I've been in a far away land with
no internet connection for several days now, otherwise I would have posted on Saturday as promised.
But, here we go.
I'll start with plants whose photos I already have uploaded, so you may have seen some of these before.
1. Crape Myrtle2. Flowering Dogwood3. Magnolia
Name: Crape Myrtle
Already
Knew: Tall, flowering deciduous tree/bush, likes full sun, very pretty
even in the winter (I like the way the bare branches look), spelled
weird, very attractive to Japanese Beetles, produces suckers. I can
identify these year-round because of their distinctive shape, although
I would probably have trouble with overgrown ones, or ones that were
naturally wider or shorter than the ones shown here.
Recently
Learned: I didn't know there were dwarf varieties, although I suppose
I've seen small, bushy ones that I assumed were not properly
transplanted or pruned. Genus is named
Lagerstroemia. There is a variety called
Sarah's Favorite, which has very pretty flowers, but is not the tall, narrow vase shape that I like. So I can't say it's my favorite.
Name: Flowering Dogwood
Already
Knew: deciduous tree, four-petaled blooms in spring, prefers some
shade, red berries in the fall, stays relatively small. I can
definitely identify them when they're in flower, or when the berries
are showing; can possibly identify them by the leaf shape, although
that's not a for-sure. Can sometimes identify them in the winter by the
way their branches have a layered look to them.
Recently Learned: there are other kinds of dogwoods, some of which are
bushes and shrubs, and some of which are more known for their berries
than their flowers. There is a blight that is spreading across the US
that affects dogwoods, but it is not yet devastating (and my trees
don't seem to have it yet). The genus name is
cornus, and I think mine (the one in the second picture here) is
cornus florida, but I couldn't say for sure, and I couldn't distinguish between it and any other
cornus, except to say, "Well, that's kinda like my dogwood, but kinda not!"
Name: Magnolia
Already
Knew: Big honkin' tree with distinctive leathery leaves, pretty
flowers. Long-lived evergreen. Interesting seed pods, with red seeds
inside.
Recently Learned: Genus name is
magnolia (that should be easy
to remember). I didn't realize that a smaller tree with magnolia-like
flowers actually
was a
magnolia: it is deciduous and flowers in the spring before the leaves
come out. I think I'd get this confused with a tulip tree, which also
has magnolia-like flowers in the spring, before the leaves come out.
Don't know how I'm going to learn the difference there. And I doubt
I'd recognize that one except when it was in bloom. The big magnolias
I recognize any time.
There. I did three instead of two, just to make up for being late. Am I forgiven?
I'm enjoying reading what all you other members of the challenge are
coming up with!! If you're doing it and I don't yet have your blog up
on the blog roll, let me know? Some of you left comments saying that
you were doing it, but either I couldn't find your blog, or I couldn't
find your first post on the Challenge. Let me know!!
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