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Anything But Ordinary – Inspiring & Unique Flowers

As a gardener and as an artist and photographer, I have long been attracted to more unusual plants — those that are showy, quirky, alien-like, and over-the-top — anything but ordinary. Any plant or flower that makes me ask, “what in the world is that?” has a place in my garden! Many of these flowers can also be used in bouquets, adding a touch of the exotic and unusual to any arrangement.

Unusual Flower Types & Photos

Globe Thistle (Echinops ritro)
Globe Thistle

Globe Thistle (Echinops ritro)
Globe Thistle is a clump-forming herbaceous perennial with coarse, prickly leaves with 1-2 ball-shaped silvery-lavender-blue or dark blue flowerheads blooming in early to late summer on rigid branching stems 24-48 inches tall. These beautiful ornamentals grow best in full sun to mostly sunny areas and attract bees and butterflies. In the garden, they will tolerate heat and are deer-resistant. They make excellent cut flowers as well as great additions to dried bouquets.
This flower IS available from your local florist*.

Allium Bulgaricum (Nectaroscordum siculum)
Allium Bulgaricum

Allium Bulgaricum (Nectaroscordum siculum)
This ornamental allium is easy to grow, deer-resistant, and hardy to zone 4. They thrive in sunlight and bloom in May and June. Also known as Mediterranean Bells, Sicilian Honey Lily, Ornamental Onion and Sicilian Garlic, they are native to the Mediterranean. The individual florettes begin in an upright position and gradually relax to a cluster of tricolored bells and begin to drape like a floral chandelier. They make an interesting addition to flower arrangements.

Bat Face Cuphea (Cuphea llavea)
Bat Face Cuphea

Bat Face Cuphea (Cuphea llavea)
Also known as St. Peter’s plant, Tiny Mice and Bunny Ears, Bat Face Cuphea is a tender tropical evergreen perennial native to Mexico. Bat Face Cuphea prefer partial to full sun and its distinctive red and purple flowers blooms from March through October. Attractive to hummingbirds and bees, the plant is low maintenance, drought-tolerant and makes a great plant for pots, planters, and beds. The plants will grow 2-3 feet tall by 3 feet wide. In early summer, pinch growth off to encourage branching.

Cat’s Whiskers (Orthosiphon stamineus)
Cat’s Whiskers

Cat’s Whiskers (Orthosiphon stamineus)
Part of the mint family, Cat’s Whiskers are herbaceous perennial flowering plants originating in tropical East Asia. They grow up to two feel tall and three to four feet wide. The flowers have an orchid-like appearance and are white or lavender, sprouting long stamens that resemble cat’s whiskers. They attract butterflies and hummingbirds and can be harvested to use in herbal teas.

Family Jewels Milkweed Tree (Asclepias physocarpa)
Family Jewels Milkweed

Family Jewels Milkweed Tree (Asclepias physocarpa)
This species of milkweed is also known as White Butterfly Weed or Swan Plant. Native to Jamaica and South America, this perennial herb can grow to over six feet and prefers full sun and well-drained soil. It is a food source for caterpillars and is a food and habitat plant for the Monarch Butterfly. The small flowers are creamy white and orchid-like, followed by translucent, inflated 2″ green balls covered with soft bristles that are the resulting seedpods. It is a fast-growing tender perennial and grows best in Zones 7-10.

Firecracker Vine or Spanish Flag (Mina lobata)
Spanish Flag

Firecracker Vine or Spanish Flag (Mina lobata)
A tender perennial grown as an annual, this fast climber can grow 10 to 20 feet tall. The incredibly intense-colored 1.5″ blooms are reddish-orange fading to orange yellow and white flowers from mid-summer to fall. Two cultivars include Citronella (cream flowers and red buds) and Mexican Fiesta (red and yellow flowers). A member of the morning glory family, Spanish Flag can be grown in sun to partial shade and is best grown on a lattice.

Red or Yellow Hot Poker (Kniphofia)
Hot Poker

Red or Yellow Hot Poker (Kniphofia)
Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia uvaria) and Yellow Hot Poker plants are grown from bulbs, and are heat and drought tolerant. They can grow 36″ tall. This variety is ‘Sally’s Comet’ Yellow Hot Poker. Native to Africa, they are known as Torch Lilies. Upright, rocket-shaped blooms produce ample nectar during blooming and are hummingbird magnets. They must be grown in full sun and require good drainage to prevent crown rot. They may spread up to three feet wide. Hardy to zones 5-10.
This flower IS available from your local florist*.

Liatris or Blazing Star (Liatris)
Liatris

Liatris or Blazing Star (Liatris)
Hardy perennials White Liatris (Liatris spicata ‘Alba’) and Purple Blazing Star Liatris (Liatris spicata purple), are also known as Gayfeather and Button Snakeroot, and are a member of the Aster family. They bloom from the top down, which is unusual with flowering plants. Each spike is comprised of tiny flowers that are a magnet for pollinators. Ranging from 2-4′ tall, they add height to flower beds and are a popular cut flower in summer floral arrangements with a long vase life.
This flower IS available from your local florist*.

Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella damascena)
Love-in-a-Mist

Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella damascena)
Love-in-a-Mist is a beautiful Victorian garden annual blooming in soft shades of blue, pink, white, and lavender. Because its fern-like leaves look similar to fennel, it has also been called fennel flower. This annual herbaceous plant is in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), readily self-seeds, and is common in old-fashioned cottage gardens. It grows in full sun to partial shade and blooms from late spring through fall. Nigella is short-lived, so for continuous bloom, repeat sowing every four weeks. You can cut and deadhead this plant to keep it flowering longer.
This flower IS available from your local florist*.

[Read more…]

What Plants Repel Mice and Rats?

Ask the Expert: What plants repel mice and rats? -Joy

Flower Shop Network’s Plant Expert Reply: There are many plants that have pest repelling properties. You might try planting these in or around your home to keep the mice away: any type of mint, amaryllis, sweet pea, lavender, daffodils, wood hyacinth (or squill), grape hyacinth, alliums, catnip, camphor plant, elderberry, euphorbias, and wormwood.* Oak and bay leaves are also known to repel rodents. Planting any of these outside your home is a good way to deter mice and rats from coming into your house. You may also make sachets out of the leaves of some of these plants to use in drawers and closets, especially mint, bay and lavender.

Flower Shop Network has not tested these, but they are known to work.

You might also like: Plants for Pest Repellent That Actually Work!

Amethyst Flowers For A Jewel of a Bouquet

This month’s favorite flower color is amethyst. Starting last month, we are spotlighting unique flower colors for you to use in custom flower arrangements, wedding bouquets, centerpieces and anywhere else you might need flowers. To make the colors chosen a little more interesting, we are starting with birthstone colors. Last month’s was garnet, and this month it’s amethyst, or purple.

Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz often used in jewelry. Amethyst occurs in primary hues from a light pinkish violet to a deep purple. Amethyst may exhibit one or both secondary hues, red and blue.

When creating a color palette for your flower arrangement or wedding bouquet, choose analogous colors to amethyst, meaning next to it on the color wheel. These include dusty pinks and mauve-ish purples. Amethyst’s complement is a vibrant, bright green — a great way to make your purple flowers really POP! The tetrad and triad colors of amethyst are also easily incorporated into floral designs. The triad’s turquoise and tawny-browns give this hue a surprising rustic mood. Keep these colors in mind when creating your next Amethyst purple flower arrangement or color palette.

Purple Color Matching Purple Complemetary Colors

Purple Triad Color Purple Tetrad Colors

The following guide are a collection of very unique, amethyst colored flowers available from your local florists. Of course, there are also lovely purple roses, but most people know about those! This guide focuses on a purple flowers you might not think of!

This is a great flower guide for brides looking for unique color palettes and unusual flowers for their wedding. [Read more…]

One Man’s Wild Onion Is Another Man’s Allium

Spent Bloom Of Allium - Wild Onion

Spent Bloom Of Allium - Wild Onion

Ask the Expert: Plant Identification
Found this rather odd plant growing in my yard.  To be honest, when it first came up I thought it was wild onions.  It just kept getting taller and taller, however, and because it was growing in an area that wasn’t creating a problem, I let it go to see what it would become.  Eventually it grew to a height well over two feet.  A single green stem extends from the ground and the stem is very woody and strong.  The wild morning glories, in fact, are using them for a trellis.  It developed a ball shaped “bud” at the very top of the stem that looked almost like a spire on old, Russian architecture.  When it bloomed, it looked like one of those crazy cans of peanuts with the spring loaded worm in it.  Here is a picture of it after it bloomed.  Gina

Plant Expert Reply:

First, I love your description.  So many times, people have a hard time describing the plant that needs identification.  With your description, I could have idenitified it immediately without a picture.

What you have is a plant from the Allium genus.  Most of the plants in this genus are some kind of “wild” onion or “wild” garlic and considered undesirable by many.  However, several species are used in English garden or herb gardens.  Without a picture of the bloom, it is hard to determine which species you have.  If  I had to guess by height and look of stem only, it would be  Allium caeruleum, Allium cristophii, Allium x hollandicum, Allium nigrum, Allium paniculatum, Allium roseum, Allium schoenoprasum, Allium sensecens, or Allium sphaerocephalon.

If you didn’t plant it specifically, I would recommend pulling it up and getting rid of it.  The seed will sprout all over the place. If you like the look of the plant and want to keep it,  you can keep it contained with a little maintenance.