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August 1, 2012

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Life at Big Garden, Postaweek

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Purple (my 100th post!!)

While walking down the steps at Jaycee Beach today, I noticed something purple off to my left:

Stairs, Jaycee Beach, Vero Beach

On closer examination, I recognized flowering Bay Bean growing among a stand of sea oats:

The upside down "bean" flower of Canavalia Rosea

Native to Florida and other states along the Gulf Coast, Bay Bean is important to the ecosystem, acting as a sand stabilizer at Jaycee which suffers significantly from erosion each year.

Canavalia Rosea

Bay Bean Vine aka Canavalia Rosea

The sturdy, salt air/drought tolerant Canavalia Rosea grows up to 20ft long. As the next picture shows, the lower stem is woody with several branches radiating outward.  They sometimes over-lap, forming dense mats of semi-succulent green foliage:

Bay bean aka Canavalia Rosea

Compared to other members of the legume family, Bay Bean’s 2″ blooms are upside-down, forming a neat landing pad with white center to attract bees and other pollinators:

The upside down "bean" flower of Canavalia Rosea

In this organic purple helipad, “X” is a bright white splotch! ;)

Although not widely used in horticulture or home landscapes, Canavalia Rosea is a great choice for xeric gardens and/or ground cover in Zones 9-11. It grows rapidly, flowers year round, and seems to be a pioneer in the rehabilitation of eroded soils.

And with that, I’ll end my 100th post!!!  I’ve enjoyed every minute of the WordPress experience. :)

The hugest of huge “thank yous” to anyone who’s ever read this blog!

Until next time!

:)

ps: TC is on a plane as I’m typing this! We’ll be picking him up in a few short hours! Fun!!

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30 thoughts on “Weekly Photo Challenge: Purple (my 100th post!!)”

    • At first glance from the steps, I thought it was the far more common railroad vine and was somewhat surprised that it wasn’t.
      (Thank you for following my blog, and commenting, too)

  4. Beautiful pictures as always! Congrats on reaching this milestone of “100posts”. I know there is many more to come. Looking forward to see you reaching 1000th soon. Best wishes to you. :)

  5. Congratulations on 100 posts. ~sweet~ I look forward many 100’s more. :)

    I didn’t realize there was a flowering wild plant that grew on beaches. That’s so neat. The Bay Bean is a beauty. Great photos.

    • Hello, E.C.!
      yes, there’s a few others around here, too—->railroad vine and beach sunflower, are the most common, but the Bay bean is more intricate.
      Thanks for commenting. You were one of the first people to find my blog last fall, and I’m very appreciative of your ongoing support!

    • Your “Promenade Plantings” was the very first blog I followed and I’ve learned ALOT about wordpress etiquette from reading posts and comments there. Thank you for reading and following me!

  12. Happy 100th post! I happened to cross over the 100th post on my blog, as well, for this week’s photo challenge. Yay for us!! Cute little dainty little flower…thanks for sharing the cultural history of this plant (I’m a naturalist/landscape designer by trade in CA), I appreciate the tidbits!!

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