Skip to main content

Featured

A Visit to Cistus Nursery

I rarely go to nurseries anymore since I work part-time at one and another reason being that I don't have much room for additional plants. When a garden fanatic runs out of room, the brain goes into overdrive, dreaming up ingenious ways to incorporate more plants. And another thing happens - a burning desire to obtain rare and unique plants. I've been moving plants around, a tricky process that has a domino effect. A plant is unhappy - it is getting too much shade or perhaps too much sun. There is a plant that did not get as large as you thought it would or it is just a slow grower and now it is hopelessly hidden behind a taller plant. Sometimes a plant is just a dud for reasons unknown (Rhododendron 'Golden Gate' anyone?). I find the plant in question a better home, but it means that another plant will have to be moved. And the merry-go-round continues to turn... However, for those plants that are to be discarded, a space opens up for a new one! I decided to move a Mou...

Surprise blooms on the Honeybush (Melianthus Major)


From what I had read about the Honeybush (Melianthus Major), I didn't expect it to bloom. That would have been okay as the foliage is satisfying enough. After cutting it down to the ground after the ice and snow back in February (it looked good up unto that point), it has rebounded and is already four feet tall. I grow it on the south side of the house and I'm sure it is happy in it's warm spot.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. I think Melianthus major appreciates being cut back hard. Each time I've cut mine down to stubs I've feared I killed it, only to have it dramatically rebound as yours did. Mine (in partial shade) usually only produces a single bloom but this year, despite our pathetically low rainfall, I've got 4 bloom spikes this year.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very cool! I've not seen a Melianthus bloom before.

    ReplyDelete
  3. No comment about the honeybush in particular, but I wanted to tell you how happy I was to find your blog. I too, live in Vanc, WA, and just this year have I started work on our postage-stamp sized back yard. I am envious of your rich soils as mine are compacted and I have alot of remediation work to do. It's backbreaking. We are transplants from the upper midwest and I am amazed at what I can grow here. Nice to see a neighbor!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Kiyoko and so nice to hear from a neighbor!

      Delete
  4. The bloom stem before the flowers open is the prettiest burgundy imaginable. Beautiful photo.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts