Tangled Branches: Cultivated

happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia

Monday, June 30, 2008

Cute Flowers: One Cultivated, Two Wild

Moving along from shiny flowers, how about some cute flowers? None of these are large, but all have interesting shapes to make up for the size deficit.

This is the first time I've grown Tropaeolum peregrinum, and because it's a nasturtium relative I expected a more vigorous plant. It's really somewhat delicate-looking. I trained it on string looped over the deck railing and it's only about 4 feet tall at present. I suspect it may fizzle in the heat of the summer, but for now it's a cute plant.

The common name, Canary Climber or Canary Creeper, comes from the resemblance of the flowers to a canary. You be the judge.

Here's a wildflower that I missed seeing last year - Chimaphila maculatum, aka Spotted Wintergreen et al. I knew that it grows in the woods in Central Virginia, but didn't happen upon it last summer while it was blooming. It's more noticeable in late fall and winter with it's attractive striped evergreen leaves.

It's not easy to see the flowers close-up because they're quite low to the ground, but look at the curious arrangement of the stamens and the jug-shaped gynoecium

This one, Polygala curtissii or Curtiss' Milkwort, grows at the edge of the woods but is so small and wispy that it's easy to overlook. These are about 6 inches tall overall and the flower head is about 3/4 inch.

It's worth looking more closely - the flowers are quite pretty.

I'm planning a longer update on the vegetable garden later this week, but on Saturday I picked the first chile pepper! That fresh chile aroma was just like perfume...