PART 2. WHITE FLOWERS
By Mary Free, Extension Master Gardener
Today we remember Independence Day with the white flowers found in the Glencarlyn Library Community Garden and the Sunny and Memorial Rose Gardens in Bon Air Park on July 4, 2017 and 2018.
Hydrangea paniculata (panicle hydrangea), a native of China and Japan, is a shrub with multi-season interest. Red fall foliage follows the showy July to September blooms of compact cultivar ‘Limelight.’ Flowers transition from white to lime to pinkish to beige and remain on the shrub into winter unless cut for fresh or dried bouquets first. Photo © 2019 Mary Free.
Lilium (lily) is a genus of easy-to-grow, perennial bulbs usually with large, eye-catching flowers. Although some species are native to the northeastern United States, the lily pictured above at Glencarlyn is likely hybrid ‘Lavon,’ an OT or Orienpet, which is a cross between an Oriental lily, native to Japan, and a trumpet lily. Photo © 2019 Mary Free.
Indispensable to both the Glencarlyn (above) and Sunny gardens, native Phlox paniculata (garden phlox) attracts hummingbirds and butterflies. North Carolina State University found the white-flowered cultivar ‘David’ to be highly resistant to powdery mildew in warm, humid climates. Photo © 2019 Mary Free.
The flowers of the decorative native Oxydendron arboreum (sourwood) resemble lily-of-the-valley, and produce nectar from which honey bees produce a highly valued honey. The flowering tree and visiting bumble bee were photographed in the Sunny Garden on July 5, 2015. Photo © 2019 Mary Free.
Leucanthemum x superbum (shasta daisy) is a hybrid cross between three European natives and a Japanese field lily. The flowers brighten up the Sunny (above) and Glencarlyn gardens. Deadheading extends the blooming period. Photo © 2019 Mary Free.
A Villa (bee fly) feeds on the floret nectar of a shasta daisy. Although at first glance it may resemble a bee, hence its common name, the bee fly has two wings (not four), short antennae, and large compound eyes. Photo © 2019 Mary Free.
The flowers of Sedum album (white stonecrop), a native of Europe, western Asia, and north Africa, attract a Euptoieta claudia (variegated fritillary). Another attraction may be the foliage, as Sedums are also a larval host for this butterfly. (The pictured foliage belongs to another Sedum species planted in the rock gardens of Bon Air Memorial Rose Garden.) Photo © 2019 Mary Free.