garden for a number of years, of course in a container that spends winter in the basement.

How cute are these birdhouses in the roof of the loading dock for the Jungle Cruise!

My mom loves this purple trumpet vine, so I made sure to get pictures of it for her. I also showed where she could find it at her local nursery so she could eventually get one of her own. These pictures were taken near the tiki room.

 They have this violet vine paired with a stunning magenta bougainvillea. Very nice.

And I suppose you can't talk about gardens at Disneyland without showing the mass of tropical they have encircling the tree house! So beautiful.

 Part two will be mostly succulents, for your viewing pleasure. Can't wait!

I'm turning into my mother.

My mom has had a long time love affair with all things pink. When I was a little girl she loved "Dusty Rose," so naturally my snotty little butt despised it. I rejected all things pink. Now, I have furniture painted in pink, I can't find enough clothes with pink roses on them... and looking into my garden there's pink EVERYWHERE. My mom's favorite rose, of course, is David Austin's Mary Rose, in full bloom now:

 

Other pinks in the garden today include this gold flame honeysuckle:

This big pink azalea that was here when I moved in:

Pale pink painted daisies:

Rose, Distant Drums: 

Columbine, McKana's Giant, from seed, changes from pinky to orchid purple as the blooms ripen.  

Coral Bells pink blooms during a rare moment without a hummingbird feeding of them:   

Peony:

The name of this rose in unknown, as I acquired it at a yard sale in nothern Wisconsin, but it is a beauty, and in just a few years it has grown so large.

I am surely becoming my mother, but its not so bad.

Flower Close-ups

I took the first few flower close-ups of the year this week. One of my favorite parts of gardening is getting to study the flowers with my camera. Here is pink impression tulip standing tall.

A newer heuchera to my collection, this firefly has the most crimson blooms I've had yet.

One of my favorites: scabiosa, or pin cusionflower. I tried relentlessly to grow this in mucky thick soil I had in Wisconsin, with no luck- even after amending the darn soil. Here in our part of minnesota I find we have tons of sand in the soil, and the drainage is superior. These pin cusion flowers love it. I have 3 from last year about to start pumping out blooms, and I picked up this one earlier this season.

Of course, always one of the highlights of spring for me is taking photos of bleeding heart. My tradition pink is in full bloom, a bit smaller on the whole because of the transition to MN I'm sure, but nevertheless stunning.

So much more to come soon. I have dwarf iris blooming, and I bought some snap dragons to put all around. I even have a forced amaryllis about to squeeze a bloom open. Because of the warm spring the containers are up and out of the basement, and getting cleaned up, repotted, composted and manured. Spring is so much fun!

Pretty things...

Roses

I had a moment this week where I thought I might pass out. I was out tending to the garden. I stuck an heirloom rose in the ground. (I rescued it from this wretched situation at our Menard's. I won't go on and on... but the old store is closing, and the new store is opening, today actually; the bare root and bagged potted roses were shipped to the old store just in time for the closing. Most of them were not taken out of the box. None were watered. Under one roof there were thousands, if not, more, roses dying or dead. I found one alive and well, an Heirloom, and I brought her home and soaked and planted her promptly. ) If the situation at Menard's wasn't enought to make me pass out, this was: I decided to count my roses. I don't count them, ever, but I did. I have 55. FIFTY-FIVE. Yikes. How did that happen? I am capable of taking care of all of them? Oh, Lord, I have taken on a lot of responsibility, huh?
This is my first Proud Land bloom opening up. I bought this potted plant this spring, and it's been in the ground for 2-3 weeks now. Not the best picture, but pretty still.

Still too early for my existing roses to bloom; they're all still working on building their flower buds. My John Cabot and Morden Centennial are flushing out a hundred sprays or more or 3-5 flowers each, so the show should be pretty spectacular. I can't wait. I stand beside these bushes, which tower over me, and just stare at how many flowers they're putting out this year. the best show yet, by far. Pics to come...

My newest rose 'Distant Drums' has so many stages to its blooms. They open tan, and age to a light pink. Love, love, love the changes this rose undergoes.

Edibles
My $3 apple tree's still putting on a fragrant show. I think the two apple trees are pollinating one another, so we may get apples this year again.

I'm knocking on wood, but the bunnies have left my lettuce alone. It's nearly ready for salads.

Almost radish time!

Perennials
Heuchera, 'dolce key lime pie' is blooming.

Editted: This is actually "Lime Rickey." Whoops.

Foxglove pushing up a bloom; the plant itself forms a flowers shape here, so pretty. This variety is a mix, so the bloom color is still unknown. I love surprises.

Baptisia, false indigo, about to make some blue blooms. I've never seen it bloom, as I acquired it after bloom time last year. Very excited.

I've been hovering over this bachelor's button plant for weeks now, as the ants crawl all over the blooms. I think I'll finally get a flower today.

Aquilegia "music red and gold' still pumping out a flush of blooms.

Another aquilegia, spring magic mix, puts out a flush of pink and yellow blooms.

This blue aquilegia alpine, swiss columbine, should open up today also.
Forgive me, but these allium just don't get old to me. LOL.

Here's Globemaster:

This dame's rocket has been on my wish list for 2 years now. Many of the nurseries near me do not sell it, or sell it in pretty limited quantities. Perhaps b/c you can find them on the side of the road near creek beds this time of year, I dunno? But, I was able to nab one up locally, and it's now in bloom. My girlfriend insists they make babies, so I'm excited to spread this one around.

It looks like my wish is finally going to come true. I made sure to budget for and acquire delphiniums this year. In the past I've bought them late in the season, or tried to grow them from seed, and I have never had success. This year, I ammended to soil local to each of their root systems with humus (from a local garden center) to better ensure success. I found all of the different delphinium for $3-5.99--also making sure to try a number of different varieties. Here's one of them, about to bloom. Almost all of them are bursting with buds right now. It's like a party for me, I am so thrilled.

Annuals

This non-stop begonia is so gorgeous. I'm hooked.

I'll leave you today with my youngest angel-boy watering the wagon planter.

Happy gardening everyone.