‘Black Pearl’ ornamental pepper (Capsicum annuum) is intriguing in all its stages.
Papery, dainty, purple flowers appear before the black pearl-shaped fruit…
…which gives the plant its name.
The black peppers eventually ripen to red…
…and wrinkle up like prunes. The whole cycle is attractive and interesting. I’ll definitely be planting this annual again next spring.
All material © 2006-2010 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Awful August ends, and I always feel like dancing a celebratory jig. But in central Texas we know that summer doesn’t truly release its hot, sticky grip until about mid-October. No matter. The arrival of September brings psychological relief, and that’s better than nothing.
Certain plants help get me through summer simply by virtue of not wilting easily or by adding a cool, silver shimmer along their green leaves. Take Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa), for example. Its nubby, green leaves are edged with eye-cooling white. Minty fresh!
Or how about a frosty pairing of ‘Powis Castle’ artemisia and ‘Sapphire Skies’ Yucca rostrata? Brrr!
‘Powis Castle’ artemisia looks iced over by frost even in the depths of summer. Give it full sun and good drainage, and watch it shine.
Fall isn’t here yet, but it’s hiding just around the corner. ‘Adagio’ miscanthus grass is beginning its fall show by displaying the first toasty browns of autumn, making a silver-and-gold combo with the artemisia.
Another look
More “gold” in the form of empty seedpods on the lyre-leaf sage (Salvia lyrata). I bet I’ll see lots of baby lyrata next spring.
The lower garden in serene green, with a punch of purple heart, as August departs not a minute too soon.
All material © 2006-2010 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Flowers have a youthful beauty, but agaves and other succulents are like living sculpture. I find them fascinating and irresistibly touchable, despite those fierce thorns. This is ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave (A. ovatifolia), a giant, blue-green rose of a plant.
Its serrated leaves are defended by thorns that glow deep-red in afternoon light.
Ghostly imprints of the thorns remain long after a tightly furled new leaf has opened up. You can see imprints on the previous image as well. They add to the majestic beauty of this agave.
For Dr. Seussian interest, spineless prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) can’t be beat. Its leaves are oblong, green paddles.
Accidentally knock a paddle to the ground and it will root where it lies, growing into a new plant. Fascinating, no?
‘Bloodspot’ mangave is a beautiful, freckled hybrid of an agave and a manfreda. Mine likes bright shade and well-drained soil in a container, and it stayed outside all last winter, though covered by a sheet during our hard freezes.
Mother of Thousands (Kalanchoe daigremontiana) is not winter-hardy in Austin, which could be a blessing, as it can be invasive in zone 9 and higher (Florida, parts of California, Australia, etc.). The little plantlets growing along the edge of the leaves will drop off and root, giving you hundreds of new plants or a yard full of weeds, depending on your growing zone and feelings about it.
Mine is a passalong from Diana of Sharing Nature’s Garden, and I think it’s an interesting plant to experiment with. I’m hoping it will bloom for me, but maybe it needs a warmer (i.e., frost-free) climate for that. At any rate, its form and texture, like so many succulents, is fantastical.
Grow a few succulents and you can’t help but have fun.
All material © 2006-2010 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Like the school bus in August, bright yellow usually indicates that summer is winding down and autumn is on the way. Around here, the hot yellows of Mexican mint marigold and copper canyon daisy will soon join summer’s sunny hymenoxys and black-eyed Susans.
I’m not afraid of hot yellows in the garden (in fact I rather like them), but mellow yellows and yellow greens are easier to blend with other plants. Take this variegated tapioca (Manihot esculenta ‘Variegata’), for instance.
It looks lovely paired with fine-textured Mexican weeping bamboo (Otatea acuminata aztecorum). Not drought-tolerant, this South American tropical’s stunning foliage and hot-pink stems have tempted me for years. This year I broke down and bought one, which I’m keeping in a pot. It needs watering every day, which I swore I’d never do, but the desire for that foliage won out. I’m thinking of it as a beautiful bouquet—i.e., temporary—so that when I eventually forget to water or leave it out in a freeze I won’t feel too bad about its inevitable demise.
More mellow yellows mixed with green include Sparkler sedge (Carex phyllocephala ‘Sparkler’)…
…and dwarf papyrus, a bog plant in my stock-tank pond. Both plants remind me of fireworks and do fine in part-shade. In fact, Sparkler sedge needs mostly shade to avoid burning in our climate.
Out in the sun, Agave americana mediopicta ‘Alba’ has really grown since I planted it as a passalong pup last year. It’s such a gorgeous agave, and I always admire those ivory-and-olive-striped leaves.
All material © 2006-2010 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
