Thursday, October 30, 2008
Gompherea
Wednesday morning brought the first frost at my house. It wasn't the killing frost because there are still plenty of things that were not hurt. The tops of the angel trumpets were bit back and the South African foxglove was killed. The tip top of the Thunbergia (Blue Sky Vine) was hit, but the lower parts and most of the blooms are still okay. Because of the oak trees which still have their leaves, I have a lot of protection. Last year the killing frost came on November 8.
But back to Gompherea (globe amaranth).It is an easily grown annual that loves the heat and humidity of Alabama summers. The only thing that has ever bothered them at all was grasshoppers taking a few bites of the leaves. They make great additions to dried arrangements and are also very useful in wreath making. They come in several colors: pink, lavender and the fushia which is the common one seen here.
If you want to dry some, better pick them now while there is still time. They can be harvested all through the summer and you can get quite a bunch off only a few plants. Bundle them and hang them upside down to dry. I do this in my attic and in a couple of days in the heat of summer they are dry. They need to hang upside down or else the flower heads will sag as they dry. This is what happened to a couple of flowers near the bottom of the bunch.I dried them in a vase and added to the arrangement.
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