First up is Roscoea purpurea 'Cinnamon Stick'…
I saw nothing from this plant for so long, and naturally assumed it hadn’t made it. Only to have its two “cinnamon sticks” turn into four…
And if it doesn’t bloom this year that’s just fine by me!
Then there was the black Calla Lily (Zantedeschia 'Edge of Night') I received as a birthday gift from my husband last year. How horrible to have killed a birthday gift right? But just a week or so before my birthday the first leaf finally emerged.
Now I’ve got four. I would love for this to plant to bloom!
When the Acanthus sennii finally chose to return I’d forgotten about it and though that little leaf was a weed. When I reached down to pull it and felt a pin prick I remembered. Sure enough…it’s back!
Much less dramatic but ever so welcome is this Umbrella Papyrus (Cyperus involucratus) growing amongst the Horsetail Rush (Equisetum). Last year it was a big bold beautiful plant, this year…not so much.
I thought for sure if winter hadn’t killed this supermarket Taro than I had, so I was rather surprised when it made a return.
You see in digging out the Bishops Weed I took a “scorched earth” approach and chopped right through every bulb and tuber in the ground. How could this have survived yet I managed to get all the Bishops Weed around it? It’s a happy mystery.
Same story different plant, only I moved it about 3 ft to the south. Yucca’s are a tenatious bunch coming back from the smallest little bit left behind. Just ask my brother who invited me to dig out all his “ugly” Yucca one summer. They came back the next, and even stronger!
Foliage Follow-up (an excuse to focus on the foliage in our garden, like we need an excuse) is hosted by Pam, over at her blog Digging.
Yea for garden surprises! You sure got some lovely ones.
ReplyDeleteAgreed!
DeleteOh I really like your black calla lilly! I hope that thing blooms for you too!!! And the Taro is oh so very cool. Makes me want to buy some supermarket taro
ReplyDeleteYou should Louis...it's so cheap and who doesn't need a few cheap tropical big leaves?
DeleteI've been "reminded" about acanthus that way, too. Even if your Black Calla doesn't bloom this year, I bet it does next year. Plants can really teach us patience, can't they?
ReplyDeleteI think it had about 3 blooms last year...one wouldn't be too much for ask for, would it?
DeleteI'd take that roscoea without blooms too! So glad that your birthday calla returned.
ReplyDeleteYa the blooms are these strange lavender things...not ugly but not fabulous either.
DeleteDon't you just love a good surprise? I've never heard of Roscoea purpurea 'Cinnamon Stick' before. What a beautiful plant. I love seeing the things you can grow in your zone that I can't here.
ReplyDeleteI don't see Roscoea around here much, I bought this one up in Seattle last year.
DeleteYou have some mighty wonderful surprises! I don't know if you've tried propagating the umbrella plant, which calls for sticking a stalk upside down in the dirt. I was skeptical but it works! We have a couple small versions trying to make their way in the world. The mama plant isn't as impressive this year but we do need to thin the pot.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, upside down eh? I hadn't heard of that but just might have to try it!
DeleteI love a mystery (happy, and not so) and the garden is only too happy to provide plenty of them. I think I have done in my share of those latecomers by planting other things on top of them...like my Roscoea beesiana (not as much a loss as your cinnamon stick would be). I remember that black cala lily from last year.Fingers crossed for it to bloom again.
ReplyDeleteMy special trick is to slice right through something that hasn't come up yet in the spring, isn't that a sinking feeling?
Deletekinda like biting down and cracking a tooth
DeleteFantastic stuff:) I love when mystery plants come up and we forget about them until they show their beautiful new foliage. That happens to me with wildflowers....love it. That Cinnamon Stick you have is a beautiful plant. I have never heard of it before. I like the color on the stalk. Glad you had some fun surprises. Thanks for sharing:)
ReplyDeleteYep it's the red stems along with the green leaves that got me!
DeleteI love discovering a plant that has survived in spite of the odds. I can vouch for the Yucca...my dad tried valiantly for years to get rid of them...and they always returned.
ReplyDeleteI through a couple pots of soil on a growing pile we had during the patio project not realizing that part of a yucca root was left, naturally it sprouted leaves a couple of weeks later!
DeleteI love the dark stems of the Roscoea purpurea 'Cinnamon Stick' and the black calla lily. I know just what you mean about those yuccas coming back from the roots. I dug out three overgrown Yucca recurvifolia earlier this summer, and I've been beating back the babies sprouting up ever since.
ReplyDelete"beating back the babies" creates such a mental picture Pam!
DeleteFoliage, foliage, can't enough of them! Gorgeous selection as always Loree! Must get some 'Cinnamon Sticks' soon too, been after one for quite awhile but somehow never managed to.
ReplyDelete'Cinnamon Sticks' is an elusive plant, at least in these parts.
DeleteMaybe your black Calla lily will bloom before your next birthday.
ReplyDelete