Re: [Re: favorites that shouldnt be (Sunflowers)]
- To: s*@groupmail.com, m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: Re: [Re: favorites that shouldnt be (Sunflowers)]
- From: Y* G*
- Date: 17 Nov 00 10:59:16 MET
Plant snobbery?
Well of course there's not a garden in Greece without zonal pelargoniums and I
can't apologize for mine. Or the gazanias. I have pink oxalis too as well.
This year a middle-sized sunflower came up from nowhere, several heads and a
bamboo stalk, anyone recognise? I have huge red cannas, vulgar trumpetty
amaryllis, hibiscus, morning glory; not one a shrinking violet.
All these will thrive cheerfully while I'm trying to wet-nurse new posh
persons' plants I can hardly pronounce the names of.
Nasturtiums are wonderful because they do their job, leave willingly, return
with no effort on my part. I like the "peaches and cream" variety. I'm putting
them amongst the spring bulbs, some of these are a bit common too.
Why should we care? We wouldn't stop growing tomatoes just because everyone
else had them, or beans or strawberries. Weed or flower, as long as they
behave themselves they're welcome in my garden.
"Sean A. O'Hara" <sean.ohara@groupmail.com> wrote:
> At 03:56 PM 11/16/00 -0700, Katherine Waser wrote:
> >In the summer, I really love the rather weedy native sunflowers that pop
up
> >here and there where the birds have planted them and where they get a bit
> >of extra water. (I guess sunflowers would probably be considered
> >Mediterranean?? comments??) When I go out in the mornings I often find
> >bumblebees sleeping among the petals <snip>. Even better, the sunflowers
> >really draw goldfinches to the garden--wonderful tiny colorful birds that
hang
> >upside down and peck out the seeds while chattering
> >"dee-dee-dee...dee-dee-dee" back and forth to each other.
>
> Katherine -
>
> California has these wild sunflowers as well - I've admired them since I
> was a young boy. While my wife and I were in one our trip, we saw lots of
> sunflowers in Tuscany. Apparently growing sunflowers as a crop plant is
> quite common, and there are various forms that 'escape' the fields and live
> in the hedgerows and roadside verges, sometimes looking like 'throwbacks'
> to a wilder form or perhaps a hybrid with some that are wild (either native
> or naturalized). There are so many color types, and all sorts of heights
> that can be found, or selected in your own garden, that I can't see why
> they are not grown more. People always respond to them. Locally, they
> often start growing from seed in the fall and even flower through the
> periodic sunny weather we get in our mild winter. Indeed, during October
> in Italy, there were many plants growing great guns, apparently recently
> sprung from the earth and blooming away!
>
> Seeds of Change offers various forms of sunflowers, some of them quite nice
> http://store4.yimg.com/I/seedsofchange_1609_1295063 - Discovery Mix
> http://store4.yimg.com/I/seedsofchange_1609_28380005 - Jeruselam Sunrise
Lemon
> http://store4.yimg.com/I/seedsofchange_1609_1343485 - Evening Sun
> http://store4.yimg.com/I/seedsofchange_1609_1789767 - Tiger Eye Mixed
>
> Many sunflowers are being bred to be 'dwarf' - why this would be considered
> a desirable trait, I can't imagine. Part of the identity of these plants
> is to be tallish to downright huge! It is what sets them apart in people's
> minds. Ah well - go figure!
>
> Regards,
> Sean O.
>
> h o r t u l u s a p t u s - 'a garden suited to its purpose'
> Sean A. O'Hara fax (707) 667-1173 sean.ohara@groupmail.com
> 710 Jean Street, Oakland, CA 94610-1459, U.S.A.
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