365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Friday, July 24, 2020
Crocosmia Lucifer
Day 285: You admire a plant in someone's yard, determine to get one for your own garden, and three years down the road, you discover that while lovely, it exhibits traits which make you wonder if it's considered a weed in its native environment. Crocosmia is one of those. Its showy, its brilliant inflorescences shining at the tips of graceful, slender stems; it quickly fills those boring spaces in your landscaping, and it propagates both by seed and bulb...vigorously, as if given half a chance, it would take over the world. Once established, it is almost impossible to eradicate, a feature I learned the hard way after planting the red variety "Lucifer" where its foliage soon came to block the sidewalk. I dug it out, sifted the soil through my fingers to remove even the tiniest of bulbs, but I'm still pulling Crocosmia five years later. Aggressive behaviour aside, it is an attractive and colourful addition to the garden. Just be sure to locate it somewhere it can sprawl. The hummingbirds will love you.
Labels:
Crocosmia "Lucifer",
gardening,
hummingbirds
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