Unknown Cyclamen

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

Unfortunately, I did not record the name of this particular plant when I took its picture. Beautiful foliage, don’t you think?

More Cyclamen:

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Morning Glory: Star of Yelta

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

Photographed at The LaGuardia Corner Gardens in New York City.

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Tatarian Aster

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

I had a heck of a time identifying this flower, Tatarian aster (Aster tataricus ‘Jindai’), last night. Thanks to everyone who chimed in to help out. For some reason I refused to believe it is an aster. But really, what else could it be?

I took this photo a few days ago on the new High Line Park in New York City. They’ve posted an October bloom list on their site that confirms my identification. I will do a full post about my visit soon, once I have a chance to dig through the millions of photos I took.

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Dozens of Cyclamen

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

Meanwhile, over at Barry’s garden…. acres of cyclamen, each plant unique, are continuing to unfurl from dormancy to charm us with their unusual leaf patterns and delicate flower stems.

Yes, all of that fuzziness in the background are dozens of tiny pots of unusual cyclamen — all grown from seed! Barry explained that they are on their forth winter, which I thought showed quite a big commitment and dedication. Can you imagine the work involved in seeding all of those pots and then taking each plant through their growing and dormancy seasons for four years running? And let me tell you they are all healthy and near-perfect. Every single one.

But according to Barry, each year has offered some new stage of development in the tiny plants that has held his interest and excitement through to the next.

Dear god, I think I might be getting into cyclamen now. But what plant genus isn’t worth getting excited about, really? They all have their merits on some level. And to top it off, it’s hard not to catch Barry’s contagious enthusiasm for his plants. Thankfully I can live out this particular interest vicariously through Barry’s hard work. No need to bemoan the fact that I do not have the space and skill (or patience) myself.

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Ceropegia Flower

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

I bought this strange, vining succulent, Ceropegia linearis ssp woodii, back in August at the Montreal Botanical Gardens.

I’ll have to take some pictures of the leaves as well — they are interesting in their own right. The plant has suffered a bit of legginess over the past few months as I’ve grown accustomed to its light and water needs, but I think it’s in the right spot now. I think the watering issues I’ve been having are on account of the undersized pot it came in. I am not looking forward to the balancing act required to repot this gnarly thing. It’s a disaster in the making.

Despite a rocky start, it has been flowering regularly since I brought it home, and has even produced seeds! I’m curious to see if anything will come of them.

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