Summer Flowers

In the Cascadia region of North America, the Summer Solstice marks the longest day of the year, when the sun does not set until 9:30 p.m. and twilight lasts until 10:30-11:00 p.m. What better way to mark this milestone than with a set of Summer Flower artistamps. With two exceptions noted below, photographs of flowers grown in personal gardens over several seasons in the Seattle area were used to create fourteen different artistamps. Several artistamps along with a small envelope of wildflower seeds were mailed in a packet to correspondents on 2 June 2014.

 

The following flowers are represented on the stamp sheet (listed from left to right, top row first):

·         Delosperma cooperi: Common name: Ice plant. A low-growing succulent with brilliant, shining purple flowers, striking in a patio pot. Likes full sun. Blooming period: July-August.

·         Beesia Calthifolia: Heart-shaped glossy bronze green leaves with white blooms. Prefers part-shade and moist soil. Blooming period: Spring to fall.

·         Coreopsis auriculata 'Elfin Gold': Golden-yellow daisy-like flowers on compact plant with small green leaves. Drought tolerant in full sun to partial shade. Blooming period: Late spring to summer.

·         Delphinium 'Komestead': Common name: Larkspur. Luminescent bluish flowers and long green stalks. Prune to ground after first bloom to get a second bloom in late summer. Grows in full sun to partial shade. Blooming period: Summer.

·         Geranium 'Jericho': Miniature 6 to 8 inch tall bushy growth with white edged green leaves with irregular green and pink centers, and beautiful salmon-pink flowers. Slow-growing in full sun to partial shade. Blooming period: Summer.

·         Dianthus chinesis 'Floral Lace Mix': Lacy pink and scarlet flowers that are attractive to hummingbirds. Grows in full sun to partial shade. Blooming period: Summer to early fall.

·         Echinacea 'Harvest Moon': Yellow-orange flowering perennial that prefers full sun. Blooming period: Summer.

·         Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost': Heart-shaped frosty leaves with green borders and narrow green veins have a showy appearance year-round and is a vigorous grower. Flower stalks have small blue flowers. Grows in full sun to partial shade. Blooming period: Late spring to August, if dead blooms are pruned.

·         Coreopsis 'Show Stopper': Covered in bright rose-pink flowers, this perennial grows to 20 inches tall in full sun to partial shade. Blooming time: Late spring to first frost.

·         Papaver somiferum: Coimmon name: Poppy. Annual with papery pink blossoms with carmine rays and yellow center. Likes sandy soil and full sun and tends to self-seed for the next season. Blooming time: Late spring to early summer. [Note: This was one of two flowers not from a personal garden; this specimen was photographed next to a fence in an industrial area in south Seattle, Washington state, USA.]

·         Primula candelabra: Common name: Candelabra primrose. Rosette-forming purple-carmine flowers on mealy white stems with lance-toothed green foliage, growing up to 2.5 feet tall. Prefers moist soil. and partial shade. Blooming period: Summer.

·         Linum perenne: Herbaceous perennial with showy sky blue flowers growing 1-2 feet tall. Blooms profusely in full sun to partial shade and is drought-tolerant. Blooming period: May-June. [Note: This is the other flower not from a personal garden; this specimen was photographed along the Burke-Gilman urban trail in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, Washington state, USA.]

·         Potentilla recta: Perennial blooming bush with yellow flowers. Prefers moist soil with fresh compost in spring in full sun. Blooming period: Late spring to early fall.

·         Erigeron glaucus 'Bountiful': Common name: Beach aster. Wide lavender daisies with chartreuse centers grow on gray-green evergreen foliage. Cold hardy and continuously blooming if dead blooms are pruned. Grows in full sun to partial shade. Blooming period: Spring to fall.