Sunday, December 12, 2010

Alpine Cyclamen

Cyclamen
Cyclamen ‘National Liberty Lad’
(SIGH-kla-men)

Once in a while I come across a flower that Google has never heard of and Today’s Flower is one. It was growing and blooming happily in the Alpine House at Wave Hill Gardens in the Bronx. Most people know Cyclamen as a florist plant that brightens up the house over the winter but there a few hardy types that can grow outside in the garden. The hardy types often bloom here very early in the spring and do better when we have snow cover. It takes a long time for small patches of them to develop.

The 23 species of Cyclamen are mostly native to the Mediterranean area and Europe where some of the species are endangered from over harvesting. ‘National Liberty Lad’ is even smaller than the dwarf types you see for sale at the florist. It does have the variegated leaves and upswept flower petals of the common types.

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Here is the Today’s Flowers bonus picture. It was also a denizen of the Alpine house. The flower was about ¼ inch wide and being so small a little difficult to get a shot of.


Swan River Daisy
Brachyscome multifida
(brak-kys-koh-mee) (mul-TIF-id-uh)
Synonyms: Rock Daisy, Hawkesbury River Daisy

This native of Australia is a relative of the Brachyscome we grow a lot in containers. I know that species as a trouble free, free flowering and low maintenance annual. The species name, multifida, means ‘many divided’ and you can see where that comes from with a little of the foliage creeping in. I have only seen this color of Brachyscome but they also come in pink, white, yellow, purple and blue.

14 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Gorgeous flowers, I love the cyclamen and its color. Daisies have always been a favorite of mine. Wonderful post and photos.

Dejemonos sorprender said...

Hi, beautiful pictures of these flowers.. are very nice..

Larry said...

The hardy cyclamen can foster an addiction for more of them, as they are truly amazing when grown in groups under a tree... thankfully they spread their seeds about and all one needs is a goodly amount of patience and time... this a lovely photo of a very special plant! L

Jidhu Jose said...

beautiful

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

I have Cyclamen on the list of plants to put in my shady garden. They are so sweet. I think the colors/shapes/designs on their foliage is really nice.

Arija said...

Delightful little Alpine Cyclamen. It seems odd to have the Swan River daisy growing in an alpine house as bot its natural environment in Western Australia and on the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales are very hot climates. I have also seen it in the Grampians in Victoria.

Thank you for your information on my rhody, It is however not one of the early flowerers. I will do further research on the name though. I suspect it is a species rhododendron.

Indrani said...

Lovely pic the first one, beautiful DOF.

Unknown said...

the cyclamen is exquisite!

Anonymous said...

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Jama said...

They are so pretty!

Lara/Uproad said...

simply gorgeous!

Kala said...

Lovely DoF!

Míriam Luiza said...

A flor ilumina o ambiente! Linda!

Unknown said...

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