Re: Society Garlic
- Subject: Re: Society Garlic
- From: J* S*
- Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 08:58:14 -0800 (PST)
I, too, agree with John in the principle of using
plants regardless of their commoness or lack thereof.
My main point was that this STINKY plant was being
used in up-close public areas where a
less-than-desirable fragrance should not be used.
I also want to note that John is correct in advising
"regular and careful maintenance" of Tulbaghia en
masse. Unfortunately, such is not the case in the
public areas around here. Whacking shrubs into
angular boxes seems prevalent, yet whacking back
Tulbaghia every 2-3 years doesn't seem to be part of
the routine. I see way too many landscapes of tired
Tulbaghias with yellow leaves and spent bloom stems.
Occasionally the stems are removed but no one digs,
divides, and transplant them.
Joe
--- david feix <davidfeix@yahoo.com> wrote:
> --- John MacGregor <jonivy@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> I
> > think that too often we
> > tend to disdain very good plants that are easily
> > grown and hence widely used
> > (and too often misused), when, if featured
> > creatively, they are gems.
> > Sorry, Tim and Joe, but people I know all call it
> > "society garlic." We must
> > move in different circles. ;-)
>
> I agree with John that this plant does have its
> uses,
> but I did wonder why they used so much of it around
> the bottom garden at the new Getty Garden, the smell
> on a warm day was overwhelming. I find it much less
> volatile here in the cooler northern California.
> The
> leaves do make a good substitute for green onions.
>
> Related to Joe's comment on why use smelly plants,
> this brings to mind a very smelly one in my own
> garden, even more pungent and
> floriferous-Plectranthus
> neochilus. This is a great herbaceous ground cover
> for full sun or dry shade, and blooms nearly all
> year
> here. The smell is peculiar, either smelling like
> skunk or marijuana, depending on your frame of
> reference. The smell is triggered by either
> brushing
> it or watering it, and I am sure more than one
> passerby must have thought I was gardening in an
> altered state while passing my garden! I love the
> deep purple flowers in mass, especially when
> combined
> with mass plantings of the powdery blue foliage of
> Senecio mandraliscae. It will cover an area 3 feet
> across from one plant, and is so easy to propagate
> that I don't even bother rooting it, just cut and
> plant.
>
> > I also like to use both the lavender- and
> > white-flowered forms of Tulbaghia
> > simmleri (formerly T. fragrans), which (if not
> > frosted) bloom all winter
> > long as well as through spring and part of the
> > summer. Its foliage is
> > grayer and broader, the whole plant is a little
> > larger in scale than T.
> > violacea, and it lacks the garlic odor. The
> > blossoms are have a mild, sweet
> > fragrance, and the clusters last for a week or
> more
> > as cut flowers. This
> > species thrives with less frequent division, and
> > even when we get a light
> > frost it comes back into bloom within a couple of
> > weeks.
> >
> > All in all, I consider these Tulbaghias to be
> easily
> > grown garden mainstays.
> >
> > Does anyone on the list grow any of the other
> South
> > African species in this
> > genus? I have seen T. cominsii, T. leucantha. T.
> > natalensis (reputedly
> > hardy), and T. pallida on seed lists, and there
> > several other species
> > pictured at at:
>
> T. fragran/simleri is a touch more sensitive about
> growing conditions, it will rot with constantly wet
> feet, while T. violacea can even be grown as a pond
> edge plant. T. simerli wants it sunny and dry in
> winter in northern California, or you will lose it.
> The flowers and foliage are less grass like, more
> similar to a glaucus Nerine sarniensis.
>
> I haven't seen any of the other species around
> locally, so don't know if they are equally easy.
> Thanks for the web site with the photos!
> >
> > http://theafricangarden.netfirms.com/page13.html
> >
> > and at:
> >
> > http://www.crocosmia.8m.com/page2.html
> >
> > (Be patient; the pictures take some time to
> > download).
> >
> > Most look like small collectors items, but there
> are
> > many selected forms and
> > hybrids of T. violacea. It looks like some of
> these
> > might be valuable
> > landscape items.
> >
> > John MacGregor
> > South Pasadena, CA 91030
> > USDA zone 9 Sunset zones 21/23
> >
> >
>
>
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=====
Joe Seals
Santa Maria, California --
where the weather is always perfect
and my garden always has something blooming
and birds galore
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