STATICE, Limonium sinuatum

One year, in the dim distant past, I grew statice, and then never again. Not for any reason other than the fact I had so much of it every vase in the house was filled with dried statice. It was mostly purple and kept its color well over the years. I decide over the winter it was time for renewal so bought a packet of seeds and started them indoors over the winter. I have been thrilled with how successful they have been.

We had toyed with the idea of removing the smaller square beds in the vegetable garden and replacing them with a sitting area and gravel garden but then I decided that it might be better to have a cutting garden. I used one of the beds to plant up the statice.

Statice, Limonium sinuatum, hails from the Mediterranean region and although considered to be hardy from zone 8 up, it probably will not like our humid summers. It is best grown as an annual. One of the great things about statice is that to dries so well, the flowers keeping their color for year.

If you look closely you will see that there are two parts to the flower, the center white corolla and the colorful calyx which surround it. This papery calyx is what makes it suitable for drying.

The flower stems arise from a basal rosette of leaves and are leafless, although there are winged protuberances all the way along the stem.

Mine was a packet of mixed seeds so I had no idea what color they would be until the bracts started to open. Not quite as much of the darker shades as I would like. I must check to see if they have specific colors available because I am definitely going to fill a bed with this plant again next year.

Drying is very simple. Cut the flowers just before the flowers open and hang in a cool dry place for a couple of weeks. Then enjoy for years to come.

WHO LIKES THIS KIND OF HEAT?

Today is another stinker. A couple of hours outside in the morning and then I'm holed up in the house for the rest of the day.

But there are a few plants in my garden that seem unaffected by such temperatures. Let's see who is not afraid of the heat.

This gomphrena may be called 'fireworks' but it will be around long after July 4th.

Chocolate may melt in the sun but chocolate daisy, Berlandiera lyrata, shows up every morning.

This is their time of year. Scutellaria wrightii is a native so why not.

"All I want is the sun, forget the water",  says the Ruellia.

"And my petals are made of paper" says the statice. Not much to dry out there.

"I don't even show up until the heat of summer is turned on full", says the plumbago.

The most prolific of all is the blanket flower, Gaillardia pulchella. It just enjoys every season.

Texas lantana will sneak up on every patch of bare ground.

As will the narrow leaf zinnia. The mild winter has meant a proliferation of seedlings.

"With my feet in the water I have the best spot of all" says Helvola.
Let's see what we all look like at the end of the summer!