This post, “Bloom Day” was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana
Well, the 15th of the month is here again, and it is time to tell what is blooming in our gardens. Thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for coming up with Gardenbloggers’ Bloom Day. I guess I should have saved my daylily post from yesterday for today, but since I did not, I’ll just post a picture of a plant that is just now blooming.
The Pink Flowered Indigo (Indigofera amblyantha) has just started blooming. This plant has blooms that resemble a pink wisteria, but is not climbing. It makes a shrub about three to four feet high & is covered with these long pink clusters.
Also blooming here right now are the following: pansies, Knockout roses, amaryllis, daylilies, climbing Blush rose, Iceberg rose, Mexican sage, Louisiana irises, flax lily, woodland phlox, calla lilies, coral nymph sage, petunias, tropical hibiscus, and ageratum.
It will be interesting to see what will be blooming on the 15th of next month.
Always Growing 
Linda MacPhee-Cobb said,
April 15, 2008 at 8:13 pm
I just saw my first bloom for the year on my indigo today. I think they are so cool I put mine right outside my office window so I can gaze on it often.
LetsPlant said,
April 15, 2008 at 8:31 pm
What a beautiful flower!! Isn’t it great to have everything rewarding you with pretty flowers!!!
nancybond said,
April 15, 2008 at 9:03 pm
How beautiful — what a delicate pink and striking shape. 🙂
Melanthia said,
April 15, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Very unique plant, at least to me. What sort of care is required?
Jan said,
April 17, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Linda, I first saw this plant at a public garden where it was planted in drifts. It certainly is a winner.
LetsPlant, not only is this flower beautiful, it lasts a long time too.
Nancy, pink indigo reminds me so much of wisteria except indigo is a little smaller and hangs down under the leaves more. It blooms for a long period, too.
Jan said,
April 17, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Melanthia, this is an easy to grow plant. It can take some shade, likes moist, well drained soil, and grows in just about any soil – even clay. It can sucker, but I have found that not to be a problem – just gives me more to plant or give away. It is deciduous, and the leaves are a gray green.
Carol, May Dreams Gardens said,
April 18, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Pink flowered indigo? That’s a new flower for me, I’ve never seen it before, and assume it is not hardy enough for my garden. Otherwise, I’d have it!
Thanks for joining in for bloom day!
Jan said,
April 19, 2008 at 4:50 am
Carol, I do love this plant. It is supposed to be hardy to zone 6b.
Annie in Austin said,
April 19, 2008 at 9:13 am
Hi Jan,
I have something that looks pretty close to this but shorter and the individual flowers seem to be farther apart on the stem. Or maybe we have the same indigofera but you’re a better gardener and your plant is doing better ;-]
Your mutabilis in the later post looks great – my two shrubs are only a few months old… hope they soon look like yours.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Jan said,
April 19, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Annie, I would like to see a photo of yours to see if it is similar to my indigofera. As for your Mutabilis, they are fast growers. It won’t be long before yours are large.
Janet L Hevey said,
July 4, 2009 at 9:59 am
I am enjoying your site. I am from Baton Rouge. We had a tree on the house, that pulled our deck upright like a twelve foot wall. We had the tree removed from the house but then had to take two more down because all the roots were intermingled. To make a long story short, we had to redo sprinkling system, redesign flower beds, add a couple, and build a shade structure, which we call a pavilion. I have been having a good time planting new varieties and helping old ones get acquainted with new areas.
I have one shade area that I would like to use for hostas. I believe you mentioned the Blue Cadet. Do you have any others that have been successful for you? We visited several gardens on a recent trip where I saw some very large, blue gray leafed hostas. I do not know if any like that will do well in our area. I have some green and white ones and some just plain green ones that I believe will be happier if I move them into the full shade.
I keep a journal, photo regularly and also drawings of the beds. Some plants that die totally back, I mark when they are at their finest with a piece of green garden stake. I cut the stakes in about three or four pieces and use them to mark the plants that take awhile to come back. That way I do not plant something over the late riser.
I have a rose that I believe is almost extinct. My daughter and I have asked about it in nursuries her in La. and in Texas. It is called the seven sister rose. It has no real long hard thorns, just a finer version that is not hard on the gardener. A friend who had survived cancer told me her dr. told her to stay away from the roses because she would not heal well from the scratches of the thorns. She took one of my starts. I try to put them in the ground and pots when ever I prune them so I can always be ready to give them away. They are great on trellis or fences and even as mounds in a spacy area. If you would like to swap roses or plants let me know. We live in Baton Rouge.
I am at my daughter’s home in Frisco, Texas now. Will return home on Mon.
Janet
Jan said,
July 7, 2009 at 5:53 am
My sister and I go to Baton Rouge a few times a year to visit the nurseries up there like Cleggs and Louisiana Nursery. Maybe the next time we go we can meet for lunch or something. Thanks for the kind words about my blog. As for hostas, Sum and Substance has done very well for me and some unnamed ones that have lighter colored green leaves or chartreuse leaves. I think the nurseries around here are starting to carry ones that grow well here. I think the thicker the leaves, the better they do here, at least in my experience.