Lovely double blue water-lilies in miniature size dot my sea of green all through the sunny days of summer. When the visitors come, if they ask me the name of this pretty annual I tell them black fennel, for the ridged, black seeds are good to use on cakes and cookies, and have a pleasing flavor. The black fennel is easily grown. Planted in the open at the seed-planting time, it blooms early and lasts a long time. The seeds are oddly shaped and useful in dried bouquets. The azure flowers keep well in water and if you serve a platter of tasteful salad, make it unusual and beautiful by arranging an edging of finely cut foliage and ethereal flowers of the useful black fennel.
The new mallow, mauritiana, from Europe, grows three to four feet tall here in Vermont, with whorls of striped, good sized flowers all over the sturdy plants, which do not need to be staked. This mallow is striking in its coloring - crimson stripes on a rose ground. To keep the bloom continuous, I carry the scissors with me to the garden and clip off many of the too plentiful seed pods, which, like those of the mallow family, resemble "cheeses," like those which our grandmothers used when as little girls they set their doll tables with such wonderful playtime food. This pretty annual will self-sow, and always excites comment when visitors come to admire the colorful display.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
The Gayfeathers
If you've never become acquainted with the Kansas Gay-feathers, you've certainly missed out on something. Their botanical name is Liatris spicata. They are hardy but definitely not spreaders or pests. These gay plants bloom during August and September and sometimes until frost. They range in height from 9 inches to a foot and a half, the spikes making up most of the height.
And unlike most plants that the flowers are born in spikes, the Gay-feathers open their flowers from the top of the spike down. In some cases they open from the middle up and down the spike. The flowers are about a half-inch across but they are in little clusters of four or five. Each flower is almost exactly like those of the Hymenocallis or spider lily except they are very tiny.
I would advise you to buy a plant and then raise your own seed rather than buy seeds to start with, although sometimes you may have success with seeds; usually it requires good care to start them. mainly though, to raise them from seeds, they need to be sown in the late fall or very early spring.
When older they form large tubers under the soil similar to Dahlias except that they grow down. These will endure the coldest of winters and the dryest of summers. Be sure to not overlook these in your fall or spring planting.
And unlike most plants that the flowers are born in spikes, the Gay-feathers open their flowers from the top of the spike down. In some cases they open from the middle up and down the spike. The flowers are about a half-inch across but they are in little clusters of four or five. Each flower is almost exactly like those of the Hymenocallis or spider lily except they are very tiny.
I would advise you to buy a plant and then raise your own seed rather than buy seeds to start with, although sometimes you may have success with seeds; usually it requires good care to start them. mainly though, to raise them from seeds, they need to be sown in the late fall or very early spring.
When older they form large tubers under the soil similar to Dahlias except that they grow down. These will endure the coldest of winters and the dryest of summers. Be sure to not overlook these in your fall or spring planting.
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