9/29/2010

Mystery Plant - no mystery no more.....

Well Cobi in the Netherlands wins the prize...and she lives in an apartment and doesn't even have a garden... Good job Cobi. It wasn't the variety of thalictrum she found (http://www.missouriplants.com/Whitealt/Thalictrum_dasycarpum_page.html) but that put me on the right track.....mine is Thalictrum flavum commonly called "Columbine Meadow Rue" (explaining the leaves) native to Spain, Portugal and South Africa

Which brings me to another important point.
When I started my garden watering was not an option because of our well... Spokane can go from June until September with no rain...in fact our yearly moisture is only 12-14" and that is mostly snow in winter... I still don't water and at the beginning how I longed for a unlimited supply of water and sprinkler systems etc... But my garden grew and grew and now I'm so happy that it's not dependent on a regular source of water... I can drop dead and the garden will not miss a beat...

But if I like a plant I plant it no matter what the book said it needs.... Of course I most often lose it but time and time again I found that some plants that survive certain difficult conditions thrive perfectly well in other conditions as well... They get labeled and it sticks... and this is one of them.... It is always listed as a bog plant needing moisture but it has been growing wild in my drought garden for over 20 years... I'm sure in a well-watered garden it would be more lush and larger but it survives and blooms every year and I love it... Thank you Cobi

p.s. I should add that this is a marvelous bloom for bouquets...especially with all the blue and lavenders in the garden... In fact it was recommended highly by garden designer Graham Thomas for a yellow and blue garden...

2 comments:

Laurie said...

Aren't blog friends great Gerry? I'm happy you found out what it is.

Kevin Lee Jacobs said...

Thalictrum will thrive in both bog and desert? What a plant!

I've noticed that pachysandra is similarly tenacious. Although regarded as a groundcover for moist shade, it thrives for me in dryness and all-day sun.

As you implied, it pays to experiment with plants.

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