textures and patterns

I'm extremely attracted to texture and pattern in plants; dare I say moreso than flowers. When I got home from work today I couldn't help but marvel at some of my plants. It rained this afternoon, so it was nice and cloudy. Water droplets were suspended on the leaves of many of my plants and it was so inspiring, I just couldn't help myself from taking pictures.

This is Begonia 'Fireworks', my absolute fave. I'm a big fan of fireworks and the pattern on this leaf is just so amazing. I love how the black centers radiate out to silver, then purple at the edge. It's an iridescent leaf, which I wish could be properly captured in the image, but I just couldn't get it.

I've found that my tastes in garden design have gravitated toward liking gardens with greater textural differences versus color. The Silver Garden at Longwood Gardens achieves just that, and has always been a source of inspiration for me with it's display of dessert and Mediterranean plants. Though of one common color pallette, it's the varying textures that make the design of the garden.

Another noteworthy texture garden at Longwood is the Fern Passage. It is so cool and green, and perfectly lustful and airy feeling. And there's that real earthy smell that evokes the perfect reaction of being in the tropics. I just love it!

Patterns play an important role for me too. One of the best caladiums I've grown is 'Red Flash', and it's more than just an elephant-ear shaped leaf with red color. There's a distinct edge of green and inside the red center are large freckles of silver.

Manihot esculenta 'Variegata' was such a great find for me many, many years ago. And the color patterns on this leaf are out of this world. The pattern of greens and yellows are more pronounced when grown in full sun. Using it in a container is best because I like to bring mine in the house for winter, and it doesn't transplant well, so I usually do pot in pot.

critters and coleus

2 things on my mind today in the garden: critters and coleus. I wish I had my camera; and it nevers fails that when I don't have it, I miss an opportunity. Back to that in a minute.

My sister and her husband gave me some coleus cuttings about 3 weeks ago, and they are growing really well. I started them in vases of water until they began to show root production, then, I potted them all up last week and they've been maturing nicely. I realize it seems late in the year to be starting coleus cuttings, but I have a competition to consider.

Most people know I'm a garden competitor in our state fair, and I've been competing every year since 2003. I haven't won a blue ribbon yet, but I'm trying! I do it mostly because I enjoy it, not for the blue.

Gardens need to be completed by the second week of October, which brings us back to the growing of late coleus cuttings. It's my hope that these cuttings will produce sizeable plants for display in my garden. We'll see.

On to critters. I went to the fairgrounds today to check on my garden display, see how things were doing, check water, groom plants. Plants are growing well, and I still have much work to do. To my delight I saw 3 tree frogs nestled in canna and banana plants! I love tree frogs, they're so cute. And there they were, minding their own business, relaxing among the flora, waiting for a meal. Too bad I didn't have my camera.

plants among friends

I saw my friend Bobby today, he had a gorogeous bromeliad for me. It's a vriesea type, you know, the ones with the really brightly colored
"flowers" like oranges, reds and purply-pinks. A real treat! I "traded" him for an aloe that I've been growing, that was so robust that I divided it up and had plenty to share. A couple of months ago he gave me a piece of dracaena and a clivia pup; both are doing well! I love Bobby's enthusiasm for plants. He's got a lot of knowledge, especially about tropical plants, since he's a Florida boy.


Having him give me that vriesea brings back memories of my trip to TPIE (tropical plant industry exposition) 2 years ago. That was a fun trip and one I've always wanted to go on. Not only did I get to see Ft Lauderdale and Miami, but I travelled to a few of the area nurseries to see how they operate. And, the other best part of that trip was going to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. What an awesome place! It just occured to me that I need to add the Fairchild site to my list of faves.


My pic is from that Florida trip, one of the nurseries I visited specialized in bromeliads.

Cyclamen africanum

I bought a cyclamen from John Lonsdale while at Pine Knot Farms' Hellebore Days in March. Not having much experience with growing cyclamen, John offered me some great advice on growing them. John is a leading expert on cyclamen, so his advice is invaluable.

First and foremost, it is not hardy a species to my zone 7 garden; I 've containerized it so all I have to do is carry it indoors when the cold comes. John told me to put it in full, hot sun and water periodically in summer and that should produce some great flowers for fall. Well, I've done nothing of the sort (it's mostly in shade) and I cannot believe my eyes with this little thing! I've had a few sporadic blooms over the last several weeks, foliage has been emerging sporadically for several weeks as well.

C. africanum is native to northern Algeria and Tunisia. From all I've read it looks a lot like C. hederifolium, just not hardy. And to me, it's far more exciting than the typical ones you find at Christmastime anyway, much as I adore them.

Crinum 'Menehune' in flower!

I bought Crinum 'Menehune' from Lushlife Nurseries (SC) back in June. Well, I had to buy 2! 'Menehune' has amazing burgundy-red leaves (that don't fade) and pretty pink flowers. I noticed a flower yesterday among several buds on a stalk; I was so surprised because I hadn't even noticed the stalk! Now I can't wait to see how many more will be produced.

Since it is also known as the Red Bog Lily, it's tolerant of wet soils and can be grown on a pond's edge; but, it is surprisingly tolerant of drier conditions too. Mine are planted in containers, so I'm able to control the moisture. I expect the clumps to top out at about 18-24" tall.