Blog Archives - Cosmos in the Garden

Cosmos in the Garden

Foxgloves - beautiful and treacherous

7/31/2013

Foxglove - a funny name for a plant, isn't it? However, its Latin equivalent- Digitalis purpurea- implies murky fingers, and dark red ones. Fortunately, it does not say a word about how much toxic they are. Leaves of foxglove plants contain potent chemicals used in pharmacy to prepare medicine helpful to control the heart rate. Of course, no-one can do it on their own by simply eating the leaves, it is too dangerous (by the way, they must taste awful). But everyone can and should have several foxglove plants in their garden to admire the tall stalks adored with hanging tubular flowers looking like thimbles. Their colour vary from pure white to pink and purple hues. And the "throat" of each thimble can be nicely spotted like the skin of an exotic reptile. Foxglove flowers open in late May, June, July and continue flowering until August (depending on the geographical region). What a shame they last one season and are gone. But the numerous seeds produced in capsules make it sure that new foxgloves will germinate the next spring. The trick is, we have to wait for the seedlings to bloom another long year.

What The Phloxes Say and Smell

7/29/2013

Let us start with what they mean: flame. We may wonder why the Greek origin of the name refers to flames. My interpretation deciphers the puzzle in this way: flames on a torch. The weakest point of my interpretation, however, lies in the color of the flames which normally are white, pink, lavender blue or purple. Pure red or red- orange tones are the recent breeding achievements. Could those who named this lovely plant centuries ago be so far-seeing?
The cover picture of the post presents a young inflorescence of phlox whose flowers are white and light magenta. Another thread in the phlox breeding program: bi-colored flowers. There are also cultivars with a double corolla , with flowers that have dark or white "eyes", or those with variegated or burgundy leaves. The most modern looks describe phloxes with green an pale pink flowers just like an unripe plum. They look awesome!

Papaver, Poppy, Amapola, Mak, Coquelicot, Klatschmohn and so on.

7/26/2013

In The Language of Flowers Book (one of many) poppy represents, apart from magic: life and death, good and evil, light and darkness and, of course, fruitfulness. The list of symbols was updated after the First World War when it became the Remembrance Poppy. This way poppy got entangled in a lot of meanings - a great responsibility for a modest, unpretentious and quite short-lived flower. The flaming petals must have some kind of power over us that we all tend to ascribe so contradicting messages to them. If we add another sense to poppy flowers and call it 'love' all ambiguities will vanish, as this powerful word as none, can harmonise incompatible notions. So can flowering poppy plants in the garden: go together with the other ornamentals.

Uncommon Common Soapwort

7/25/2013

Luminous pink tones of soft flower foam: soapwort or -less elegantly- soapweed. It grows almost everywhere except for...gardens where it can be tolerated but hardly appreciated. Its Latin name Saponaria alludes to soap. Why? The answer lies in the roots and leaves of this fresh-looking plant. They contain saponin, a chemical substance which produces a frothy mass of bubbles when mixed with water. And that foam is known for its friendly cleansing properties because it does not irritate the skin, even the very delicate one. Being so advantageous I am sure it is about time soapwort became regarded as an ornamental plant and not as a weed. Well, let us start with "an ornamental weed" , shall we?

Yummy Pumpkin Flowers

7/25/2013

What a useful vine: edible leaves, edible flowers, edible fruit, edible seeds (known as pepitas) and edible fragrant pumpkin seed oil used in salad dressings.
Pumpkin (Cucurbita) is a sprinter among vegetables. You can almost watch it grow providing the conditions are favourable. It is constantly hungry and thirsty but very grateful for the care it gets: it becomes totally edible (I have not eaten its roots yet, though).
The most exciting way to get acquainted with this wonderful garden wanderer is taste pumpkin flowers right after they open early in the morning. There are two kinds of them, both tasty: male and female flowers. The former are more numerous and produce pollen. The latter transform into the gigantic fruit which can weigh as much as... 450 kg (1000 pounds). Incredible! I advise that you eat only the male individuals and save the female ones in order to secure impressive harvest in the fall.

Know All Things To Be Like This

7/23/2013

Know all things to be like this:
A mirage, a cloud castle,
A dream, an apparition,
Without essence, but with qualities that can be seen.

Know all things to be like this:
As a moon in a bright sky
In some clear lake reflected,
Though to that lake the moon has never moved.

Know all things to be like this:
As an echo that derives
From music, sounds, and weeping,
Yet in that echo is no melody.

Know all things to be like this:
As a magician makes illusions
Of horses, oxen, carts and other things,
Nothing is as it appears.

Buddha

Embroidered in a Tapestry of Green

7/17/2013

"Embroidered in a tapestry of green
Among the textures of a threaded garden,
The gesturing lady and her paladin
Walk in a path where shade and sunlight harden..."
Adrienne Rich (Design in Living Colors)

Leaves, leaves , leaves... . All sorts of shapes, textures, colours, sizes and smells. And tastes! Usually outshone by spectacular flowers their beauty requires more attention and time. Watching leaves is like breathing in fresh air. Watching leaves is like meditation.

Jarek

Daylilies?

7/15/2013

Daylily - a perfect example of alluring beauty. You are given only one single day to admire its lilylike flowers. If you are late they are gone forever. But do not get disappointed. The next bunch of buds will break the following day to bask in the sun.
In contrast to the ephemeral flowers the plant is one of the sturdiest known to gardeners, and it does reflect the core meaning of the word "perennial" which in Latin means: more than two years. It definitely lives longer than that. What is more, it is a dream plant for breeders who have been busy creating new cultivars with stunning flowers that can take our breath away.
Beautiful and indestructible - a rare combination even among plants. A plant which deserves our attention and care. In reality, daylilies can perfectly do without both of them. But it is hard not to be kind to them for their persistent growth and blooming. And not to become crazy about them knowing that there are more than 60 000 cultivars and new ones are waiting in line. What a secure hobby to take up!

Sweet Peas and Roses

7/8/2013

"Sweet Peas and Roses" is a title of a song. The song is a lullaby or a fairytale, or both. It is about green eyes, green breeze, enchanted forests. It is about a garden with a scarecrow which guards sweet peas and climbing roses. Listen to the story, the voice of Ewa Demarczyk translates into all languages. Just like sweet peas and climbing roses.

Verdi prati

7/7/2013

Late afternoon, the sun is still hot but not as much as a few hours earlier. Time for a walk across the nearby meadows. The first breeze wafts gentle aromas whose origin is quite a mystery. Where do they come from? Can that tiny inconspicuous flowers be so potent to fill the air with such strong but delicate fragrance? The answer seems to be obvious.
Green meadows. Not only green, though. Omnipresent little wild flowers reflect the whole spectrum of light. Simple beauty in its prime. Do relish the view for it will be gone soon. Just like in the melancholy aria -reminder Ruggiero sings in Handel's "Alcina", bidding farewell to his beloved green meadows and shady forests: "one day you will lose all your beauty". So true, so sad and so implausible.

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