Day 6: Cyclamen
Before we moved to Sacramento, I don't think I'd ever seen a cyclamen or at least certainly never knew the name for it, and it's become one of my favorite flowers:
When we spent Christmas in San Francisco with Mr. E's family many years ago, shortly after we'd made the move to Sacramento, we both noticed these bright red flowers sprouting in planters all along the sidewalks and buildings along Market Street. Since we're from colder climes and hadn't yet gotten used to seeing winter flowers, we were especially struck by the cyclamen's shape, texture, and brilliant coloration.
In the spring, we planted several different colors ranging from medium pink to bright crimson in one of the pots on our patio and enjoyed the blooms for several months. As they started to die off, we didn't remove them from the planter, so we were delighted when they revived for a second blooming season in the middle of the following winter.
I think they're supposed to be annuals, but our crop certainly act like perennials, and they came back over and over even though we don't take very good care of them (that's my ideal kind of plant).
Mr. E replaced the pink cyclamen with a mixture of red and white several years ago in honor of the UW-Madison Badgers. The white aren't my favorite, as they sprout brown spots and patches rather quickly once the bloom starts to fade, but the gorgeous crimson flowers have continued to provide a bright spot on our back patio.
This winter, we hadn't gotten our usual second crop of flowers, and even the plants hadn't re-emerged from the soil until just a few weeks ago. I'm guessing the issue was lack of hydration, since we don't water them at all... So I was very relieved when the greenery began to sprout again earlier this year.
And yesterday when I opened the curtains, I was thrilled to see new buds getting ready to bloom (I'm sure the recent rains are to thank for this resurgence).
Welcome back, little cyclamen! Just in time to celebrate the Badgers' appearance in the NCAA Final Four tomorrow night!
When we spent Christmas in San Francisco with Mr. E's family many years ago, shortly after we'd made the move to Sacramento, we both noticed these bright red flowers sprouting in planters all along the sidewalks and buildings along Market Street. Since we're from colder climes and hadn't yet gotten used to seeing winter flowers, we were especially struck by the cyclamen's shape, texture, and brilliant coloration.
In the spring, we planted several different colors ranging from medium pink to bright crimson in one of the pots on our patio and enjoyed the blooms for several months. As they started to die off, we didn't remove them from the planter, so we were delighted when they revived for a second blooming season in the middle of the following winter.
I think they're supposed to be annuals, but our crop certainly act like perennials, and they came back over and over even though we don't take very good care of them (that's my ideal kind of plant).
Mr. E replaced the pink cyclamen with a mixture of red and white several years ago in honor of the UW-Madison Badgers. The white aren't my favorite, as they sprout brown spots and patches rather quickly once the bloom starts to fade, but the gorgeous crimson flowers have continued to provide a bright spot on our back patio.
This winter, we hadn't gotten our usual second crop of flowers, and even the plants hadn't re-emerged from the soil until just a few weeks ago. I'm guessing the issue was lack of hydration, since we don't water them at all... So I was very relieved when the greenery began to sprout again earlier this year.
And yesterday when I opened the curtains, I was thrilled to see new buds getting ready to bloom (I'm sure the recent rains are to thank for this resurgence).
Welcome back, little cyclamen! Just in time to celebrate the Badgers' appearance in the NCAA Final Four tomorrow night!
posted by jms | 4:29 PM
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