The Siam Tulips are blooming!

A few years back, I purchased four 1-gallon containers of Siam Tulips to start a cutting garden behind my back patio. Native to Thailand and Cambodia, the plant is well suited to coastal, sub-tropical growing zones and began spreading almost immediately! Now in their third summer, these beautiful members of the ginger family have started another bloom cycle:

Curcuma Alismatifolia, Maejo Mont Blanc (aka Siam Tulip)

All varieties of Curcuma alismatifolia share grass-green colored foliage with a single inflorescence emerging from the center; differences are found in the height of the flower stalk and shape/color of its bracts. The Maejo Mont Blanc variety is white with hints of pink and splashes of mauve along the edges. The bracts are more rounded than most alismatifolias, and the plant in general is more compact.

Curcumas really DO resemble Tulips! 🙂

The lower bracts of the inflorescence are small and green with tiny purple flowers emerging from base to tip at full bloom. The bract spike is quite sturdy and stands up well to windy conditions during rainy season. When cut and placed in a vase, the flower looks great for a week to 10 days!

Short and sweet for today….TC is visiting and we’re off to the bookstore!

Until next time….

🙂

Posted by

SmallHouseBigGarden

Posted on

August 1, 2012

Posted under

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:

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

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.

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:

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!!