Philly and flowers

Last week we were in Philadelphia for a medical trip. We stayed in a nice old neighborhood close to the clinic with rock walls and plenty of flowers. Flowers everywhere, actually. It wasn't as warm there as here, and it was kind of like going back in time -- back to the pollen, but we went on a few nice walks and the flowers were beautiful. One of my favorite things to do when I travel is to try and identify flowers and shrubs I haven't seen before. It's always an adventure to me.


I loved the peonies in the photo, above next to an antique rock wall. I didn't get a photo of the roses next to them but I thought I did. I think the peonies are Gay Parees. I love the two colors. They were really striking.

Then I saw the flowers above and I was a bit confused because even though the shrub and the leaves looked like a Mountain Laurel, the flowers looked different to me. But, it is indeed a Mountain Laurel.

Maybe I am just confused, but I thought the angular flowers weren't like the ones I am used to seeing on hikes in North Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. It is the  Mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia, and I think one of the prettiest I have ever seen.

I think I was really stumped by the tree that was sort of like a Magnolia, but not a Magnolia grandiflora, the Southern Magnolia we know and love. It looks like a smaller magnolia tree with leaves that are almost translucent, with no brown underneath. This looked odd to me. If you look at the bottom right hand corner of the plant, you will notice a couple of blooms -- not as regal as our magnolias. I really don't know what variety this is, but it looks very much like a Sweetbay Magnolia or Magnolia virginiana.

The last plant that I was a little confused with was this hydrangea. I am pretty sure it is a hydrangea but it had hundreds of small, ball-shaped plumes of flowers all over it. Some had been blown down by the wind and rain and covered the sidewalk. When I picked up a flower, it was completely round and firm with small flowers covering it. Very pretty but I haven't been able to identify the variety. It was a bit tall for a hydrangea and very showy.