Monday, January 11, 2010

Painted Nettle



Painted Nettle
Solenostemon scutellarioides 'Kingwood Karnival'
(sol-en-oh-STEM-on) (skew-tell-ar-ee-OH-ih-deez)

This year Planting Fields Arboretum had a Coleus collection planted in one area. There were at least 15 different types and ‘Kingwood Karnival’ was one of them. Now a Coleus Collection where everything is planted rather rigidly is probably not great for the home garden it was nice to see all the different cultivars lined up. I learned two things by researching this post. One was the fact that the common name for Coleus is Painted Nettle and two the scientific species name is really long and hard to pronounce.

There seems to be a few more Coleus to choose from each year. We had several good ones in the garden last year but it was difficult to keep the slugs off them. If you are looking for more information on Coleus check out this website:
Coleus Finder.org

I will certainly be using that as a reference tool when shopping in the spring.

This Hosta was nice and puckered. Not sure what variety it is but it had interesting shading. Over the last couple of years we have been collecting some different Hosta types and planting them in one garden. It is fenced which helps keep the deer and other animals away. It has turned out well and I have actually been enjoying the flowers. In the past we mainly planted them for the foliage.

2 comments:

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

There are so many Coleus to choose from these days. I like the sun Coleus...adds to the garden!

Les said...

I wouldn't garden without the coleus. I put them in pots by themselves and mix with other potted plants, and grow them in the beds as well. Many people take cuttings to overwinter, I just like to get more in the spring, old favorites as well as trying some new ones.