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"Possibility and promise greet me each day as I walk out into my garden. My vigor is renewed when I breathe in the earthiness and feel the dirt between my fingers. My garden is a peaceful spot to refresh my soul." Meems






Welcome to my Central Florida Garden Blog where we garden combining Florida natives, Florida-Friendly plants, and tropicals.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Fall Bloomer


This container sits on the brick patio which is just outside of the covered lanai and the full planting blocks the direct view to the pool filter. Container plants can be very useful in hiding unsightly or utility type equipment.

This lavender colored bloomer is called Marble Leaf or Peristrothe hyssopifolia Auero-variegata. In November the yellow and green leaved plant puts out tiny and delicate appearing lavender blooms. But, in truth, there isn't much delicate about this plant except its small flower.

Hoe and Shovel started out with one plant a few years ago.
Marble leaf propagates easily just by digging up a small portion of the existing plant with some roots and plopping it in another location. Whether it goes in a pot or in the ground, there will soon be another hardy plant to be enjoyed year round.
This is a plant I would recommend for so many reasons. It doesn't require lots of water. It blooms from November through May and we all know we need perennials that bloom in the winter. It attracts butterflies. It's even cold hardy to 20 degrees. It can take full sun which actually adds to the marbling of the leaves a little more or part shade is what it prefers in my garden.
The catch is the hardiness zone is 10 and above which rules out a good portion of dear readers.

I've placed it in the ground in several places throughout the garden and it spreads nicely as a ground cover. Here (above center) it is kept more like a low lying shrub along the turn in a stone pathway complimenting the coleus as its closest neighbor and across from xanadu, holly fern and impatiens.
You have to love seeing fresh blooms in November!

19 comments:

  1. That is a nice looking plant! I have some areas I need to work at hiding, too. The air conditioner is in an area that has cement on two sides, but not much room to put pots. I think we need a screen of some kind.

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  2. oh meems you are teasing us with your beautiful plants we can't plant. i am looking forward to the day when i will have something blooming as many months as i can.
    i only wish we were in the same zone so i could gleen from your experience. of course i love the fact it is in the purple family and the delicate look of the flower. i also look forward to my soil being that cooperative with nature.

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  3. Hi Meems, what a pretty flower and healthy looking plant, just love that lavender blue colour. / Tyra

    TYRA'S GARDEN

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  4. It is good that you can post some blooms for GBBD this month Meems. It gives us northerners hope that there will be a spring.

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  5. What a lovely plant. I wonder if I could grow it here? I 'll have to see if they even sell it here.

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  6. Meems, As I was reading this last night (I was too tired to type a comment) I wondered if Marmee had any of this beauty in her garden. No is the answer! ...it is a beautiful plant and would be welcome here...if only! Meems, have a great weekend....hoping it is filled with adventure.

    Gail

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  7. Definitely love seeing November blooms. That looks like a great plant with those lovely colored blooms. I have never seen or heard of it before. Thanks for posting it. I love learning about new plants.
    Have a great weekend Meems!

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  8. Do I need to move to zone 10? :-)

    That's a beautiful flowering plant. I love that it mounds so well and looks so neat. The color is one of my favorites.

    Cameron

    PS (SOS) Tell Blotanical that after my computer crashed, I can't log back in. I KNOW my password, but it doesn't seem to work. When I asked them "to send me my password" that function is broken--it just hangs up the browser.

    THANKS

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  9. What a pretty, delicate flower. I agree, a potted plant can hide a multitude of odds and ends.
    Marnie

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  10. What a beauty Meems! I guess I could grow it as an annual or just vicariously enjoy yours! :)

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  11. Very sweet flower and great form. Wonder if it's something we could use as a potted tropical during the summer. Always good to find something that is a sturdy, good performer with pretty mauve coloured flowers.

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  12. Hey Meems I have same plant growing in hanging baskets. It blooms all year round. A reliable ground cover type.

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  13. Flowers that bloom from November to May...what a concept!! I imagine I'll be drooling over all your flower photos this winter and enjoying it all very much :)

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  14. A stunning plant, Meems, making all of your 'northern' fans drool! Love the silvery foliage ...

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  15. Sue: A screen can work wonders as well ... and then maybe a vine on the screen?

    Marmee: If we were in the same zone I'd be digging up plants all the time for you... you know, you could always move back. :-)

    Tyra: Thanks I am fond of the lavender against the foliage too.

    Lisa: I've decided our autumn weather is much like our spring weather only the days are growing shorter rather than longer.

    Darla: You could grow it as a houseplant or in the midst of summer in a pot most likely. I just don't know that it would bloom... and that woulnd't be any fun.

    Gail: Reading and writing too late is the blogger's plight is it not? I'm kind of feeling that way this minute. Hadn't had much of a chance to sit at the computer today and now I'm pooped. We are heading out of town in the a.m. until Sunday evening... will see youngest son. Hope you enjoy your weekend, too.

    Susie: Thanks. You are like me. Always fun to hear about another plant even if it doesn't work in my zone.

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  16. Cameron: You might like some of the plants we have here but probably wouldn't have liked the 85 degree and humid temps we've had the last two days. Should get cooler again this weekend but these are the weeks you never can predict.

    Hope you've heard from Blotanical and all your woes are fixed.

    Marnie: Potted plants and vines on fencing or just the right sized hedge... plants are just helpful for so many things... besides that if they are pretty too, well then, what an accomplishment.

    Racquel: Thank you. Maybe a houseplant but then again you are welcome to visit anytime and enjoy it from a distance.

    Barbara: It spreads quite nicely by rooting itself in underground shoots... not invasive at all though. The mounding habit makes it work in a variety of settings. It would be interesting to see if you could grow it as a summer tropical. I wonder if it would bloom though.

    Islandgal: I've not tried it in a hanging basket. Hmmmm... you are giving me ideas.

    Amy: What a concept... You are too funny. Do come on down south anytime to see what we have going on November till May when you happily thaw out.

    Joey: This is one of those simple but favorite plants. It's the kind of blooming bush that just keeps on giving. Glad you like it too.

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  17. The marble leaf makes a beautiful screen, while a long blooming plant is always appreciated. Flowers that are easy to propagate help to fill the flower beds without a lot of trips to the garden centre.

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  18. Meems, the thought just occurred to me that you have to learn so many more plants (and their names) than I do up here in the north! I mean, it's great to have so many great choices of things you can grow, but I'm afraid I would have a hard time choosing what to grow!

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  19. Linda said...
    I have this growing in my yard (Tampa area) as a ground cover and just love it. It has been damaged by our recent cold temperatures even though I covered it but I think it will make it. No one has mentioned the fragrance - mine has a wonderful smell.

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Have a blessed day,
Meems


September 2010

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