Persian Cornflower – Vibrant Colour & Stunning Form
The Persian Cornflower in its cultivated form has a striking colour and a beautiful shape. Vivid pink and opens very similar to a thistle shape. Some have a white or cream centre, but in this particular cultivar the centre carries the main colour.
Persian Cornflower not your average Daisy
As part of the Asteraceae family, one of the largest, it resembles so many other members. However, this is likely best classified as a Psephellus dealbatus and not Centaurea. The plant is native from Turkey and up through the Caucasus but introduced to much of Northern Europe.
This plant loves full sun in nutrient-poor but well-drained soil. This makes the plant ideal for a cross between border, cottage garden or pseudo mediterranean garden that is not too hot or dry. Definitely more impressive than the common cornflower.
The flowering meadows are in full swing and among the stand out plants I found was this Musk Mallow. The Mallow I normally see is the large shrub mallow often used in borders for height and width, the Malva arborea or Tree Marrow. This Mallow sits just above the grasses to produce a stunning flower head that stands out as a flower among flowers. The Musk Mallow is part of the mallow family (Malvaceae), and can be seen in meadows, hedgerows and by roadsides.
Musk Mallow Alba
The flowers emit a slight musky scent, hence the name. They are a perennial flowing plant that is native to Europe and Western Asia. Sometimes used for its culinary and medicinal use, best left to the experts. They certainly standout in wherever they can be found flowering. Some Musk Mallow naturally form a white flower, in this case identified as Malva moschata f. alba.
The Cabbage Tree is a plant I often see feature in many gardens around me where the climate is mild and you find a sheltered sunny spot. Cordyline australis, commonly known as the cabbage tree, is a striking evergreen plant native to New Zealand. It can grow up to 20m and live for several centuries, but I mainly see it around 2 to 5m high.
Some people may consider the Cabbage Tree as a palm tree but there is another tree that is native of southeastern US that is known as the Cabbage Palm. Looks somewhat similar but is the Sabal palmetto. The Cabbage Tree may have multiple trunks that branch out into separate into multiple flowering heads and a crown of palm like leaves that are long, slender and sword like. In flower, the heads produce a cluster of small, creamy-white flowers. They are fragrant and in a fir tree like spike that can be up to 1m in length, beneath is the green new foliage and if left the brown faded remnants of the past year.
The ornate tailed digger wasp is a striking insects with its vividly patterned black and yellow abdomen. This is something I found out when discovering a series of holes in a well trodden path that was hard packed sandy soil. What could they be, ants, miner bees?
Observe for a while and the occupants arrive to hover a moment then go head first into the hole just about wide enough for it to crawl down. It appears to be an ornate tailed digger wasp, now classified as the Cerceris rybyensis, of the family Philanthidae.
These wasps have exceptional burrowing skills, which they use to create underground nests for their young. They are solitary creatures that hunt mining bees to feed off. The tunnel goes down vertically for about 6 inches then turns horizontal.
Cape Fuchsia is a plant that thrives in my area where it is protected from the harsh elements. It not only keeps coming back but tries to spread out using suckers that spread along the surface producing their own roots it not trimmed back. Although it flowers well the flowers don’t last long in the heat we are seeing at the moment. Of course it is not a Fuchsia, nor closely related, but does have some resemblance. It also sits well along side my perennial Fuchsias.
Known scientifically as Phygelius, this particular variant is the Phygelius aequalis ‘Yellow Trumpet’. It is a member of the Scrophulariaceae family. The Scrophulariaceae family has at least 2 other members that work well for me, Buddleja and Namesia. Although, to be fair they will grow almost anywhere. The shrub maintains a tidy look throughout the season but needs some pruning in the autumn to keep it at its best and not spreading out of control.
Achillea or Yarrow is a species of the family Asteraceae, commonly known as the daisy family. It has many small flowers in a cluster at the top of a thin stalk arising from the base plant and extending high towards the sunlight. It is a native, common wild flower but has many species and cultivars to expand on the basic wild variety.
The name Achillea is from Greek mythology as the leaves were used to treat the wounds of Achilles’ Soldiers. It has many other common names that relate to its medicinal use to heal wounds and stop blood flow.
Achillea or Yarrow, when not in the wild, is a tall flowering plant used in borders of cottage or wildlife gardens. Due to its height and slender form it can compete for space and thrive alongside its neighbours. It best sits mid border and provides clusters of small colourful flowers, tightly packed and resilient. Without neighbouring plants to help it may need support to keep it up and looking its best.
In the natural form the flowers are usually white and clusters as a tightly packed head at the top of the rising stem. There is now a wide variety of colours, from deep reds and pinks through orange, yellow and white. Easy to grow perennial that will keep spreading over time.
The leaves are fern like or feathered, frilly or hairy, and mainly come from the base but also interspaced up the main shoot that holds the flower head at the top. These leaves are often aromatic and edible in small quantities.
Achillea or Yarrows are very tolerant border perennials that can do well in most situations but don’t like heavy, wet soil. They are native to more temperate climates of the Northern Hemisphere.
There are more than 1000 named species, sub-species, or varieties assigned to the genus of Achillea. Two popular species are the Achillea millefolium, common yarrow, and the Achillea ptarmica, sneezewort. Generally, the millefolium has smaller and more tightly packed flower heads, whilst the ptarmica has larger more openly spread flower heads.
Achillea is a good plant to consider for not only its form and long flowering colourful displays, it is very attractive to insects that promote a wider pollination to improve biodiversity, but also has medicinal healing properties that have long been used to treat many different ailments.
Gazania or African Daisies are bold, bright flowers with hot colours that are suited to sunny, dry climates. Although being in the same family, they are a different genus to Osteospermum plants that are also commonly referred to as African Daisies. These plants are drought tolerant and like to have full sun to be at their best. Being in the shade will make the flowers close and may then grow thin taller stems unable to support the large flower head.
