Our Scotland trip in 2014 toured many beautiful gardens and two botanical gardens--one in Glasgow and one in Edinburgh. I hope to go back to Scotland again one day, as it was a magical trip!
Pocketbook plant – Calceolaria crenatiflora is often sold in Arkansas as a short-lived flowering houseplant. The flowers are puffed up, resembling a lady’s handbag –thus the common name pocketbook plant.
Native to the mountains of South America, it would be a short-lived plant for us outdoors, since it can’t take temperatures above 65 degrees. I had never considered using them outdoors, but it would be similar to the English primroses that I buy and enjoy for about a month outside about this time of year. They would not take a frost, but do like cooler temperatures. Indoors give it very bright light, avoid overwatering and enjoy for 2-3 weeks, then toss.
Climbing Butcher’s Broom – Semele androgyna
– This was a pretty obscure vining plant. There is only one species in the genus Semele and this is it. It is found growing wild in the Canary Islands. It is a very unusual plant in that what looks like broad green leaves are called cladodes (flattened stems). The true leaves are tiny brown papery structures at the base. The plant has tiny flowers along the cladodes which you can see in this picture.
There are separate male and female blooms. After pollination, it produces small pea-like berries which turn red when ripe. It has been a fixture in glass houses in Britain since the early eighteenth century.
Brachyglottis greyi (previously named Senecio greyi) is commonly called Daisy Bush.
This member of the aster family is native to New Zealand. Depending on variety, this evergreen shrub up to can be 2-3 feet or 4-5 feet tall and slightly wider. The leaves are gray-green above and white and wooly below.
While it is hardy to zone 8, it is used in landscapes in California and Oregon along the coast. My guess, is our heat and humidity would probably take its toll.
Himalayan Blue Poppy – Papaver betonicifolium previously known as Meconopsis betonicifolium
is one of the most iconic blue flowers in the garden. Everyone who sees one, wants to have one.
Unfortunately, they are similar to lupines for us, in that they are beautiful to look at but wouldn’t take our climate.
They need cool temperatures and moist soils. They are only recommended in the US in mountain rock gardens or the Pacific northwest.