GGW Photo Contest September 09

I thought I would try my luck with the photo contest hosted by Gardening Gone Wild. This month's subject is ornamental grasses.
This contest allows only one entry per person and boy was that hard to decide which photo to use. I went into the garden this evening to try and get another photo of this Miscanthus sinensis 'Dixieland'. None of the pictures I took tonight were as good as this one. This was posted earlier this summer. I really like this one and one of my darling daughters agreed.



Wish me luck!

Tuesday’s Trees- Littleleaf Linden

Littleleaf Linden, Tilia cordata is a really nicely shaped tree.


As a young tree it is pyramidal and is more rounded pyramidal in maturity. We have one in the Learning Garden and it is near a Linden or Basswood, Tilia Americana. It was interesting comparing the two. The biggest difference was in the size of the leaf.

This Littleleaf Linden had a girdling root that was removed in a Tree Stewart class. Proper planting is essential.

The Basswood is a younger tree and you can see the smooth bark of a young linden. The bark is narrowly ridged and gray to brown in color as it ages.

The flowers are located on a winged leafy bract, a very noticeable characteristic.
Here is the Littleleaf –


Here is the Basswood –


Both leaves are asymmetrical.

Michael Dirr says that the Littleleaf Linden does not do well in warmer climates. The ones I photographed by the dentist office are a bit stressed while the one in the Learning Garden is shaded a bit and in a natural setting, less concrete.

Spring flowers are fragrant and bees are abundant when flowers are in bloom. This tree is a dense shade tree and is well suited for home landscapes. The zones best suited for the Tilia cordata are 3 to 7. The Basswood is better suited for warmer climates, ranging zones 2-8 (9). Littleleaf Lindens average about 50 feet tall at maturity but can grow to heights of 80- 90. The Basswood grows to about 70 feet tall.
Fall color with both of these Tilia is not very exciting….a dirty yellow to brown in color. More information on the Basswood can be found at UCONN, Missouri Plants, and the Forestry Service, which contradicts some of the range information. Additional information for the Littleleaf Linden located at UCONN, NCState, and an assessment of the tree in the landscape by Ohio State.

After visiting Les' garden and trying to figure out if his was a Littleleaf Linden or a Basswood I did some more research. The LLL fruit is ribbed with 4 ridges and the BW is unribbed, LLL twigs and buds are green/brown and the BW twigs are green/red or gray and the buds are usually red. Every plant profile I reread has the LLL leaf distinctly smaller than the BW. Could the tree at the Botanical Garden be mismarked? Stranger things have happened.

Be sure to click on the pictures for more detail.

Fall color-

From swamp chestnut oak swamp white oak Learning Garden

Next week's tree is Bougainvillea Golden Rain Tree, Koelreuteria bipinnata

The Middle, The End and a New Beginning

The middle-- what we wait for...
THE BLOOM



I thought I would catch the last bloom of this set of blooms, but I forgot last night. So here is the END....
THE WILTED BLOOM



Thinking we were done for the year I was surprised to find two more buds!!
A new beginning!!
THE BUD


I know some are tired of this flower being posted each time it blooms, I just can't help it. Each time it opens it is magical.
Once the epi is ready to come inside for the winter I am going to prune it a bit. I will share these clippings with five (at least) of you. If you are interested in having a piece of this plant, let me know in the comment area. I am sorry to say I can't send this overseas so the offer is limited to stateside bloggers.

NOTE

I added a link at the top of my sidebar for a young lady in North Carolina. My daughter and her roommates are teaching in rural North Carolina and supplies are not always available. This young lady is teaching high school English with a minimal number of books. Please check out the link.