Tag: flowers
-
Tulbaghia violacea
With a Filippi “code de secheresse” of 5 and its pretty as well as edible leaves and flowers, Tulbaghia violacea is an excellent plant for mediterranean gardens. This plant of the Allium family comes from South Africa and flowers in spring and fall in my garden. It tolerates up to -10°C and needs a light,…
-
Perovskia atriplicifolia
What a perplexing plant! I see it everywhere around here with its great big bushes of purple flowers abuzz with bees in late summer and fall. Perovskia are supposed to be superbly drought-resistant plants, thriving and rapidly growing in even the poorest, most arid soil. Yet none of the ones I’ve been planting in my…
-
Caryopteris clandonensis
One of my “darlings” and a somewhat misguided beginner’s purchase because Caryopteris is not really a drought-resistant plant. Filippi gives it a mere 2.5 on the drought-resistance scale. But so far it has turned out to be surprisingly tough and has survived less than ideal circumstances in my garden. I planted it in March 2023…
-
Leucophyllum
These are deceptively simple looking shrubs – until they bloom. Then they become an explosion of vivid pink to magenta or lavender violet flowers, appearing and re-appearing mostly from August through October, but the first flowers can begin as early as in June or July. Leucophyllum is native to the Southwestern US and Mexico and also…
-
Ipomoea Batatas – Sweet Potatoes
Pretty (though few) flowers and tasty fruit – Ipomoea batatas or Sweet Potato work well here in this Mediterranean garden. The wild form of Ipomoea batatas is native to Central America. It was imported to Asia by the Spanish and to Africa by freed African slaves. Today it’s grown in almost all tropical and subtropical…
-
Verbena bonariensis
Another one of those plants that seemed not suited to this area but simply took a year to establish itself. In 2023 I sowed and planted Verbena bonariensis into the then still more or less empty garden. They grew and flowered but stayed small and during the summer they constantly needed water just to survive.…