Lobelia flowers-Lobelia erinus pictures

This delicate plant with its tiny blooms is the Lobelia erinus or the garden lobelia.
I love this little plant and just bought a few young ones for my window boxes.

Lobelia erinus is the most showy of all lobelias and the most popular as ornamental plant.

It blooms from mid spring to early autumn being a lovely plant in borders, window boxes and hanging baskets.

Lobelia erinus or edging lobelia grows only to 8–15 cm tall, spreading and covering the space with a mass of electric blue flowers.
Numerous cultivars come in a wide range of colors, including white, pink, red, different shades of blue and purple.
My favorite is the purple-blue one with a white spot in the center.

It does best in well-drained soil in full sunlight, but it needs partial shade in very hot environment.

Blue Lobelia inter-planted with Sweet Alyssum and Creeping Phlox, in rock gardens or as ground cover is a breathtaking show in any garden.

For bog and swamp garden, another lobelia species, the Cardinal flower (Lobelia Cardinalis) with bright red flowers is the perfect plant.

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Iberis umbellata-Globe Candytuft flowers-photos

Iberis-Candytuft is an early summer blooming plant native to the Mediterranean basin. Many members of the genus come from the Iberian Peninsula, hence the name Iberis. Others come form Greece; the name candytuft derives from Candia, an older name of the capital of Crete.

Some species, like the Globe Candytuft (Iberis umbellata) are annuals, others are perennials or have evergreen foliage.
Here is a macro of a light purple iberis flower, those many little buds in the middle will open soon.

Globe Candytuft, Iberis umbellata is a small, bushy plant, not more than 30-40 cm (12-16 in) tall.
It blooms from early summer until frost with lovely purple, mauve, pink and white flowers. The purple and mauve Iberis combines beautifully with orange-yellow marigolds, pot marigolds, in flowerbeds and borders.

The white one is very pretty too, as you can see in the following macro photo.


Iberis flowers thrive in full sun to part shade but doesn't tolerate heat. They like well drained, moist soil, they do well in rock gardens as well.

See also the Iberis sempervirens which has evergreen foliage.

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Iberis sempervirens-Evergreen candytuft-pictures

Iberis-Candytuft is an late spring-early summer blooming plant native to the Mediterranean basin.

Iberis sempervirens, Evergreen candytuft or edging candytuft is an early summer blooming perennial, with evergreen foliage, as its name shows.
Its white flowers are very showy as ground cover or cascading in a rock garden.
It prefers well drained, possibly calcareous soils and no special care in autumn.

Though not so showy as its nobler sister, the Iberis umbellata, its evergreen, glossy foliage is still very ornamental, even after its flowering period.

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Redbud flowers-flowering redbud trees-pictures

Eastern Redbud-Cercis canadensis is native to eastern North America but we also have a few of them in the wild woods of our Botanical garden (nature reserve).
They are in full flower in mid-May and I've captured last week its beautiful pea-like flowers covering the bare stems.
The showy flowers are light pink or magenta, I was so lucky to find both colors here.
These beautiful redbud blossoms are in clusters on branches and even on the trunk.
The heart shaped, bronze color leaves are just emerging, they will turn green in summer and than yellow in autumn.

Here is a pale pink redbud flower macro.

Redbuds, also known as the Judas trees, are small trees or shrubs. This twisted redbud shrub has spreading branches with just flowers on it.

Here are the two redbud trees I've found; a pink and a magenta one. They probably look much better in their homeland.

They bloom late here, in the same time with other trees that have similar pea-like flowers like the Laburnum trees-Golden Rain trees, with bright yellow blooms.

The white flowering shrubs at the right side of the path in this last picture are Diablo Ninebark Shrubs (Physocarpus opulifolius). They have very interesting flowers.

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Forget-me-nots and tulips-flower bed

A simple flower bed with contrasting, brightly colored flowers can add a whole new dimension to a garden, front yard or backyard.
These yellow tulips with the fine textured Forget-Me-Nots complement each other in a very pleasant way.

A ground-level flower bed of a simple geometrical for, triangular, rectangular or round doesn't require much imaginations or work, though it can be a lovely centerpiece of the yard or garden.
See this flower bed, how the yellow tulips pop out of the blue Forget-Me-Not carpet!

These are pretty too!

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Creeping Phlox ground cover-Moss pink (Phlox subulata)

Creeping Phlox or Moss pink (Phlox subulata) is an early blooming perennial creeper, flowering from April to June and sometimes re blooming for the second time in autumn.
This tiny creeper grows only to 15 cm (6 in.) tall, its evergreen foliage forming an attractive mat of ground cover.

In spring, the plant is covered with a spectacular carpet of flowers of different colors.
The flowers of several ornamental varieties come in violet-lavender, pink-magenta , red-purple or white.

Creeping Phlox is a drought-tolerant plant, it thrives in full sun in any well-drained soil with little maintenance.

Moss phlox is a beauty in rock gardens, edging pathways, retaining walls, as well as in pots and hanging planters.

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Forget-me-not pictures-white-pink-blue

Forget-me-nots are a welcome sight in early spring, a happy splash of color after a long winter.
These humble, self-sown annuals are very attractive in any garden, in flower beds, borders and rock gardens.
In early spring Forget-me-nots combine well with spring flowering bulbs, tulips, daffodils, as well as with pansies, primroses and columbine, in partially shaded areas.
Some of the species are short lived but others flower till early fall, though their foliage is not so attractive as they age.

Forget-me-not grows well in light, rich, and well drained soil, filling up the spaces between other, more showy plants.

Besides the well known blue flowering Forget-me-not, the white and pink varieties are really special, as you can see in the following photos:

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Bird's eye speedwell-Veronica persica

Bird's-eye speedwell - Veronica persica - is one of the most widespread spring wildflowers.
It is native of Eurasia and now it grows in the United States, and east Asia too.
Although bird's-eye or speedwell is generally seen as a weed, many species in the genera are used and appreciated in gardens as a dense, colorful ground cover.

Its tiny (8-11 mm wide) flowers have four petals of a sky-blue color with a white center. The flowers have outwards radiating, darker blue stripes. One of the petals is smaller and lighter than the others.
Speedwell has serrated, triangular and hairy leaves.

This early spring bloomer ground cover, with its blue flowers is a complement to yellow, white or red spring flowers, like daffodils, narcissus and tulips, in garden bed and borders.

Another beautiful blue groundcover is the blue Forget-me-not flower, as well as the white and pink Forget-me-nots.

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