Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Diversity and Inclusion

That's the title of the video we had to watch this week at work. It was a reminder that people are different and no one should be excluded or singled out for any reason. Of course, it focused on physical traits.

In my yard, Rudbeckia comes in many shades and colors. I like them all.



From Thompson and Morgan, we have the new 'Cherry Brandy' Rudbeckia. The claim was it would be red. This is more like the color of dried blood. I'm not thrilled.



On the other end of the spectrum, there's the plain old boring yellow and brown.



In between, there's lots of variety.













And finally, Rudbeckia fulgida. This is a perennial variety. I haven't successfully grown this from seed yet. I collected seed last year mixing it with other "Black Eyed Susan" seed from lots of sources. What I got was Rudbeckia hirta. Perhaps my seed was not ripe when collected. Or maybe what I've read is true, it reverts to hirta from seed. In any case, it blooms late summer to early fall when all the other rudbeckias are busy dying.



WeatherUnderground is forecasting a 20% chance of thunderstorms this evening. Weather.com is forecasting high winds and increased chance of fire. I'm hoping for the rain instead. It's 66 degrees and sunny. A great morning to be outside, coffee in hand, planning next years garden.

7 comments:

Kris said...

Good grief. Is that a rudbeckia with a BLUE center in your picks? Or is a trick of the camera/light?

Unknown said...

gorgeous! i love the variety you've got going on in the garden...simply beautiful..:)

i gave a shout out to you on my blog..:) i broke down and ordered some datura seeds too...am so excited!

and more rain has hit us..yay!! finally!

hope you get your rain and not fire..:)

thanks again tom!

Dirt Princess said...

They are all very nice, even the dried blood!

Jimmy said...

What you didn't say was, 'you learned a lot from the video'. Love the bloody flower.

Tom - 7th Street Cottage said...

Kris, it must be a trick of the light. No blue rudbeckia here. :)

Cat...you should have waited. I would have sent you gobs of seed in the fall.

Thanks Dirt Princess. Next year, I hope I get some more variations with all the crosses.

Jim...I learned nothing. LOL.

Unknown said...

thanks tom, i just couldn't wait..haha! i am bordering on obsessed with these plants thanks to you..;) i can't wait for next spring and summer...

i will, however, take you up on some seeds from maybe your bee balm and some of your coreopsis. they are really gorgeous in your garden...:) let me know what you need from me...

i am going to attempt to save some seeds from some of my better plants this year. first time doing this so any pointers would be awesome!

Lisa said...

Hi, Tom-
Love the rudbeckias, bee balm, and blanket flowers!
Lisa