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Ani, once asked us to post photos of what we are growing in our gardens. I'm particularly interested in seeing what flowers other Charlotte gardeners are growing successfully in these hot and dry years. Here is one of my favorites - a passionflower. I think I like it because it's such an unusual work of art.
Barb - that is beautiful! I have never grown a passion flower! Are they hard to grow? Do they have a scent? I know extract of passion flower is used in homeopathy, but that is about all I know. I thought they were exotic and not grown here! Now I want to find out more and trying growing a plant!
I have a mystery flower in my garden - I bought a plant labeled lemon mint and I got something . . . else. LOL. So I will have to get out tomorrow and take a picture - maybe you can help me figure out what it is!!
I so enjoy seeing what others are growing . . . thank you, Barb . . .
Ani, passionflowers are native to North Carolina! I once saw one growing wild along Harris Blvd. on my way to work at UNCC. I was shocked by it uniqueness and planned to stop on my way home to look at it more closely. Of course, I forgot and when I went back a week or two later it was gone. Then I was in DC visiting my daughter and dropped into her neighborhood nursery - sure enough, there was a passionflower vine for sale. I really didn't expect it to ever produce a bloom, but lo and behold after two summers of blooms, it's still going strong. I kept my eye out for another here in Charlotte, but so far no luck. I'd offer you a cutting or some way to propagate it, since it only propagates (so I've read) from seeds or stem cuttings. I don't think mine currently has strong enough stems to propagate - but I can try and see what happens as it gets cooler. I've never seen the seeds for sale - I don't have much luck growing flowering plants from seeds anyway. I should look tomorrow and see if there are any seeds from spent blossoms lying on the soil. I grow mine in a huge clay pot by the way.
Mine has no fragrance, but others do.
Post a picture of your yellow mint and I'll see if I recognize it. I'm not great as a plant detective, however.
Hey, Barb! This is all fascinating! No, do NOT disturb your vine! I can get seeds and see how that works!
GEOGIRL - thank you so much for the info! I have gotten seeds from Ebay b/f and been quite pleased! I had not even thought about checking out Ebay - thanks for the info!
Ani, I googled "lemon mint" and came up with this site. Does it look like what you have in your garden? I also came across a recipe for couscous that uses lemon mint - sounds good.
Ani, I googled "lemon mint" and came up with this site. Does it look like what you have in your garden? I also came across a recipe for couscous that uses lemon mint - sounds good.
BARB!!! This IS what I have!!!!! It has tiny leaves and I have always used mint LEAVES, so I assumed this could not be lemon mint!! The way I read this, I am to use the flowers! And I have been pinching the flowers off, thinking it would make the plant get fuller, ROFL!!!! I should have done my research!
This is so funny!!!! I am thrilled you took the time to look this up . . . just goes to show . . . one should assume nothing . . .Now I need to go gather the flowers!!! I will let you know how this turns out.
Ani - I'm surprised you didn't answer the passion flower question the way I'm about to. Passion flowers used to grow wild around here in the cottonfields. We had great fun playing with them as children. My mom showed me how to pinch off a part of the stamen so that the result looked like a ballarina (leave two arms behind). Also, when the flowers went to seed, they left a hollow-sounding seed pod. If you stomped on it, it made a popping sound...so, we commonly called these plants "moly-pops." According to Wikipedia, they were officially called "Maypops."
Ani - I'm surprised you didn't answer the passion flower question the way I'm about to. Passion flowers used to grow wild around here in the cottonfields. We had great fun playing with them as children. My mom showed me how to pinch off a part of the stamen so that the result looked like a ballarina (leave two arms behind). Also, when the flowers went to seed, they left a hollow-sounding seed pod. If you stomped on it, it made a popping sound...so, we commonly called these plants "moly-pops." According to Wikipedia, they were officially called "Maypops."
Okay. You all are educating me on this thread!!! Yes, I know Molly Pops, but the last time I encountered them was indeed, as a child, w/ my g/mother, on the farm . . . when I was about five or so!!!! I do have a recollection but in no way associated this w/ a passionflower! They were on vines . . . No one ever showed me the ballerina, tho! How neat! I guess I only saw them after they had bloomed and formed the seed????
We had a path down to the creek that went straight through the cotton fields, and the Molly Pops would be growing along the sides. We would pop them.
Thanks for bringing back a long lost memory . . . I miss my grandmother so much.
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Purple passion flowers
