Flame azaleas

The Flame Azaleas (Rhododendron calendulaceum) are blooming now. These native shrubs or small trees sometimes get as tall as 12 feet, and bloom at various times between April and the end of June, depending on elevation. They often grow in patches here and their flower color is extremely intense, ranging from shades of yellow and brilliant dark orange, to deep reds and everything in between, even shades of pink. When in bloom, they do look like “flames” in the woods. The common name for this shrub here is wild honeysuckle, probably because of their fragrance. I have three of these shrubs in my yard, and there are many more in the woods.

—

—

—

      

      

—

An excellent article with many photos showing the different colors of flame azaleas here:
Special Plants and Special Places

—

Read Full Post »

American Idol Top 5 performances and results

Top 5 with Neil Diamond

—

Neil Diamond is the mentor this week, and the contestants sing songs from his vast catalog. The show was extremely rushed tonite, Paula was ridiculous, and I think this was the worst show of the season so far. They should schedule an hour and a half show when 5 contestants have to sing two songs each. Instead of commenting after every performance, the judges waited until all 5 contestants each sang one song before giving their critiques.

—

Jason Castro “Forever In Blue Jeans”  I liked this a lot. He did very well, and his voice sounds so nice especially in his higher range. I enjoyed this performance very much. Randy said it was just okay. Paula said she “loved his lower register” but that “the second song, I felt like your usual charm wasn’t — it was missing for me. It kind of left me a little empty”, and then she said that “the two songs made me feel like you’re not fighting hard enough to get into the top four.” oh wait, Paula, he’s only sang one song so far…! After absolute silence for a moment, Randy says that she meant that only for Jason’s first song. Paula looks blank and then says “Oh my god, I thought you — I thought you sang twice!”
She was reading from notes she had written for Jason’s second song before he even sang it! Unbelievable. She needs to get it together. What an awkward few moments in the show, and I’m sure it affected Jason’s second performance.
Simon said Jason’s performance was forgettable.

—

David Cook “I’m Alive”  This was pretty good, although I don’t think it was as good as some of his other performances. I loved his second song, and this one was just okay for me. Something was missing, he didn’t seem to connect completely with the song. I love David’s voice but I didn’t care for the arrangement on this one. Randy said it was very good. Paula said it was fantastic, and Simon thought it was just above average.

—

Brooke White “I’m A Believer”  This was also just pretty good. I love Brooke, love her voice and her style and I think that if she would just loosen up and let go a little – - she would be awesome. She just looks so darn scared up there. Randy said it was better than last week but still a little karaoke. I don’t know what Paula said. Simon said it was a nightmare.

—

David Archuleta “Sweet Caroline”  This was a mess. He sounded off key in parts, was all over the place, and I didn’t care for it at all. Randy said it was the bomb (what?!) and Simon said it was amateurish. Again, I don’t know what Paula said. She was really out of it tonite, even more so than usual.

—

Syesha Mercado “Hello Again”  I didn’t care much for this song, and didn’t care much for her performance. Randy said it was nice and she had strong vocals. Paula (later) said her vulnerable side was beautiful, and Simon said it was forgettable and old fashioned.

—

Jason Castro “September Morn”  Jason’s second perfomance tonite was also very, very nice. He’s easy to listen to and I liked it a lot. Randy said it was okay, just an “okay-whatever performance” and definitely wasn’t the best. Paula said it was safe and that he really needs to get out of his comfort zone. Next week she’ll be telling him he needs to get back to what he does best. Simon said “we don’t recognize you for the past two weeks”, that he struggled through both songs tonite and both were forgettable.

—

David Cook “All I Really Need”  Great performance by David Cook. I loved this, and for me, it was the best performance of the night. He’s very, very good and he can sing anything. I really think he’s one of the best if not the best singer ever on Idol. Randy said he was a huge DC fan and that he rocked the house tonite. Paula said she was proud of David and that he was the only one who was able to pull it off tonite, and that she felt like she was already seeing the next American Idol. Simon said that it was brilliant, and that he made the song feel like it was written this year, and that it was smart and well done.

—

Brooke White “I Am I Said”  I absolutely loved this performance. She has a beautiful voice and she sounded confident and relaxed during this, really one of the best of the night and the best by her in weeks. Randy said it was one of the tougher songs tonite and she did a nice job. Paula said something about how she had fun and then shows her vulnerable side and that it works. Whatever, Paula. Simon said he hated the first song but that this performance is the Brooke we like, it was a million times better, well done.

—

David Archuleta “America”  When I heard it was Neil Diamond week, somehow I just knew that David Archuleta would choose this song.. It was better than his first performance but still, definitely not one of his better performances. His voice cracked at one point and I was disappointed in little David tonite, I didn’t really care for either song. Randy said that for a young man, David was in the zone tonite and it was another good performance. Paula said his voice was on point, she loves him, and that he was brilliant. Simon said it was a smart song choice, it “ticked all the boxes”, and was very good.

—

Syesha Mercado “Thank The Lord For The Night Time”  Too much screaming for me in this one. I didn’t care for it at all, it was boring and I lost interest quickly. Randy said Syesha is finally realizing who she is and that he liked her “in this”. Paula babbled blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. I didn’t understand a word of it, but I think she liked Syesha’s performance tonite. Simon said it was a chaotic night and that Syesha is an actress/singer, and that she may be in trouble this week. He said it wasn’t a memorable second song like some of the others had.

—

All in all, this was definitely not one of the better shows of the season. It was so, so rushed, that there wasn’t time enough to enjoy it and I felt stressed by the time it was over. Paula was so incoherent it was ridiculous, and the judges were way too hard on Jason Castro (I liked both of his performances tonite!) and as always, David Archuleta was over praised and over hyped.. Surely Syesha will go home this week. I loved Brooke’s second song tonite, so I hope she stays another week. After tonite’s fiasco, Paula Abdul is the one who should be sent home this week.

What did you think of the show tonite? Did you vote?

—

Results, April 30
Musical guests were Neil Diamond and Natasha Bedingfield.

After more than 45 million votes last night, Brooke White is eliminated tonite. I was so sad to see her go! I loved her style and wish her much success. I know I’ll be buying anything she records.

The show was all about damage control for Paula Abdul tonite, and not a word of apology to Jason Castro. The show never addressed the fact that it must have been difficult for Jason to have to perform a song that had already been completely slammed by Paula before he even sang it. Paula is not the victim here.

Next week’s theme is rock ‘n roll.

americanidol.com

Read Full Post »

Shopping at the garden center

—

I went shopping for flowers this past weekend… It’s dangerous for me to go in a place with a new shipment of bedding plants and shrubs. The employees had just unloaded a huge load of flowers (I wish I had taken my camera with me, it was a gorgeous sight!). It’s a big box superstore, but it happens to have an excellent garden center with a few knowledgeable employees and a great selection of plants, and I had a lot of fun looking around.. and buying. I had three carts filled with stuff, and only stopped myself when I realized that I couldn’t possibly fit any more in my car.

—

I bought 6 deep blue Lobelia, a pot of Lithodora perennial groundcover, 6 dwarf striped marigolds, 8 wave petunias in mixed colors, a large potted lavendar petunia, a hanging basket of fuchsia, 2 pots of lavendar verbena, 6 white begonias and 6 pink for the secret garden, 6 coral carnations and 6 burgundy, various impatiens plus two New Guinea impatiens (also for the secret garden), 6 French marigolds for mixed containers, 4 pots of gorgeous purple African Daisies (Osteospermum Margarita del Cabo) and another of the same in a light peachy color, 6 deep red vincas, a striped succulent called Moses in the Cradle, a big pot of perennial purple salvia, and several pots of a gorgeous Dahlia variety, and a few 6 packs of various annuals.

—

African Daisies

—

I know– I got way too much, and now they’re all sitting in my carport and all over my patio right now, waiting to be planted. I also already have 18 mixed coleus, 18 dwarf zinnias, and 18 dwarf harlequin striped marigolds that I’ve grown from seed indoors under lights and they need to be planted too. A lot of these plants will go into containers, many for spots in the Secret Garden, and others for various spots in my flower beds and in the rock wall beds I have. That’s what I’m going to be doing this week, when it finally stops storming and raining here. I think I may even go back and get some more, I love that gorgeous blue lobelia.. and the dahlias are so pretty.. and the purple daisies… and I could really use some more of those red-flowered evergreen dianthus clumps in the rock wall beds… I so love spring and summer. :) What are you growing this year? Have you purchased flowers yet? Comments are welcome.

—

These dahlias are so unusual, and gorgeous! They are just as pretty on the underside also, with pinkish-purple and white striped petals.

—

Click any photo to enlarge.

Read Full Post »

White wildflowers and other plants

In a recent post, Jan at Always Growing mentioned her white garden, and it inspired me to notice all the white today in and around my yard. In addition to the mayapples and the white dogwoods in bloom everywhere here, there are also many, many white wildflowers in bloom right now, including the prolific fleabane daisies. I also have white azaleas blooming, a huge snowball bush with the blooms turning whiter day by day, two white and pink crabapples in bloom, white weigela, white wild violets in the woods, white shades of dianthus, white blueberry bush blooms… white flowers are everywhere right now! How much white do you have in your garden?

—

Click any of the photos to view larger versions.

—

      

      

      

      

      

Read Full Post »