The Garden Awakens
Anise 'Woodland Red' ( Illicium floridanum ) A few weeks ago, I thought spring would never arrive, but now the change is astonishing. The nights are still cold (40s and sometimes even 30s) so planting tender annuals and vegetables is unwise although I have already succumbed, but covering and uncovering things gets old quickly. Someone made a wise comment last week and I must agree with them - "Don't plant anything tender until after May 1". Several plants are blooming like never before. One is the Anise shrub (above and below). I don't know if the recent tree pruning, which is allowing more sun into the woodland path, is affecting it or perhaps it is just age, but I've never seen so many blooms. Michael refers to this as "the stinky fish shrub" and I have to admit to smell of the flowers is quite unpleasant. It is so beautiful that I can overlook that. The old pink dogwood tree, which was already here, shades our woodland path and it too is prett
I have always admired the passion vine. I don't think I can grow it here. I have a clematis that looks very similar when it blooms but it is one of those short ones that I often overlook. Maybe with all this global warming I should try the Passionflower. When I see pictures like yours it makes me want to try.
ReplyDeleteI too like the Passionflower. Mine is growing abundantly this year. So many blooms. The funny little green fruit it makes -- we picked them when we were kids; called them apricots. They tasted awful!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid and we picked cotton by hand and sometimes we would find something that looked very similar to this in the cotton field. The flowers were gone when cotton picking time came around but the vines often had produced some kind of fruit. Usually only one to two pods, for lack of a better description. And the fruit was, well, not something you would serve guests or even take to house. But it was sweet and gooey and fun to eat when the last thing you wanted to be doing was picking cotton and stuffing it in a sack.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw this, I looked it up on wiki. According to that site there's about 500 species of these flowering plants. So I'm wondering if this one produces fruit and if so, have you ever heard of anyone eating it except for bored little barefoot boys picking cotton?
David, I don't recall seeing any fruits on mine but I will keep a look out.
ReplyDeleteNature never ceases to amaze. How she came up with something so interesting as that flower (I haven't seen them before) is beyond me.
ReplyDeletePassion vines showed up in my South Carolina garden. Those flowers look like space aliens to me. :o)
ReplyDeletePhillip, I've never grown that variety of passionflower, but I have some that grow along my deck. They were not profuse this year because the morning glories beat them out, but last year, Gulf Fritillaries frolicked all over it. It was like music in motion. I love the color of your passionflowers, and they are such a food for Fritillary caterpillars. Have a beautiful weekend.~~Dee
ReplyDeleteWow, those blooms are amazing. I did grow them here a few years ago, and enjoyed a few of those gorgeous flowers. But for the next two years there wasn't a single bloom. I gave up, tried to tear it out, but it has other ideas. It keeps trying to sneak back into my garden! I just wish it would bloom.
ReplyDeleteFantastic flower, great colors :) Regards
ReplyDeletePhillip my passion flowers have large green oval seed pods about the size of a large egg. The seeds inside are gooey.
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