I've long loved flowers with kooky strange colors. Don't get me wrong. I adore red and orange and pink and green and blue and yellow too. But they're everywhere. I enjoy a flower that looks different from everything else. I bought this Salvia lanceleolata at
The Huntington Library & Gardens a couple years ago. It's got silver gray foliage. And "lanceolata" means it's got leaves "in the shape of a spear". I love my "Latin For Gardeners" book. Find it at amazon here
Latin For Gardeners If you know a little Latin language, it describes the plant. And you'll understand better.
But the best part of the plant is the weird flowers. They start with what looks like a pink flower within an orange lower. You know how Poinsettias have bracts? The red part is not the flower but the bract. The little white part is the actual flower. Bougainvillea has similar bracts and flowers. When the pink flower or corola falls off you are left with what looks kind of bronzy orange bract or calyx.
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| How they begin |
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| How they end |
After some of the pink parts drop off you get what looks like pink AND orange on the plant. The combo with the contrasting gray foliage is striking!
The plant grows about 2- 3 feet tall and wide. It thrives in full sun with good drainage like most Salvia. And OF COURSE it is native to South Africa as ALL THE COOL PLANTS ARE! It is said to bloom in Spring and Summer. But mine seems to be blooming most of the year. The only time I cut it back was a little away from another plant.
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| Was really difficult to photograph. You almost can't see the flowers. |
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Sometimes the flowers match the dirt.
Do you grow any kooky colored flowers?
Happy Gardening! |
