"On a mature inflorescence, the smell is reminiscent of rotting meat, designed to attract flies for pollination. The smell only usually lasts for a day but it is still not advisable to plant it right by your house." Oh hell yeah! (and yes, I am TOTALLY planting it right by my house.)
Then, it seemed to die right away. Last year, it popped back up, but then disappeared shortly after I celebrated its rebirth in a post.
But this year... whoa Nelly!
And.... Yes! It smells a little bit like rotting meat! Too cool. You do have to get your snout right in there, but once you do it's distinctly digusting! I'm very pleased.
We've expanded the garden area into the shade under our big trees this year, creating two new "mountains." Here's Mt. Caliban:
And here's Mt. Yoyo:
And in answer to the Frequently Asked Questions: No, he isn't, and No, she isn't.
And then, things went well this year in the papavar department:
In fact, things are looking pretty good in general. We've even spent a few hours not working in, but merely enjoying the garden. That might be a first.
12 comments:
Thank you for anticipating and answering my questions. And YAY nice looking garden there! =)
You got any food in there?
Oh, LOVELY mixed border! I do miss some of the things that will thrive in cooler climes--scarlet runner beans, for instance. Right now I have red day lilies, fuschia oleander, pink echinacea, Shastas, yellow cosmos, and various roses in glorious, clashing color! Yea! but I like nice fragrances...so good luck to you with that dead-smell thing.
Your garden is looking nice and lush! That bottom picture looked so good that I clicked on it to zoom in on it a couple of times before remembering that pictures don't automatically do that. (Just so you know, however it may come across in black and white pixels, this is supposed to be a compliment to the pretty picture/pretty garden, not a complaint about the lack of zoom.)
I am jealous I want a plant that smells just a little like rotting meat.
Yankee, turns out there are lots of plants that smell like rotting meat! Maybe there'll be one that smells just the right amount.
(I assume Garden5000 isn't going to start growing ALL of them...)
I'm going to rush right out and buy that plant ... I love the smell of rotting meat in the morning.
And your garden is lovely! I have a perennial garden by my walkway that has a similar feel ... not a real "organized" garden but I love it and so do the hummingbirds, bees and butterflies.
Ah! It's nice to be reminded what a tended garden looks like--I'll be rescuing mine this year, after a few years of neglect, from the triple plague of bindweed, buttercup, and horsetails. (Sounds like a folk group.) The goose-neck loosestrife I dug out of Garden5000 with your kitchen fork has had a similarly weedy habit in my garden, but I like that.
The garden is lovely! Stinky plants are weird! It all seems so right!
So the 5000s have a very green thumb, it appears.
The FAQ's went straight over my head. But it cracks me up that you are "very pleased" about your disgusting plant. What a boy! All you need are some carniverous plants to round out the pleasantness.
I have only one plant. I think the crazy neighbor that walks around wearing nothing but oversized t-shirts and leaves plates of food on the sidewalk for the birds and squirrels waters it, because it isn't dead yet.
Wow. It is as if the Draconculus Vulgaris (love that name) was toe dipping the evirons and finally decided to take a dip. Cool. Gross too, but that's cooler.
You all have a gorgeous garden. I am jealous of the perennials. One day I will have more of them. More that are not weeds etc. I mean.
Good job and after weed/vine removal for the fourth time this year, I would totally appreciate just being able to enjoy a garden. Well done!
@Ms. Saved: Caliban is our living cat, and Yoyo is our dead cat. When we tell people about the new mountains, they get all frowny and ask "But... um... did Caliban...." and the answer is no. Then they think for a little bit and get kind of frowny again and say "so... um... is Yoyo... like..." and the answer to that one is no too.
@boo: the trick to keeping ahead of the weeds is MULCH, baby!! POUR THAT SHIT ON!!! Except, not really "shit," per se; that's more of a soil amendment. Use bark dust or an arborist's chipper debris.
Got it, thanks for the explanation. And I'm very glad for Caliban's sake that the answer is no, although Yoyo could have found less pleasant resting grounds, I am sure.
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