Keep It Gay!

Here's a birthday dedication to GRT. In his honor, we post an entire page of purples, but this one takes the [birthday] cake.

This is a passion vine (passiflora) of a variety called "Whirligig." With multiple shades of purple and the squiggly-ended filaments radiating from the center, this is just about the gayest flower we've ever seen. And we mean that in a good way. Enjoy!

Cape Angels

Lilac Time

The Princess Flower

Name That Bromeliad [Updated 2-14-08]

No joke. If you recognize this Bromeliad variety, please ring in and let us know what it is. A family member acquired the unlabeled parent plant from a seller at the old Farmer's Market in Los Angeles and was kind enough to gift us with a couple of "pups" when the parent outgrew its pot.

The plant has large, strappy, floppy leaves edged with spines. A spike, tipped with a multitude of the long-lasting, dark purple flowers pictured, develops once per year. The flowers ooze a clear sap beloved by ants.

Know what it's called? Please enlighten us all.

Enigmatic Purple

Fans of this blog know we have it bad for red - love it, love it, love it! Occasionally, though, we have a little fling on the side with purple. Purple is red's enigmatic cousin. Is he straight? Is he gay? (We like to think he's bi.) Who cares? Whether you like it dark and broody or lighthearted and lavender, purple has you covered.

Here's a plant that combines both. Tradescantia pallida purpurea aka Setcreasea pallida 'Purple Heart.' Dark purple foliage; light purple flowers. Stems are very tender and susceptible to breakage, but stick any broken off bits in a pot of planting mix and they root very easily. Voila! More plants!