On a recent trip to Fort Collins, Colorado, my wife and I visited the University of Colorado’s Trial Gardens. We photographed these members of the incredible Daisy family during our walk through these beautiful gardens.

This first image shows Cosmos ‘Sonnata White’. The Cosmos genus has over 36 species, and is native to Mexico, the southern US, and Central and South America. Cosmos bipinnatus been a favorite of plant breeders for many years. Cosmos reminds me of a wildflower common throughout Texas and elsewhere called Thelasperma filifolium, Greenthread. As it turns out, Cosmos and Thelasperma are in the tribe Corepsideae within the Daisy family Asteraceae.

Here is a beautiful variety of Cosmos bipinnatus called ‘Apollo Pink’ produced by PanAmerican Seed.

This variety is called ‘Apollo Carmine’. As you can see, the plants are pretty much the same except for flower petal color. The handiwork of plant breeders produces many colorful choices for our gardens! Did you CDB (see the bee)?

Here is a single bloom of Osteospermum ‘Sunny Atilla’ produced by Beekenkamp in the Netherlands. Osteospermum, native to Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, has about 50 species; but, most of the hybrids sold as garden plants in the US are hybrids between O. jucundum, O. ecklonis, and O. grandiflora. Beekenkamp plant breeders used O.ecklonis to produce what you see here.

Here you see ‘Sunny Atilla’ displaying its full range of colors, from nearly white to milky lavender. I love the range of colors in this variety. A symphony of genetics!

Pictured here is a close cousin of Osteospermum, called Calendula ‘Radio’. The Calendula genus has 15 or more species and is native to the parts of Europe and Asia surrounding the Mediterranean. Calendula officinalis is the species commonly cultivated. I like the yellow-orange of the petals of this variety. Read more about the Pot Marigold here and here.

The final image is of the Taishan Orange F1 variety of an “African” Marigold called Tagetes erecta produced by PanAmerican Seed. This species is really a native of Mexico which points out why scientific names are needed to eliminate the questions raised by common or commercial names assigned to a species. This variety was used to decorate landscapes in the 2008 Bejing Olympics. I love their huge, globular flower heads and their rich gold color, beautiful.

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Many of the flowering plants we use in our gardens and landscapes were wildflowers before they were brought under cultivation. In this post, Coreopsis and Rudbeckia are two genera in the daisy family (Asteraceae) that have species that gardeners and plant breeders have used to produce new colors and shapes of flowers to beautify our flower beds and landscapes.

Coreopsis grandiflora is the Largeflower Tickseed. In its wild form, all the petals on this large flowered plant are yellow as seen here.

The Coreopsis I have found in the Fort Worth area, as pictured above, were the Golden Tickseed or Plains Coreopsis, Coreopsis tinctoria.

Notice here, that the flowers possess a maroon color spot on the base of each petal and their flowers are about 2 inches in diameter.

Here we see, Coreopsis grandiflora ‘SunKiss’ by PanAmerican Seed. This variety has flowers that appear to be a larger version of the Coreopsis tinctoria above. Note that the maroon spots are similar in color but the indentations on the tips of the petals appears more pronounced. Remember that the normal C. grandiflora is all yellow, and a more buttery yellow than what you see here.

Coreopsis grandiflora ‘Electric Sunshine’ is the plant seen in this image. This variety was produced by Darwin Perennials and appears to be a more buttery yellow than ‘SunKiss’. Both of these varieties bloom spring, summer, and late summer and would make colorful additions to any planting.

Rudbeckia hirta is commonly known as the Black-eyed Susan. This member of the Daisy family (Asteraceae) is found throughout the US and Canada. Seen here is a 2 inch diameter, all yellow petaled version.

This specimen of R. hirta makes slightly larger flowers, about 3 inches in diameter, and has maroon spots on the petal bases.

Here we see Rudbeckia hirta ‘Rising Sun AS Chestnut Gold’. This variety of R. hirta has 4 inch or larger flowers with a large maroon petal base. Just to the right of the flower in the image center is the chestnut gold version of the petals. Apparently, this variety produces the maroon based, golden petals which mature into chestnut colored petals. These are strikingly beautiful and give a planting with a range of color schemes. You can see what else Green Fuse is up to here.

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Petunia is a genus of South American members of Solanaceae, the Nightshade family which contains potatoes, tobacco, and the bell and chili peppers. The Petunia genus contains about 20 different species, but the petunias everyone is familiar with come from varieties derived from Petunia axillaris, a large white flowered plant, and Petunia integrifolia which produces purple blossoms. Since varieties are not distinct species their names do not follow the rules of the international system of biological nomenclature required of species. Instead, their names may reflect commercial trademarks.

This is a variety known as Crazytunia Frisky Purple. Notice the white strip in the centers of the wine colored petals. This trait varies among the different flowers pictured here to produce an eye pleasing variety of colors and shapes.

This image shows another Crazytunia variety called Goodnight Kisses. Here the breeder selected for white tipped petals instead of white centered petals. This gives the flowers a white-rimmed look.

Here is yet another Crazytunia variety called Moonstruck. Here the blooms are purple rimmed but their petals vary in the placement of white, cream, or yellowish petal centers. This gives a random effect to the blossoms in terms of color placement which provides a beautiful mixture of blooms and colors. I really liked this variety’s kaleidoscope of colors.

Here you can see a variety known as Constellation Gemini. The pale lavender flowers have tiny white spots on the petals giving a speckled effect. Notice the speckling occurs wherever the lavender is expressed in the flowers. I think it is interesting that there is variation in the amount of lavender and white on some of the flowers. It is a visual indication of the sometimes capricious nature of flower genes. We benefit from the beauty this creates.

Here we have the variety called Headliner Night Sky. If you compare these to the previous image you can see that the speckle trait appears in this variety, too. The petals are a beautiful purple instead of lavender, and the white blotches on the petals seems more subdued than what was seen in the Constellation Gemini.

This one is called Blanket Blue Star. This is my favorite because of the crisp white star effect created on the flower by the white centered petals. The contrast between white and purple makes a stunning flower. This variety is a spreading plant that grows along the surface of the container to fill in the gaps between flowers so all you see is petunia. Lovely.

What you have witnessed here is the handiwork of plant breeders to produce plants of remarkable beauty from crossbreeding a white flowered species and a purple flowered species. Here, man is acting to control the reproduction of plants to produce plants with the characters he desires. The same process occurs in nature where nature selects the characters which best enable the individuals of the species to survive the environments in which they find themselves. We call that evolution. Look around you and you can see the end-products of 3.5 billion years of genetic variation and selection for survivors.

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While in Fort Collins, Colorado, you should plan time to walk through the beautiful Trial Gardens on the campus of the University of Colorado.

It is well worth the trip if you like flowers because they have plenty of beautiful flowers for you to experience.

Here you see a red or ruby Begonia flower. These are all pretty standard house or garden plants available in the U. S.

Here is an example of a Pink variety of Begonia. One of the cool things about a Trial Garden is you get to see new varieties that have been produced by plant breeders to bring new shapes and colors.

This is a new variety of Begonia called Fragrant Falls Peach. Notice how different the flower is from standard Begonias.

In this image you can see two varieties of Coleus. This plant is prized for its colorful leaves. On the left of the image you can see a Coleus variety that is like the ancestral plant, all green on its leaves. Next to it is a variety called Flamethrower Serrano. It has mostly red leaves with thin green margins.

In this image you can see a Coleus variety called Flamethrower Salsa Roja which has all red leaves.

Here we have another type of Coleus called Flamethrower Chipotle where the red in the center of the leaves is reduced and is replaced by a thicker green zone at the leaf margin.

By controlling which plants are pollinated by which plants, breeders can encourage the production of Coleus offspring with the traits they desire. As a result, we get new beautiful new versions of plants for decorating our homes and gardens.

The Trial Gardens at the University of Colorado are a worthwhile experience for anyone traveling through the area during the summer. They have everything from Begonias to Zinnias. Plus, this remarkable collection can be seen for the price of a walk through their beautiful gardens!

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Spearmint (Mentha spicata), a member of the Lamiaceae, or mint family, is a plant that mankind has cultivated for thousands of years for its fragrance and medicinal qualities. The plants pictured here were a backyard experiment intended to give my daughter some experience with gardening and the enjoyment of fresh, home grown spices.

Notice the square stem visible in the picture above. This is a characteristic of all the mints.

Caution with Spearmint is required because they readily spread by rhizomes and can spread beyond where you want them. Consequently, most gardeners confine them to containers to prevent their invasion and takeover of the garden.

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Roses we see in our gardens are products of cultivation and crossbreeding by gardeners over the 5000 years that these colorful plants have been used by man to decorate his home.

The Peace rose, Rosa spp. variety “Madame A. Meilland” is an example of the handiwork of a French rose-breeder during the years 1935 to 1939. Meilland hybridized individuals from two large groups of garden roses: the Hybrid Perpetuals, and the Tea roses.

Multiple species of roses were hybridized to form the Hybrid perpetual group which included Asian species with their tendency to bloom repeatedly and European hybrids that tended to bloom once a year. The Tea Rose group consists of a large collection of hybrids based on Rosa chinensis crossed with R. gigantea. Breeders have enlarged this group by further cross-breeding with other rose groups.

Meilland selected individuals from the hybrid perpetuals and the tea roses to produce the hybrid tea rose we call the Peace rose.  As a result, the peace rose is a hardy cultivar that is disease resistant and blooms repeatedly throughout the growing season. Meilland named the rose after his mother.

Hybrid tea roses are a diverse group of rose hybrids produced by rose breeders like Meilland and others. The Hybrid tea rose group is the most popular kind of roses grown by man worldwide.

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Pictured here is an example of a succulent in the genus Echeveria that I photographed on a recent trip to Fredericksburg, Texas. The town is a very interesting place with a main street that has lots of interesting shops located in historical limestone buildings.

Naturally, I was more interested in the beautiful planters and the menagerie of plant life that graced the store fronts. I highly recommend a visit to this town if you are in the vicinity, it is worth a look, and not only for the plants.

In this image which is a wider shot of the previous image, you can see the larger parent plant surrounded by its offspring, the smaller plants nearest to it. Some folks call the arrangement hen and chicks. You start with one, and wind up with many.

I like succulents. They are adapted to resist dry environments, and to me, they represent another marvelous example of the way nature shapes the characteristics of living things. You can read more about them at Wikipedia and see a wonderful collection of the varieties you can add to your garden at the World of Succulents website.

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My wife and I were recently in Fredericksburg, Texas. We were enjoying the picturesque buildings and shops along main street when we encountered this striking flower I had never seen before. It belongs to the genus Gazania which is a South African member of the Sunflowers (Asteraceae).

In the second image, you can see this bloom from a different angle and get a look at a second bloom that is opening.

This last image shows the Gazania flower in a mixed planting. The yellow flowers on the left are Coreopsis, the pink and blue flowers behind are Sage, and the pink flowers on the right are Ruby Begonias.

For more information, you can visit Spruce.com  and  Cornell University Home Gardening . Both sites offer pictures of the many kinds of Gazania that you can aquire to add remarkable colors to your garden.

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Roses are beautiful flowers for photography. They come in so many shapes and colors that you can find endless ways to put something new in your frame.

Roses are ephemeral, their blooms last a few days at most and they shed their petals to begin growing seeds in the part that some people call rose hips.

This is a yellow hybrid tea rose that is just starting to open. I like the various textures visible in the image. They add depth and dimension and serve to draw the eye to different portions of the image.

In this image, I enjoy the shapes and areas where light adds various shades of yellow to explore. The shapes of the petals are complex surfaces that invite inspection and delight the visual sense. Additionally, there are clues at the periphery and hidden between the petals to tell the viewer this is a rose and not some kind of abstract art.

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I was at the Oklahoma City Zoo during the spring of 2017 when I encountered these beautiful floribunda roses. The floribunda varieties of roses have been produced by crossing Hybrid Tea roses with Polyantha roses.

By crossing Hybrid Tea roses with Polyantha roses breeders were able to combine the large number of beautiful colors and shapes of the Hybrid Tea flowers with the multiple flowering characteristic of the Polyantha roses.

Floribunda roses produce smaller, bushier, more sparsely branched plants than the Hybrid Tea roses. Additionally, they are more upright  and less sprawling than their Polyantha ancestors.

Whatever their parentage, these colorful, gorgeous flowers add their charm to private or public spaces where a compact shrub is needed to decorate walkways or courtyards.

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