Can you guess what this is?  It’s a pretty popular Spring flowering bulb…

Still puzzled?

If you couldn’t work it out don’t feel so bad.  When I first saw this in my local florist I did a double take as it was totally new to me too.  It’s actually a variety of ranunculus.  Have a look at the photo below and you’ll see the resemblance, especially with the younger flowers which haven’t fully opened.

I haven’t been able to find out it’s name so I assume it is still only available commercially to cut flower growers.  I look forward to the day that it is released as a bulb for home gardeners to grow.  I’ll be first in line!

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Care to take a guess at what this is?

If you guessed some type of moss then I’m sorry but you’re wrong.  If you’ve read my previous blogs on bromeliads and guessed some type of tillandsia then I’m sorry but you’re still wrong (extra points for doing your research though!).

It is in fact a variety of carnation called Green Trick (Dianthus barbatus ‘Green Trick’).  If you’re having a hard time seeing the carnation in this flower then bear in mind that the common name for Dianthus barbatus is Sweet William (yes those cute old fashioned biennials your grandmother probably grew). Starting to see a resemblance now?

I first saw this flower in a florists a couple of years ago.  Instantly I was in love with its pompom lime green flowers and wanted to grow it.  Unfortunately I had to wait until it was released for sale to the general public earlier this year (see here for my previous blog).

And now I’m happy to report that Green Trick has been growing extremely well for me.  In less than three months it’s put on stacks of growth and produced over 10 very large flower heads.  They’re almost the size of tennis balls! All from a plant that I bought in a 5cm wide pot in August. I’ve been very impressed.  Of course it could be a sign that it’s a shortlived plant so I’ve taken some cuttings.

Here’s one last photo in case you still need convincing that Green Trick belongs in the carnation family.  With those long stems and distinctive leaves there’s no denying it’s heritage.

I just love it!

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I am an absolute sucker for virtually any type of bulb. In the past 12 months I have given into my addiction and started up a collection.  I’m limited in what I can try as I don’t have any real garden beds (I live on the 5th floor).  Instead everything must cope with being pot bound.  I thought I’d share with you some of the lovely spring blooming bulbs that I’ve been enjoying lately.  First up is this stunning orange tritonia…

It’s botanical name is Tritonia deusta and it is very elegant when it comes out in flower on long arching stems. No perfume unfortunately but a beautiful clear orange.

Next up is a trusty favourite that does have perfume by the bucket loads – the freesia.

If you’ve only ever encountered freesias from the florist then you’ve been ripped off.  The florist freesia is a hybrid, bred for huge flowers in a range of colours.  They look great admittedly but the perfume has been lost along the way.  And trust me, the perfume is to die for.  Buy and plant the “old fashioned” sort (Freesia refracta alba) and you’ll be rewarded from early Spring onwards.

Now this delightful bright yellow bulb (above) is called Ipheion sellowianum.  Doesn’t exactly just roll off the tongue but you will have to agree that it is charming.  It was an impulse buy at a gardening show and it surprised me by repeatedly flowering for several weeks.  When it had finished and I potted it up I was astounded to find only two bulbs in the pot.  It had given me almost ten flowers and I was duly impressed! It is a small flower though, only 2cm diameter, but a keeper nevertheless.

And now for something much larger, another sparaxis.  This purple type (Sparaxis grandiflora ssp grandiflora) was another ebay find.  I must say it looked nicer in real life than in this photo.

I hope you’re not getting bored with my spring bulbs. I read somewhere that blogs should be short and punchy but honestly isn’t that what Twitter is for? If you don’t know what Twitter is then consider yourself blessed!  Now back to the bulbs.  Above is another sparaxis. This one is Sparaxis elegans and looks a little more like the common sparaxis or harlequin flower. I think this one is more elegant as befitting it’s name.

Next on our journey is another generous flowering bulb and another must have.  It’s the spring star flower (Ipheion uniflorum).

This charmer flowers and flowers. A word of warning though: It’s foliage can look remarkable similar to that of onion weed so make sure you remember where you planted it.  Otherwise you might just dig it out or spray it mistaking it as a weed.

Last on the list is Cyrtanthus o’brienii. Actually I’m not really sure that it’s the true species or if it’s some kind of hybrid.  It’s blooms were an unusual colour which almost seemed iridescent. Either way it’s definitely something worth keeping any eye out for when you’re next bulb shopping.

Well I hope you’ve been duly inspired to rush out and buy some bulbs.  There really are some terrific ones out there and far more exciting than common tulips and daffodils!  Not that I don’t love those either but for most us in Australia cool climate bulbs (like daffs and tulips) aren’t the best choice.  Better to go for ones that thrive in our hot environment!

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One day  I found myself in a large bed of roses and flowering annuals when I spotted this particular rose.  A friend of mine would call it a ‘fruit salad’ garden as it had pretty much a bit of everything with no apparent colour scheme.  I had been somewhat overwhelmed by this riot of colour and was lucky to have seen this beautiful unfolding rose bud.  Unfortunately the plant was not tagged so I don’t know the variety but I suspect it is probably a type of David Austin.

Photo taken on my old camera, a Fuji Finepix.

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I’ve recently rediscovered this great plant.  You may know them as Cape Primrose but I know them as Streptocarpus hybrids - the results of plant breeders crossing various species to develop a better  plant. About 5 years ago I discovered this plant for the first time and loved it at first sight.  The story of its demise is explained later on but when I came across it again more recently I simply had to buy one straightaway.

I grow it as an indoor plant and there are several reasons why I love it.  Its dead easy to grow.  Give it good bright light.  Don’t put it in a hot room or expose it to direct hot sunlight.  That’s it.  If you do these things it will reward you with flowers.  Yes the holy grail of indoor plants.  And lots of them.  Big and bright.  No whimpy little African violet sized flowers either (although I am still partial to the odd African violet too despite Mike telling me they’re terrible Granny things – sorry to the Grandmas out there).

My current Steptocarpus (trust me persevere with the name and it’ll be rolling off your tongue before you know it) is a deep velvety purple.  I bought it 2 months ago with two flower stems that were just finishing up.  I repotted it and it is now back in flower with about 4-5 new stems on their way.  It’ll keep flowering for months and months.  Well that’s what my first one did until I moved it to a spot that was too hot and it cooked.  In all fairness I didn’t have many places to put it at the time and I took a chance.  I’ve learnt my lesson.

They come in various shades of white, pink, purple and a bluish colour (before you get excited its not a true blue).  Newer varieties are appearing with even larger flowers too.  If you see one grab it straight away and you’ll be rewarded for years to come.

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Lithops are small succulents which grow in the harsh dry regions of South Africa.  They are commonly known as Living Stones and its pretty obvious why when you see how easily they can blend in with sand and pebbles.  My love for them first started when I was around 12 -13 years old.  Anything weird caught my attention and lithops were right up there.  Actually now that I think about it pretty much any plant I hadn’t seen before caught my attention and was quickly added to my wish list.

They are amazingly tough things which survive in extremely harsh conditions and require little effort to grow yourself.  They’re flowers (white or yellow) are daisy-like and are absolutely HUGE relative to the size of the plant.  Its no mean feat for a plant to produce a flower which is virtually as large as itself.  And after flowering they split in half, push out new juicy “leaves” and let the old ones shrivel up.

Watch out for mealy bugs, curious birds which might mistake them for grubs (it might sound funny but trust me its not) and excess watering/rain.  They need to be kept quite dry through winter and only receive moderate watering during the warmer months when they’re active.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve killed them by overwatering in summer (they swell up and burst) or by being lazy and leaving them in the open during winter rains (they rot away).  Either way its not pretty.

One final warning – keep them away from silk worms.  That’s how my very first lithop went to heaven.  In the belly of a hungry silk worm.

PS Don’t forget to check out The Plant Addict Shop while you’re here. 

You’ll find great gift ideas for garden lovers and fellow plant addicts!