Category: Interesting Plants

Final Exam of 2012?

Actually, just a pop quiz.

Continuing the "flowers that look like Christmas ornaments" bit as started on our Facebook page…here’s another, as seen a couple of days ago in our visit to the conservatory at the Biltmore Estate, Ashevegas, N.C.


You can probably guess the family by the leaf shape.


Nice dangly peduncle, no?

Let’s have some guesses, temperate-zone readers! This had me stumped, and I’m not unfamiliar with tropicals. And yes, I want one.… Continue reading this article “Final Exam of 2012?”

The eternal [gardening] optimist

I’ve gotten better, actually.  After slaying hundreds of dollars worth of mail-order and/or inappropriate plants, I’ve learned to curb my urges a bit.

But not this time.

I was overcome by a sale at “Annies Annuals and Perennials” –  the most decadent, irresistible, West Coast, Zone 9 catalog ever.

Behold! The impossible-to-grow and majestic Puya*

Mine! Mine! Mine!
It will reside in my greenhouse over the winter.


Packing peanut left in pot for scale.

Now taking bets as to how many years ’till bloom.… Continue reading this article “The eternal [gardening] optimist”

The secret of immortality

Last Sunday’s New York Times had a story about immortal jellyfish.  It was interesting, and given my previous life as a marine biologist, it was also a topic that was comfortably familiar. But really, I wasn’t that impressed.  Because plants do the same thing, yet no one bats an eye.

Gardeners and other plant aficionados have exploited the plant kingdom’s ability to remain forever young.  How many of us have taken cuttings of mature plants, rooted them, and started new ones? … Continue reading this article “The secret of immortality”

Ornamental Peppers for the Holidays (!)

Growers and garden centers are always on the lookout for Poinsettia alternatives.  Points make up the vast majority of potted flowering plants sold this time of year, but other crops are gaining ground. Due in part to the popularity of All-American Selection (AAS) winner ‘Black Pearl,’ there’s been an explosion of ornamental pepper varieties.   Most are pretty versatile – can be used as bedding plant, in containers, and as a potted flowering plant.  Edible? Depends on your threshold for pain.… Continue reading this article “Ornamental Peppers for the Holidays (!)”

A holiday gift idea

In deference to the holiday season, I’ll step down temporarily from my soapbox and mention a great holiday gift idea for your favorite gardener.

I saw this sedum stump a few years ago when I was speaking to a Master Gardener group in British Columbia.  The porous nature of the stump would make it easy for the roots of the sedums and other rock-garden types of plants to establish. And the stump could be easily moved to wherever the recipient desired.… Continue reading this article “A holiday gift idea”

Who says you can’t get decent fall color on the west coast?

 

Thanks to our gingko, contorted larch, Japanese maple, and viburnum we’ve got it all:
Happy Halloween!
… Continue reading this article “Who says you can’t get decent fall color on the west coast?”

Fall for Ornamental Grasses


I’ve written about ornamental grasses previously – they really are one of the toughest, most useful yet under-appreciated groups of garden plants.  Most provide at least three seasons of interest, but fall is when they really shake their pom-poms.

On a recent conference trip to western Michigan with pal and plantsman Paul Westervelt, we stopped by the trials at Walter’s Gardens of Zeeland – one of the largest perennial propagators (wholesale) in the country.

It was a beautiful, breezy day in their extensive gardens, and the grasses were positively alive with light and motion (and kittens – seven or eight, I think).… Continue reading this article “Fall for Ornamental Grasses”

Clever Things I Saw This Summer, Part 1

I’ve been wanting to share a few silly things with you from my travels and travails this summer. But I’ve been a bit hesitant, due to the gravity of recent posts, comments, and related hoo-ha (I was completely unaware there was a cornmeal controversy).

I sure appreciate and admire the guts and grace with which my GP colleagues present their cases and engage our readers.  Important topics, all.

Which makes this segue even more awkward…Look! A jellyfish made from succulents!!!… Continue reading this article “Clever Things I Saw This Summer, Part 1”

The coolest plant from Costco

Since we have an almost 18-year-old with perpetual FDD (food deficit disorder), we do a lot of Costco shopping. I always take a walk down the bagged bulb aisle to see what interesting things I might try at home. This year I bought a bag of Tigridia grandiflora, aka peacock flower. Wow! What a lucky choice for me!

These iris family members have been flowering continuously since sometime in July. They do tend to be a bit floppy.… Continue reading this article “The coolest plant from Costco”

A Rose is a…Tomato?

Linda’s blue orchid (ick!) post may have led to this one subliminally.

I seem to have a thing for oddly-colored vegetables (see my orange cucumber post). When I saw this new tomato in the 2012 Johnny’s Seeds catalog, I had to have it.

‘Indigo Rose’ was bred by Dr. Jim Myers of Oregon State University. Jim wrote the book (literally) on Organic Plant Breeding – using traditional breeding methods to breed varieties of vegetables that perform well for organic farmers. … Continue reading this article “A Rose is a…Tomato?”