Ocimum 'African Blue' behind the artichoke.
I'm up pretty early this morning; the light isn't right for pictures yet.
The passionflower 'Victoria' isn't so great to have, but it always chimes in on Bloom Day.
I couldn't resist buying this summer annual Phacelia viscida when I visited Annie's Annuals last week.
The Cobaea scandens blossoms are dropping everywhere.
And I need to do some clean-up work on the vine. Or maybe not. I'm not sure if I really need to do anything or not. Generally, I'm trying to let things go so I can see what happens.
Hardenbergia violacea. This is just a preview of things to come with this plant. The main show doesn't start until December.
Now if you'll excuse me, this is San Francisco and I have a massive, and peaceful, political demonstration to attend (ATTENDED).
Visit May Dreams Gardens for more Bloom Day fun.
11 comments:
I guess Tarweed did not have any kind of marketing campaign behind it when it came to picking a name. I really like the looks of the Cobaea.
Hi Chuck, hope your demonstration was peaceful and meaningful and maybe got some people's attention. Your blooms are so pretty, great shot of the passionflower. And the hardenbergia, did I ever tell you about how I bought that vine for friends at the original Smith and Hawken in Mill Valley? Oh, I did? Twice? Well I won't go into it again. :-)
Frances
I'm not sure I like looking at all your unusual flowers while a blizzard is trying to blow the house down.
I do hope you had a nice protest. I would have gone to the one in Asheville if I wasn't a lazy slug and afraid to drive in an oncoming blizzard. Andrew Sullivan has a nice roundup of the protests from around the whole country and in Europe. Pretty amazing when you think about it, a spontaneous eruption of we aren't going to take this second class crap anymore.
Wonderful photos today! I'm glad the sun shined on the rally.
Beautiful photos. Do you mind telling me what you think of the taste of that 'African Blue' basil? We have people who come into the garden center year after year asking and searching for the stuff... but the one time I tried to grow it, it wimped out and died on me so quickly I decided it wasn't worth the effort. Was I wrong--is the taste good enough to warrant babying it here?
I don't think there is any flower bluer than that Phacelia, it is just gorgeous! The Phacelia I've found around here is just a washy lavender.
MMG: I would like to know more about the genus Phacelia...there are several native species, and it seems like new ones are put in cultivation every year. We have some wishy-washy lavendars too. But the most intense blues that I know of all come from Phacelia. My camera barely knows what to do with that blue, and a lot of times I just have to delete the pictures I take of it because they come out fuzzy.
Kim: I had one wimp out and die on me last year. That was the variegated form. I thought I'd try again with the non-variegated. To me, it's an acceptable substitute for culinary basil on a small scale, but I would not make a whole lot of pesto based on it. However, the people who promote it here as a perennial herb for coastal kitchen gardens do just that. A blog commenter once mentioned that she liked it more in the garden than she did on her plate. I would add a few leaves to a salad anytime, or on crackers with cheese...that sort of thing. Really, you grow it for the flowers, which in my picture are not that great. I just got this plant a couple weeks ago. It gets big tho', and the whole thing is a bee magnet.
Also, fyi, the 'African Blue' hybrid emerged spontaneously at a nursery in Ohio. I don't now know how I know that, but I feel certain that it's true.
Ooo. I LOVE the Phacilias - they will grow and bloom here, too!
[does the desert gardener's happy dance]
I just love that Passion Flower. I can't grow them here unless I grow them as annuals. I do have a clematis that reminds me of the bloom of a passionflower. I have lost the tag to it though. I don't know what it is called.
Great photos. And it's so much fun to see such a different plant pallete from mine and what I'm used to. I love the Phacelia. Will have to research!
Wow, the Hardenbergia violacea is spectacular.
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