Is exclusive bloom becoming redundant? Well, one of these is actually foliar rather than floral, although it resembles real floral bloom enough to qualify for the title above. Most of these six are annuals.

1. Cyclamen persicum, Persian cyclamen is now a Ghost of Christmas Past that will stay as long as it performs. If it does not mold by the end of the rainy season, it will hibernate by the warmly dry season. It is sadly exploited as an expensively cheap annual perennial.

2. Lobularia maritima, alyssum remains from last summer as a genuinely cheap annual that wants to be a perennial. Although it has potential to perform as a perennial, salvage after winter is less practical than replacement, especially since alyssum is not expensive.

3. Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’ creeping rosemary is neither annual nor perennial like the others. It is instead a very prostrate shrub that sprawls as a ground cover. Bloom seems to be continuous, although not as impressive as bloom of annuals and perennials.

4. Viola X wittrockiana, pansy is probably the most popular cool season annual here. It has potential to be perennial, but like alyssum, it is easier to replace when it is in season than salvage after it was not in season. It gets thrashed through the warmth of summer.

5. Osteospermum ecklonis, African daisy tries to bloom as continuously as rosemary. Its flowers do not last for long while the weather is cool and damp, though, and might mold before they unfurl. Several cultivars with distinct floral colors bloom in the same garden.

6. Brassica oleracea var. acephala, ornamental cabbage is the only one of these six that is foliar rather than floral. Actually, it deteriorates as it eventually blooms with warming summer weather. Yet, it is the biggest and boldest of these six even without floral bloom.

This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate: https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

18 thoughts on “Six on Saturday: Saturday of Flowers III”

    1. Thank you. Osteospermum will eventually get icky as the rainy season progresses. I do not remember ever seeing it without flowers. However, upon closer inspection later in winter, I can see that flowers are moldy, regardless of how colorful they are.

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    1. The cabbage was not my idea. I do not select the annual color. However, like so many flowers that I am not so keen on, I sort of like it because others express their fondness for it. Although I am not so keen on African daisy either, I do like how I can spread it around merely by plugging pruning scraps wherever I want more of it (within irrigated areas).

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  4. I am also not a fan of ornamental cabbages. I remember when I first started seeing it and thinking Huh. Since then I have migrated towards Meh. Alyssum I can get behind. It smells great and is a pretty fluff of white or purple. Love pansies too.

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    1. Ornamental cabbage looks like a vegetable to me. I only like it because so many who see it like it. Pansies are fortunately reasonably happy here. Just a few miles away, they might be sloppy through their entire season. Even here, they get slapped somewhat around by rain, but do not like the warmth when the rainy season ends. Alyssum self sows, and eventually reverts to white. It can be a delightful weed.

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  5. Personally, I’m quite fond of the ornamental cabbages. I was so surprised the first time I saw them being used in our town’s landscaping, and then surprised again when I learned that they were. Multiple colors are massed in some places. They’re not only lovely, they have the advantage of staying low and not blocking sightlines around street intersections.

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  6. Loving the flowers this Saturday. I keep meaning to try the Osteospermum. I like them as well. Cabbages I can do without. They always got frozen when I lived further north and turned to mush. But I really just hate the taste and no, I never ate ornamental cabbage. I did like the ornamental kale though.

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    1. Osteospermum reminds me of the old fashioned Osteospermum fruticosum, which is known as freeway daisy. I am getting to like it though, since I can plug pruning scraps wherever I want more of it (within irrigated situations). Ornamental cabbage takes like culinary cabbage, but is somehow more bland and more bitter at the same time. I can not explain how it can be both at the same time, but that is the impression I get.

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  7. That is the best of the Rosemary shrubs for cooking with. The leaves are smaller and far more tender and hence lovely in dishes. I use this one in raisin and rosemary rolls which is delicious on the cheese board and also along side salads etc.

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    1. What?! I can not disagree, since it is the only rosemary that I have access to. However, in the old garden, we grew a cultivar that was specifically for culinary application. I was not so keen on it, since it developed shabby form. Also, it did not seem to be any better for culinary application than the ground cover sort.

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      2. Thank you. This will likely be the only cultivar that I ever grow. If I want copies anywhere else, I will just take rooted bits from this. (There are about sixteen in a row, hanging over a stone retaining wall.) A single old specimen of an upright cultivar that I can not remember the name of inhabits another abandoned landscape, but I do not like it enough to grow copies of it. It is that vertically squiggly sort that looks rather . . . weird.

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    1. I am not so keen on it either, and it seems that most who enjoy gardening are no more keen on it than I am, but I do enjoy how popular it is within the public landscapes at work. Guests come here from all over. They are amazed by redwoods, but expect to see palm trees, and are impressed by anything colorful, no matter how unappealing I might find it to be.

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