Day: August 18, 2020

A little late today, but it’s time for Tuesday Treats.

Last week’s post has been edited to show identities, and can be found here:

https://thepleasuregardener.blog/2020/08/11/tuesday-treats-19/

So, what do we have today?  Let’s see…

1   Edited to add:

This is the white version of Tigridia pavonia (the name, roughly, means Tiger Peacock).  These tender bulbs are not grown as much as perhaps they should be – they sell at about 10p each, so not a big investment.  These are a bit short because of the drought we’ve had – they’re about 2 ft tall.  Tigridia can get to 3-4 ft, , so quite impressive.  They are members of the Iris family, with several flowers per stem.  They come in red, yellow, pink or white.

 

2   Edited to add:

These are Begonia semperflorens, or the wax begonia.  They are grown here as annual bedding plants, but are tender perennials.  They root from cuttings very easily, and once the weather turns in autumn, they can be dug up, potted up, and will give months more of colour either in the greenhouse or on a windowsill.  I’m a particular fan of dark-leaved cultivars like these.

 

3   Edited to add:

Agapanthus.  The photo’s owner didn’t say which sort.  I’m guessing they came in a big bag from the supermarket…

 

4  As many of the things as you can name

Edited to add:   The main subject is the Aeonium arboreum.  The red leaves peering over the wall are Persicaria ‘Red Dragon’.  The trough contains sedums, sempervivums and echeveria.  The grassy plant in the pot is not a grass, but a member of the Lily family.  It’s Ophiopogon planiscapus.  Some are the species’ green, others are the black of ‘Nigricans’.  The lovely thing about Ophiopogon is that, if you save the seed from ‘Nigricans’, the seedlings exhibit almost perfect Mendelian inheritance ratios for green or black colour.  Try it.

 

5  The yellow things

Edited to add:  The yellow thing is Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’.  With it is a rose, agapanthus, eleagnus and what looks like a Ribes, identity unknown.  Oh, I wonder whether it’s a hardy hibiscus…  Not sure.

 

6   Edited to add:

White Cosmos ‘Psyche White’ and Lavatera ‘Mont Blanc’, with Dahlia Bishop of ‘Llandaff’ in the background.  But the main event is the orange Canna ‘Durban’.  There’s a long story of litigation over Plant Breeder’s Rights on this, which I will share if anyone is interested.  But it shines a light on the South African Appeal Court, for whom much paperwork was prepared.  However, the judge was only interested in what must have been about the first line, identifying the owner of the Plant Breeder’s Rights as someone who ‘discovered’ the plant in a garden in Durban.  No, no, no, said the judge.  You can’t discover something growing in someone else’s garden, because it is already known.  Appeal upheld!  Don’t you love judges with minds like a bacon slicer?

 

7  Edited to add:  The real plant is a richer, deeper red than this – a red that my camera doesn’t handle very well.  This is Crocosmia ‘Hellfire’, and is a gorgeous plant, far better than ‘Lucifer’, with huge flowers.

 

8  Edited to add:  My apologies.  I wasn’t specific enough, I think.  Yes, there are Cosmos in the picture – the varying shades of Cosmos ‘Rubenza’.  But the main event is the Salpiglossis ‘Black Trumpets’.  I used to grow Salpiglossis years ago, and they were just over a couple of feet in height.  Things seem to have changed, and these are about 10 inches.  But, they have been very good, and I’m pleased with them.

 

Good luck!

 

Edited to add:  So, how did you do?  Treat yourself to a virtual chocolate if you got any right.  Well done!