Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Wednesday Vignette: Everything is relative


I thought I had a lot of Osteospermums in bloom.

Single-petaled varieties

Double-petaled varieties


However, this display at Seaside Gardens in Ventura County put mine in perspective:

They were all over the South Africa demonstration garden but this was the most expansive display I caught with the small camera I was carrying on this trip


The single-petaled Osteospermums, one of several species referred to as African daisies, readily self-seed.  The double-petaled hybrids that I've been focused on in recent years are short-lived perennials, which don't appear to self-seed.

Single or double-petaled, they're clearly made for coastal Southern California's Mediterranean climate.

For more Wednesday Vignettes, visit Anna at Flutter & Hum.


All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

19 comments:

  1. Lovely Kris. Your display is far nicer than anything that would grow here, so I'm impressed.

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    1. Osteospermums require little to no effort here, Cindy. The single-petaled varieties spread themselves around and luckily are relatively easy to remove when they plant themselves where they're not wanted.

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  2. Wow! That's an explosion of colour.

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    1. All the "African daisies," a category that includes Arctotis, Gazania, and Gerbera as well as Osteospermum, are all great at providing color here, Anna. We're lucky.

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  3. So beautiful! It's wonderful to see all that colour. I can't wait for summer here as I'm just so fed up of all the rain.

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    1. We're getting increasingly desperate for rain, here, Nikki. Our rainy season is short and getting ever-closer to ending but we're standing at less than half our "normal" level for the season at this point. Drought and fire danger loom ahead.

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  4. So pretty and they are quite cheering!

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  5. Daisies are so joyful. You grow them to perfection.

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    1. In the case of the single-petaled Osteospermums in particular, they really grow themselves.

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  6. Woah, those are beautiful displays! You've brightened my day. Thank you.

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    1. You're most welcome, Beth. I hope you get some Spring warmth and color soon.

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  7. The last photo looks like something you might find in the wild. A huge swath of them blooming at the same time. They used to offer these for sale around here as annuals of course. I bought them a few times because I love the colors and form. They didn't ever last the summer here. I don't know if I watered too much or not enough. I do love seeing them.

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    1. The demonstration gardens at Seaside are meant to mimic a natural environment even though their layouts were designed by professionals. The natural look in this case is aided by the fact that Osteospermums are prolific self-seeders. The plants pop up all over my garden too but I pull a lot of them.

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  8. The flower lady has been out-flowered!

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  9. You make me realise, there is an Osteospermum shaped hole in my garden. Deep purple, pure white and that buttery yellow, I think.

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    1. There's always room for Osteospermum, Diana! I just noticed that a nice purple one has moved into a corner of my back slope.

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  10. All of mine aren't blooming yet! I'll show them yours for inspiration... They are gorgeous.

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    1. Maybe still too cold at night in your area, Renee?

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