Blooming Friday ~ Wishful Thinking

The North Carolina Botanical garden in Chapel Hill is a special place to me -- it's the first place I saw natives used to really wonderful effect in a garden.

Over the years I have gotten many plants from the Garden, mostly through seeds that the garden gives out to members every year and some through plant purchases, but there's still some that I don't have -- yet. :)

Southern wood fern, a gorgeous fern that I covet.

The beautiful reseeding biennial scorpionweed, which I
still have not managed to get established in the garden.

I don't know if I could give pasqueflower the conditions that it needs, but I love the color.

I have dwarf crested iris, both in lavender and this soft blue that is the same color as woodland phlox

but I would love to add the white as well!

I don't have vernal iris either.

I have tried rue anemone before but it didn't make it; I'll have to try it again, as I
think the delicate lime-green foliage and frilly flowers look like the essence of spring.

We have 2 species of wild viburnum on the farm, Viburnum nudum and a mystery viburnum that grows in one of the sloughs. The mystery viburnum blooms very early and may be blackhaw viburnum, Viburnum prunifolium. I keep forgetting to take cuttings or collect berries from it. I should, especially after seeing blackhaw close-up at the Garden. It's grown as a beautiful small tree there.

I have woodland phlox, like that which is pictured here next to the Totten Center at the Garden

but not Phlox stolonifera. I love this snowy white form.

Red buckeye is probably the most disease resistant buckeye that we have, although it still loses its leaves earlier than most trees. (For the record the buckeye I really covet is painted buckeye.)

Who could not be charmed by these flowers? They look like pink bunny rabbits.

I have 3 Florida Azaleas, but there is a lot or variability among individuals with color and
flower form. The ones I have are an orange sherbet color, but isn't this golden yellow nice?

As well as this beautiful azalea with the rosy pink/ orange/ golden buds. The fragrance is delicious.

I planted three baldcypress that I grew some seed a few years ago by the small pond that's in one of the floodway field, but I need a pondcypress too!

Bird's foot violet is very unique-looking. It requires poor soil and excellent drainage.

I have Amsonia hubrictii and A. tabernaemontana and love both of them, but look at this A. ciliata,
the fuzzy stems and leaves and those heavenly blue flowers.

I can't remember the name of this xeric-type phlox, but isn't it charming?

Last but not least, I would love to have the cream-colored bottlebrush flowers and brilliant fall colors of fothergilla in my garden.

This is where the Garden has its plants for sale, which people pay for on the honor system. I think I can hear some of those plants calling my name!

Thank you to Katarina at roses and stuff for hosting Blooming Friday.