Annuals at @smithsoniannmnh are hitting their peak! We are loving the billowy plumes from Euphorbia ‘Glamour’ paired with the pop of Catharanthus ‘Vinca Victory Deep Pink’. Sweet floral notes from Lantana ‘Lucky Lavender’ attract humans and pollinators all the same.
📷: Philip Evich, Horticulturist
#SmithsonianGardens#FlowerGarden#SummerGardens#AnnualFlowers
Hymenocallis maximilianii (Spider Lily) is a cool member of the Amaryllis family, native to Mexico.
The buds are formed in midsummer and by the end of July into August, the flowers open like evening fireworks. It is amazing to watch them open, but patience is needed. The whole process takes at least 30 minutes in the evening.
First the elongated flower bud starts to swell like a balloon, then little spaces between the petals start showing with only the tips of the petals still sticking together. The spaces continue to enlarge and you can see the stamens pushing outward against the petals. But the tips of the petals are stuck together until….POP!💥 Finally the tips release and the stamens burst outward!
Video description: waiting for a closed white flower to pop open.
🎥: Janet Draper, Horticulturist
#SmithsonianGardens#SpiderLily#SummerGardens#SummerBulb#GardenDC#MaryLivingstonRipleyGarden
Bees Sleeping on Flowers: A Series.🐝
Male solitary bees will often find a cozy flower when they’re ready to tuck in for the night. This allows them to rest and recover from their busy daytime activities of feeding on nectar and competing to mate with females.
📷: Sarah Dickert, Horticulturist
#SmithsonianGardens#Bee#SolitaryBees#Pollinators#Flowers#SummerGardens#Pollinator#GardenDC
This hydrangea really steals the limelight!😉 The large, football-sized flowers of panicle hydrangeas always put on a magnificent show on the terrace of the @amhistorymuseum. Hydrangea ‘Limelight’ makes a wonderful addition to any garden with flowers that start almost green, turn to white, and finally fade to a dusty pink. Not to mention how well they pair with Allium ‘Millenium’.🤩
📷: Sarah Dickert, Horticulturist
#SmithsonianGardens#Hydrangea#Allium#SummerGardens#SummerFlowers#GardenDC#BotanicalGarden