White Lantana

Lantana

Lantana camara 'Denholm White’

(lan-TAN-a) (kuh-MAR-uh)

This post was from yesterday only with everything going on I forgot to post it. We are buying a lot of Lantana this year since it seems so durable. It can grow in the lightest water areas of the garden. Puckering up and losing a few leaves is usually what happens when it dries out but Lantana can quickly snap back to life if watered in time. Other than it’s smell it is plant that quickly forms a mat of color and blooms all season. This is the third time white Lantana has been featured here but the first time for this cultivar. It is really white when viewed from a distance and the little yellow centers become more apparent on closer viewing.

The gig went well yesterday. We got told to turn it down a few times but that's rock n’ roll. Our next show is July 13^th, which is a Friday night. We are taking a couple of weeks off from practicing since the bass player needs knee surgery.

Usually Sunday’s post has a bonus snapshot so here it is for Monday instead.

French Marigold

Tagetes patula 'Janie Yellow'

(TAG-e-teez) (PAT-yoo-luh)

White Marigold and Red Verbena

White Marigold and Red Verbena

Tagetes erecta

(TAG-e-teez) (ee-RECK-tuh)

In honor of all the flowers we will be purchasing this week here is a pic of one of the big containers from last year. The size of the plants and the colors mixed really well in this pot. Container gardens are not really a science with me. It is much more about what they have at the time we go to get the flowers and foliage. It usually works out okay but who knows what will happen this year with the season being so weird.

Our band is officially booked for a Sunday show on June 3^rd. We will be performing at Molten Javas in Bethel, Connecticut. The date got moved up a week but I think we will be ready.

French Marigold

French Marigold
Tagetes patula 'Bonanza Orange'
(TAG-e-teez) (PAT-yoo-luh)

Shrub Marigold

Shrub Marigold
Tagetes lemmonii
(TAG-e-teez) (lem-mon-ee-eye)
Synonyms: Mexican Bush Marigold, Mount Lemmon Marigold, Copper Canyon Daisy

The fabled Southern California weather is certainly living up to its hype. It has been so beautiful with temperatures in the high 70’s (F) and a little bit of breeze. Yesterday we spent most of the day touring the South Coast Botanical Gardens . I would give the place six stars out of five. We really loved the rustic areas as well as the more landscaped gardens. It is a great collection of plants that is well maintained (perfect combination for a botanical garden). There were a lot of plants I had never seen before as well as some old friends.

This Marigold was really cool. It had run a little rampant but still looked good and had a lot of flowers. It grows quite tall and was giving off a lemon scent.

White Marigold

White Marigold
Tagetes erecta
(TAG-e-teez) (ee-RECK-tuh)

This White Marigold was from a big container we planted with a flaming red Mandevilla vine, some red Verbena, a couple of different Nemesia and some silver Licorice plant. Almost forgot there was a Cigar plant (Cuphea x purpurea) in there too, which we hadn’t used before.

The conglomeration grew well together. I am never sure how all the different plants will look midseason but it usually works out. Changing some of the elements is always a possibility but that isn’t usually necessary. The different plants usually find their own level and spot to shine.

White Marigold has been discussed here before, including the interesting story of its development.
Link to previous post about White Marigolds

Several (actually many) times over the season I tried to get a picture of the Cigar plant. It seem to resist it every time and no matter how I tried the depth of field wasn’t right. That flower is high on list for next year’s photos.

We are considering trying to get a new Mac laptop to replace the Titanium Powerbook . I want a wifi enable computer. The new ones seem to have better specs and a cheaper price. Just like any electronic purchase it will take hours of research and searching for the best price.

Marigolds for a Friend

Marigolds for a Friend

Today I have to attend the funeral of a young person that Karen and I knew. At 27 Jason is gone long before his time. I decided to post this picture of Marigolds as one of the Mexican people I work with was explaining that Marigolds are used during the "Dia de los Muertos" (Day of the Dead) to help guide the souls of the departed back to enjoy the pleasures they enjoyed in life. With Jay it would have been friends, family and his two-year old twin daughters. I am not sure if I got the translation and meaning correct here but I sure hope so. The Day of the Dead is celebrated October 31st through November 2nd and is not as depressing a time as it sounds. It is quite the opposite, a time for happiness, family and life. I am going to try and use this to help build a little bridge to my trying to understand senseless tragedy. Not that I think I will ever be able to completely understand I will try and make peace with the situation and try and move on from there. Many people have been affected by this, much worse than Karen and I, and I hope I can help them carry on. His young beautiful wife who I am close to, his mother a genuine, nice person, his young brother just to name a few.

So here is my humble offering to Jay and his family, a large patch of Marigolds to help guide this spirit back so they can enjoy a little more time with his warm, friendly and caring personality.

“Death is nothing at all, I have only slipped away into the next room, I am I and you are you; Whatever we were to each other, That we still are.
Call me by my old familiar name, Speak to me in the easy way which you always used, Put no difference in your tone,
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we shared together.
Let my name ever be the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without effect, without the trace of a shadow on it. Life means all that it ever meant,
It is the same as it ever was, there is unbroken continuity. Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner. All is well.”
Henry Scott Holland, Canon of St. Paul’s Cathedral

White Marigold (Tagetes erecta)

White Marigold
Tagetes erecta
(TAG-e-teez) (ee-RECK-tuh)

Having enjoyed the cultivation of this African Marigold I thought I would share it. Far more than a novelty item the White Marigold is a stand out in any garden. I do admit to enjoying the novelty factor a little bit. They are fun to grow. I haven’t tried growing them from seed but I usually always try and get a couple of flats. ‘Sweet Cream’ flowers are actually off-white and the plant grows to a stubby 8 inches. That is much smaller than the other White Marigold I have grown called ‘French Vanilla’. That is also a nice Marigold to grow and I found this story about ‘French Vanilla’ on Burpee dot com;
“As part of its longtime search for a true white marigold, Burpee launched a national contest in 1954. The $10,000 prize for the seed of a truly white marigold was finally awarded to an Iowa gardener in 1975.”

I would recommend either of these cultivars of Marigolds. I like Marigolds in general and that is partially because it is easy to get a big show without too much work. One time I planted Striped Marigold with the whites and even though that was an odd combination it worked. One more thing, White Marigolds don’t smell like regular Marigolds, they don’t smell at all. While I don’t find the fragrance of Marigolds objectionable I guess a lot of people do.




This is a Striped Marigold

Orange Crush Marigold
Tagetes erecta
(tah-geh' tease) (ee-rec' tah)

This plant is sometimes referred to as African Marigold. This grew from some seed scattered in the annual border and it really has taken off and has been blooming for a couple of weeks now. The large 3-4 inch flower heads are borne on semi-compact plants. I know a lot of people don’t like the scent of Marigolds but I don’t mind it. If you don’t like the smell, but like the flower, try growing the white marigolds. Their scent is much less pungent and some don’t smell at all.

While the claim that planting Marigolds to deter pests from other plants is questionable, due to some scientific evidence, people continue to do it. They add a lot of color to the border. There are 50 species of Marigold and they are native to Central and Northern South America. One species is native to Africa.