Cockle Shells

Over the last week, we have enjoyed table-top bouquets built from flowers cut from plants in our back yard. I thought that I should share our experience with several types of flowers, to help you if you want to pick out plants that work well as cut flowers.

Outstanding cut flowers, long-lasting and noteworthy: sunflowers ‘Cappucino’ and ‘Italian White’blue-eyed daisies; and chives. Yes, chives. Their flowers can act as a work-a-day substitute for baby’s breath.

Short-lived: Mexican sage. Falls apart almost as soon as you cut it.

Frustrating: salvia ‘red’ and ‘Hot Lips’: too small to use as the focal point, too eye-catching to use as a sub for baby’s breath.

Atlas fescue or Festuca mairei, an ornamental grass, looks happy in its several locations in the back yard:

Not very tall yet — the plant description says that it should fountain to three feet, a display I am eager to see.

Zowie!

Nothing shy or hesitant about this sunflower:

That blossom is about 6 inches across, half again as big as the sunflower ‘Italian white’ on the other side of the yard.

It is growing on the east side of the yard, against a west-facing six-foot block wall. A neighbor’s enthusiastic shrubbery adds another three feet. Perhaps due to that location and reaching for sun, it is growing out over the lawn rather than up.

The seeds that I ordered from Victory Seeds arrived a couple of weeks ago but I am only now getting around to browsing through the packets to decide which to try first.

I gave my daughter the blue morning glory seeds. She’s been moping about because the only color available was red. (Quite a dramatic reddish purple, but she really wanted blue.)

The other flowers were red corn poppy, painted daisy, shasta daisy and sunflower ‘Autumn Beauty.’

The red corn poppy can be sown “in late fall” — so maybe over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

The rest of these will have to wait for March or April next year.

The reason behind the seed order was to grow plants for a photo series on homeopathic remedies. Those seed packets went into a separate stack.

To stay on track, I need to plan ahead for taking photographs of borage, chamomile, pot marigold and tobacco at different stages of their growth and with a background that suggests their use as homeopathic botanicals:

• borage, Borago officinalis

  homeopathy: from Joel Kreisberg of the Flower Essence Society, “As a homeopathic remedy, it brings playfulness and spontaneity to persons who have been burdened by family responsibility, becoming hardened and resentful. Their argumentativeness stems from their protective nature due to their anxiety about the family’s welfare. ”

  gardening: Direct seed into the soil in mid-spring. Very easy to grow. The plant stays attractive for a long time and is a good candidate for landscape plantings. It is also a great self-seeder.

  visual: the flowers are an eye-popping blue.

• chamomile, Matricaria recutita

  homeopathy: from Historical Remedies, “Chamomile’s homeopathic preparation acts deeper on the nervous system than the common tea, and helps to quickly take the edge off any form of distress or agitation.”

  gardening: Direct seed into the soil in mid-spring. Very easy to grow. The plant stays attractive for a long time and is a good candidate for landscape plantings. It is also a great self-seeder.

  visual: fall-back is chamomile tea.

• pot marigold, Calendula

  homeopathy: from Everybody’s Guide to Homeopathic Medicines by Stephen Cummings, MD, and Dana Ullman, MPH, topical application “promotes granualtion of tissues to heal wouds and burns, helps stop bleeding, and inhibits infection. It is used for shallow injuries, such as scrapes and sores.”

  gardening: Calendula thrives in poor soils. If you live in an aread with mild winters, try sowing in mid-September for early summer blooms or plant in early spring for flowers from July onward.

  visual: ow… a scraped elbow or knee.

tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum L.

homeopathy: from Everybody’s guide to homeopathic medicines by Stephen Cummings, MD, and Dana Ullman, MPH, Nictoriana should be considered for motion sickness when “symptoms include deathly nausea… The patient is cold and pale, and his body is bathed in cold perspiration. He suffers from violent vomiting with renewed retching every time he moves. His symptoms are particularly worse in warmth and are better in the open air, when the eyes are closed, and in a quiet, dark environment.”

gardening: Surface sow in early spring and water in. Germination may take up to 21 days. After the second true leaf appears, carefully transplant individuals into cell packs or pots. Transplant hardened off plants into a garden location with well-drained soil after all danger of frost has passed. Tobacco prefers healthy, rich soil in full sun.

visual: ewww… maybe a toy boat or airplane, perhaps an extreme close-up on closed eyes and beaded sweat. No vomit, please.

Gardening quotes are from the back of the Victory Seeds packets.

Looks like the calendula can be started soon, but the other homeopathic botanicals should wait at least until February or March. We don’t often get freezes, but the late summer heat could do them in before they have a chance to become established.

While I’m waiting, I can work on improving ideas for visuals, making them more arresting and suggestive.

Surely I can do better than a cup of chamomile tea.

I ordered a live sunflower ‘Italian White’ in late May.

The plant arrived from Annie’s Annuals the first week of June.

It bloomed a month later, eventually working up basketsful of three- to four-inch flowers.

Then all the flowers died. The foliage was still vigorous, but the dead blossoms drooped sadly. I kept looking for seeds but haven’t seen any.

Now the plant is back to producing lots of flowers.

I can’t say that I’m disappointed in it, despite the lack of seeds and the flowers not being white. The plant is quite cheery on the west side of our back yard.

Beagle with Destroyed Pillow Buy From Art.com

Darn it.

The gorgeous photos of Sue Swift’s blue-flowered plumbago at The Balcony Garden had me convinced to try a plumbago in the back yard, perhaps as a replacement for the pittosporum that is dying in the southwest corner.

Then she had to go and say that it’s poisonous.

Drat.

No poisonous plants where small children or curious dogs might get hurt.

The salvias are thriving in our back yard planters.

We have red-and-white salvias, white salvia, red salvia and blue salvia — all are growing robustly, blooming extravagantly and attracting hummingbirds and butterflies.

The blue-eyed daisies I received last month have already gifted me with a bloom:

There are three of these blue-eyed daisy plants in my back yard. I am eagerly waiting for them to reach full bloom.

Three boxes arrived recently from Annie’s Annuals and Perennials.

I ordered plants that I had read about but couldn’t find at my local nursery.

I picked out this for its low water requirement — and its showy white flowers.

Here is a description by the vendor, Annie’s Annuals:

Big & showy (3” to 6” across), cream to white flowers en masse are your reward for growing this native Midwestern perennial wildflower. To 3’ tall & bushy, it forms a strong, deep taproot & so thrives in hot & dry situations. The flowers open in the afternoon & close around midnight. Needs good drainage, excellent in rock gardens, containers, dry hillsides, etc.

Three boxes arrived recently from Annie’s Annuals and Perennials.

I ordered plants that I had read about but couldn’t find at my local nursery.

I picked out this because it’s a California native that attracts birds and butterflies.

Here is a description by the vendor, Annie’s Annuals:

One of our most common & striking California native perennials. Very showy, red, tubular flowers are borne in sprays on multi-branching stems to 2’ tall x 3’ spread from late Spring thru Summer. “Red Monkey Flower” naturally grows on dry hillsides & so does best with limited water (every 2 weeks in Summer). Full sun to part shade by the coast, 1/2 day sun inland. Semi-dormant in Winter. Thrives under oaks & is a hummingbird favorite.