Father Pitt

Tag: Flowers

  • Crocuses After the Rain

  • Daffodils After the Rain

  • Neomoorea irrorata

    A beautiful species of orchid from Colombia, not often seen in greenhouses. This one was blooming a week ago in the Orchid Room in Phipps Conservatory. Phipps will be closed for a while, but old Pa Pitt is doing his best to bring us some cheerful color.

  • Slipper Orchids in Phipps Conservatory

    Like most public institutions, Phipps Conservatory is closed for the next two weeks at least. While we wait patiently for life to return to normal, old Pa Pitt will be reaching down into his immense stash of unpublished pictures to bring us some cheery color. These three slipper orchids were blooming just a few days ago in the Orchid Room. Above: Paphiopedilum Golden Acres.

    Phragmipedium After Glo ‘John’s Happy Birthday.’

    Paphiopedilum Via Casa Grande x Chans Temple.

  • Purple Dead-Nettle in Late Winter

    Purple Dead-Nettle (Lamium purpureum) growing from the stone wall under a railroad overpass at the back of the South Side Flats. In this sheltered position, it was already blooming in early March.

  • Mexican Sunflower

    Tithonia rotundifolia, the Mexican Sunflower, is a fine garden flower if you have some room for it: it can grow six feet high and spread just about as wide. Tall flowers in hot colors are fashionable again, but old Pa Pitt never cared for fashions in flowers. He just likes big bright annuals.

  • Sidewalk Petunia

    Urban weeds are different from suburban or rural ones. Petunias often escape and pop up in cracks of sidewalks. Usually these volunteer seedlings have smaller flowers than their hybrid ancestors, and often in more washed-out colors. This flower was blooming from a concrete stairway on the South Side Slopes.

  • Butter-and-Eggs (Linaria vulgaris)

    Butter-and-Eggs or Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris) is a kind of wild snapdragon that came from Europe as an ornamental and made itself weedily at home. These plants were growing out of sidewalk cracks on the South Side Slopes. Note the two different color phases: one with bright orange centers, the other a more uniform primrose yellow.

  • Morning Glories

    Morning glories (Ipomoea purpurea) came here as ornamental garden flowers and have happily adapted to the life of a weed. They are, however, one of our most beautiful weeds, and not many of us resent them. These were blooming in Beechview at the end of August.

  • Balsam

    Balsam (Impatiens balsamina) is one of those old-fashioned garden flowers you don’t see too much anymore. Here are some fine examples from a garden in Beechview.

    Camera: Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z3.