Cyclamen hederifolium ‘Lysander’

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

At the time I took this photo there was another plant flowering with the tag Cyclamen africanum. As this site indicates, they were indistinguishable from one another.

It’s difficult to tell from this photo, but this flower (and plant) is very tiny. Its pot can fit comfortably in your hand. Adorable.

Who knew there were so many interesting cyclamens out there? Who knew there were all of these tiny little types from Africa. My cyclamen knowledge has been completely limited to the few they sell in the impulse buy section of the grocery store. I know nothing. Nothing!

Visiting Barry’s garden is both humbling and exciting all at once. It makes me realize (yet again) that I can never and should never get too big headed when it comes to my so-called plant knowledge. There is just TOO MUCH. An inexhaustible lifetime’s worth of fascinating plants to discover.

This is optimistic though, don’t you think? I have met a lot of gardeners (sometimes myself included) both beginner and experienced who are perpetually wringing their hands around the feeling of not knowing enough. But really, if the knowledge available to acquire is limitless, we never have to worry about knowing enough or god forbid, knowing it all. You will never know it all! I will never know it all.

We can all just sit back now and enjoy what we do know, and what we will discover tomorrow.

Leave a comment

Pink Penis Flower

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

Photographed at Jardin Botanique de Montreal.

I’ve mentioned my cute little colloquial name for this plant before. The real name of this particular pink type is ‘Purple Plum’. The sign accompanying the plant also gave it the common name Tailflower.

They make it too easy.

Leave a comment

Cosmos Love

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

It’s time again to spread the cosmos love around. They’re everywhere right now.

Yet again I am charmed. I blew three Polaroids on cosmos the other day. That’s more than 6 bucks spent admiring a flower that can self-seed into a thin sliver of cracked concrete.

Worth every penny, I’d say.

See also: Orange cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus)

Leave a comment

Calendula ‘Zeolights’

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

Botanical Interests sent me a packet of ‘Zeolights’ calendula back in January and this is the result. I chose this variety for the peachy/pink tones underneath the petals.

Over the last few years, I’ve expanded into several interesting calendula varieties including: ‘Antares Flashback’ and ‘Triangle Flashback’. While they lack the medicinal properties of regular ole calendula officinalis, they are still tasty as an unusual addition to salads and rice dishes.

Leave a comment

Apple Blossom Therapy

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

Spring blooms often feel so much more fleeting than those that emerge in the summer. I suspect I’m more aware of that this year since I’ve had much less chance to get out on regular walks and take in each new development. How did it get to be mid-May already? When I came upon this apple tree in full bloom yesterday, I thought to myself that I had better stop for a few minutes and memorize the smell now, because the next time I walk past the blooms will be gone. It only happens once a year.

Standing underneath the fragrant canopy and breathing deeply for five minutes turned out to be pretty good stress relief, too.

Leave a comment