Boys, Buffalo, and Beauty

So, I walk in the door returning from Buffalo, hug my teenage sons, and my eighteen year old says, "Did you see some cool plants, Mom?" Now, I know what you're thinking. "No eighteen year old who blanches at the thought of gardening would ask his mother about cool plants as she walks in the door." But my boys know from years of experience that sooner or later they will inadvertently say something that will trigger a passionate dispensation on how the late afternoon light enhanced that hibiscus flower I recently saw that must be the latest hybrid on the market. Therefore, they wisely chose to meet me at the pass, endure the tortuous details that I cannot help but expel, then blithely go on to tell me of their latest high school escapade.

All that to say, while my boys work hard at sounding interested in my plant passions, I save pulling out the photo album for those who know the difference between a petunia and a passionflower. These are some of my favorites plants that I saw during the tour of gardens last week in Buffalo.

Rudbeckia Cappuccino


Shasta Daisy Aglaya, Leucanthemum 'Aglaya'


I don't think this Hydrangea could get any pinker! (At the home of Elizabeth)


Monarda and Asiatic Lily


Wish I knew which rose this was!


We rarely see Delphenium as blue as this.


This purple Astilbe was incredible flanked by blue hosta and shasta daisies.


Loved these colors!


Japanese Maple leaf and Hydrangea macrophylla normalis


Echinops banaticus ‘Blue Glow’ turned Pink Glow under the tent at Brian and Gordon's home.


Echinops as it should be.


And this was just the first day!