Herself’s Houston Garden

The scent of a plant is one of the many reasons we love those flowers. Orchids give off complex scents un-duplicated by perfume manufacturers. What lies lie in the scents of orchids?

Dendrobium sinense orchids on the Chinese island of Hainan, mimic the scent a honey bee makes when it is in distress. This scent is used to warn other bees to stay away. Hornets that eat the bees know the scent and land on the orchids producing the scent hoping to find food. The orchid gets pollinated, the hornet goes away hungry.

New orchid deception found: wearing the scent of hornet’s prey

Ophrys orchids give off the same scent that female bees give off when attracting a mate. Male bees come to the Ophrys orchid looking for a mate and pollinate the orchid while there. But it’s not just Ophrys, 18 of 20 orchids tested gave off at least trace amounts of alkenes.

Female bees are much better at pollinating plants, but male bees travel further. Plants who specifically target male bees will spread and receive pollen from a wider range of plants.

Evolution of sexual mimicry in the orchid subtribe orchidinae

Florescence Elements flower show

I don’t know if it was the recession or the ‘Elements’ theme of this years garden show but there were far more smaller designs and none of the flashy huge designs that were there last show. Orange and green were everywhere. Funny thing that they show up everywhere when the economy slows down. I’d even replaced my white dishes with green ones a few months back.

Small water gardens, small landscapes and smaller designs were everywhere. Proteas again stole the show it’s a shame they won’t grow here. And who knew that artichoke plants were so very cool? I must have one. It’ll be an annual here our winters are too cold for it.

( photos of the tiny arrangements, small water gardens and dish gardens are on Herself’s Houseplants Florescence photos )

Plants that flower in shade are rare, and rarer still is it to find one with bright colors. This plant dies back to the ground when the weather gets cold and it is the very last plant to come up every spring.

This plant is from the Caribbean. It does not like strong sun, keep it from direct sun. Other growers report it does better in areas away from sprinkler heads so go easy on the water but take care not to let it dry out.

This plant will reach about 2′ tall and is bushy in form.

It has been a totally care free plant so far, I planted it 2 years back.

I fell in love with these tall spiky plants the first time I saw them. We had been here about a year and I was wandering through the mansion district down the road to see what they had growing. I saw agapanthus lining pond gardens and also mixed into beds with foxglove, delphinium and sweet peas. Mixed in with other tall flowering plants they give gardens a fairy tale feel.

I put one in along the edge of my swale garden last year and it bloomed. This year the deer ate it before it had a chance to bloom. I’ll have to add some out back where the deer can’t get to them. The bloom late spring, June, down here.

They prefer full sun but will grow in part shade. And they prefer well drained soil most of the year. They are drought resistant once established. But in the spring when flower shoots appear, water them frequently and do not allow them to dry out while flowers are forming or they are in bloom.

Usually they are used to border driveways or gardens.  Keep them well watered in the summer and don’t worry about them in the cooler months.

New plants may take up to three years to bloom while they get established. Divide the plants every 4 or 5 years in the fall. Once established they should naturalize ( fill in an area )

More information:
Agapanthus africanus
Agapanthus friends