It’s October and the fragrant Butterfly ginger has bloomed in my mom’s garden. She planted these back in May of this year. For our northern California climate, these plant enjoy being in pots.
It’s got an interesting way of blooming. Notice how they shoot up from individual pockets. I didn’t catch them when they look like spears.
The fragrance is really the best part of this flower. It reminded me of Gardenia, but with a lighter scent. The ants and bees like it too.
The more I look into the Purslane family the more interesting it gets. There is the Portulaca Grandiflora that includes the Moss Rose, Samba Rose, Rio Rose, and Yubi.
The only Portulaca I saw at my local nursery was what looks like Moss Rose but was labeled as “Portulaca Oleracea”. Which is really the scientific name of the edible Purslane. I think it may have been mislabeled someone just put the wrong label on it.
This is the plant I brought home. When I first had it, there were many bright flowering colors, but now there aren’t as much anymore. The petals are like gift wrapping tissue paper. Some say it looks like a carnation.
Even if it’s part of the Purslane family, I would be a bit sketchy about eating the leaves of these guys.
Photo from Martin Group of Illinois. This is what they refer to as “Moss Ross”, it is in the Potulaca family.
I found these seeds at Orchard Hardware and thought it would be a nice addition to the garden. The Calendula I plan to grow in pots (since I don’t have much garden space). They are also referred to as “pot marigold.” And Calendula petals are also a nice addition to my soap and balm making.
The heirloom zinnias “Granny’s Bouquet” should be nice too. I would pot them as well, but I think they would be better grown in my mom’s garden. My mom is the ultimate “kitchen gardener” as all her plants are used in her cooking. But she does add a few of her favorite flowers here and there. Mostly marigolds, chrysanthemums, and carnations.
Last year I planted some gladiolus for her and also a row of really tall zinnias too. The zinnias were hardy flowers that bloomed all summer long and even to autumn too. I saved the seeds but then forgot where they went! Better planning next year. Read the rest of this entry »
My botany photo of the day is the crocosmia. This photo is taken from the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden’s botany collection. I love this bright red variety, it’s a very cheery looking flower. Next time I am in Vancouver, I will have to make a visit to the botanical garden and see what other flowers they have growing.
Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’
Crocosmia are related to the gladiola and are hardy plants that bloom from mid to late summer. Gladious are some of my favorite summer flowers and very easy to grow. In most regions, it is completely hardy if given a light mulch cover in winter. The plants will appear again in greater abundance each year. For the crocosmia corms, it is suggested that clumps be divided in spring time every three years.
If I had more garden space, I’d like to grow some of these Chinese Lantern flowers. Not to be confuse with the Chinese Lantern Lily I posted about earlier. These flowers are suppose to make great dried flowers too. These beautiful photos are from Photos Ali in Holland via Flickr.
Chinese Lanterns got their name for the orange, paper-like husks they produce that resemble Chinese paper lantern. They are native to Asia and Japan. They are sometimes called Strawberry Tomato, Winter Cherry or Ground Cherry. I think it’s because of the berry inside this paper-like husks that gives it that name. Chinese Lanterns are also related to tomatillos . Tomatillos are popular in Mexican sauces and look like green tomatoes. They are used to make salsa verde or green sauce.
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