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| Mirabilis or Four O'Clocks |
Growing under the lemon trees and a few other spots in the back garden are Mirabilis or Four O'Clocks. They are called that because the flowers are usually closed during the middle of the day and open up again later in the afternoon, around four o'clock, when the sun is lower in the sky; they also open up in the mornings, which is when today's photos were taken.
Earlier in the summer, however, during one of our July heatwaves, this is how they looked:
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| Dead and Dying Four O'Clocks |
These plants start from seeds, but they also develop tubers and come back, each year, from the tubers. So, when the plants died over the summer, M and I cut them back and removed the dead stems. Eventually, the plants grew back from the tubers and are flowering, again.
I have some that have a magenta-like dark pink colored flowers (but didn't find any that were blooming, this morning) and some, that have mostly yellow flowers. But, one of the interesting things about Four O'Clocks is, the same plant can have different colored flowers, too!
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| Yellow Flowers |
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| Yellow with pink marks |
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| Pink and yellow |
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| Pink Flowers |
And, as I mentioned, they often grow on the same plant!
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| One plant with different colored flowers |
I usually allow them to self-seed themselves; but, occasionally, I'll collect a handful of the seeds and scatter them, here and there. In wet years, they grow like weeds! I've tried getting them to grow in the front garden, but it's too hot for them, there.
Have you tried growing them?
I have Four o'clocks. Only in magenta though. I didn't know about the tubers. It's good to know that they come back every year.
ReplyDeleteMine is in a pot, so I am going to collect seeds and scatter along the fence. Hopefully I will have more colors. :)
I'm sure your seeds will grow well, Nil. It'll be interesting to see what color flowers you'll get on the new plants. :)
DeleteWhat pretty flowers. I love that they can have several colours on one plant. It is a metaphor, we are all different but if we are willing to see ourselves as one family together, we can see that we are all equally beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's kind of what I thought, too, Bushlady. That we can all be different and, yet, we are all alike, too. :)
DeleteI tried them in my garden last year but they didn't do too well and there was no sign of the them again this year. I liked the fact that there are different coloured flowers on the same plant but it wasn't too obvious on the ones I grew!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry they didn't return, this year, Eileen. Maybe, over there, they need to be grown as annuals and planted every year? Or the tubers dug up and stored over winter? Especially if you get snow in the winter.
DeleteMy neighbor has some right over the fence that I enjoy every year. Hers are yellow and very pretty.
ReplyDeleteMaybe she'll share some seeds with you, Live and Learn, and you can try growing some, yourself. :)
DeletePlants will grow where they want to. I have learned not to try and force them otherwise. In the past, I would buy plants that I liked and try them out. If they didn't survive, the next time I bought them I would plant them somewhere else in the yard. Sometimes they will migrate themselves. Seeds will blow into a location and thrive. Other plants send out roots to find a better locale. And sometimes my gardening squirrels will decide for me that a particular tulip looks better in a different flower bed. I often have to dig up plants from my lawn or driveway and relocate them. Wherever they plant themselves I will be happy with. Nowadays, I just try to keep the population under control.
ReplyDeleteOh, I remember that - you finding a tulip growing where you didn't plant it! Occasionally, I, too, find plants popping up where I didn't plant them - for the most part, I let them grow where they are! :)
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