White, white, and white

I didn't have room for this one in the last post with the rest of the lilies, but it fits well with the theme of this post anyway. The petals are so heavy they almost look like they're made of plastic.



The clematic John Huxtable is finally blooming. That's three varieties in bloom and three to go. Since they are supposed to bloom from June to September they have plenty of time. I find the blossoms fascinating. When the Rhapsody 's first flower opened it was only about an inch across and I was worried that I hadn't fertilized it correctly. The next day that same flower was two inches across and it has now reached about three inches across. It seems that the blossoms continue to grow in size after they open. Impressive.

The flowers of the John Huxtable start out with a distinct greenish cast and become more whit e as they increase in size.

This hollyhock is not a true white. Its actually palest pink. I like the way the light appears to shine through the petals to the point where you can clearly distinguish the calyx.