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Datura is smelly in a few ways

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Grab the Photo Hunt code.
Photo Theme. Visit participants.

This weeks theme is Smelly

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So the photo hunter theme this week is smelly.

With gardening as a hobby I know both good smelly and bad smelly.

Those of you who read this site or any of my others probably came here expecting a photo of something that smells good. I certainly have plenty of photos of lovely scented plants and flowers.

As one of my internet friends says “If only the internet had scratch and sniff capabilities”. You know I’d apply that technology to some of my photos.

The picture that I posted above is of a Datura plant seed pod. The seed pod doesn’t smell, but the leaves of the datura plant sure do when you touch or rub them between your fingers. The smell is a mix of skunk and coffee grounds. At least that’s the way it smells to me. It’s very repugnant.

It’s flowers on the other hand have quite a pleasant strong fragrance. As you can see it’s large seed pod is also quite ornamental.

All round it’s a very interesting smelly plant.






Pansies and Violas

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Pansies and Violas don’t do well here come summer.

Oh they bloom nicely in the spring, but once the warm weather hits they struggle. Toronto is a very hot and humid town come summer. The pansies and violas that I’ve managed to get to stay alive and even keep blooming into July end up looking kind of straggly, and leggy. By this I mean their stems grow long, and spread out and they appear to be in a permanent state of dehydration.

Believe me, if you live in a warm climate or an area that gets hot in the summer it’s not worth the fight of trying to keep pansies and violas going through summer. Let them die down if they are inclined to do so. Let them go peacefully. They reseed well, so even annuals ones have a chance of coming back the following spring.

Annual and Perennial Baby’s breath

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Baby’s Breath – is it an annual or a perennial? Well the answer is that it’s both. There are annual varieties as well as perennials varieties.

If you live in zone 6 or lower and you’d like to grow baby’s breath in a container it’s probably best to grow the annual variety.

The perennial variety of Baby’s breath must have perfect drainage. It’s has deep brittle roots which will make it difficult to grow in anything but a tub if you weren’t planning on growing it in a garden bed. The perennial variety can be counted on to bloom once during the summer, but if it’s a good season it might rebloom once.

Annual baby’s breath on the other hand will bloom over a much longer season.

I must admit that I haven’t had much luck growing either annual or perennial baby’s breath. My other plants always seem to crowd it out. I think I’ll try to look for the perfect spot to grow perhaps a combination of annual and perennial baby’s breath. That way, if I’m finally successful, I’ll have lots of baby’s breath blooms to use in my flower vases. Well if I ever cut fresh flowers, but that’s another story …

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