Every autumn I crave sturdy, cozy fabrics like wool, tweed, corduroy, and… velvet? Maybe not to wear, but I do love velvety plants. How did they get so fuzzy? Are they just trying to keep themselves warm like the rest of us? Probably not, but they are so pretty…
1. If it wasn't for writing this post, I never would have heard of Lion's Ear (Leonotis leonurus), a charming fall-bloomer. Nestmaker spotted it in a nursery and snapped the lovely photo.
2. Last Halloween I featured Celosia, writing that it "is also known as cockscomb or brainflower, and a row of it in your garden will make you look like the neighborhood mad scientist." But I neglected to mention how luxuriously velvety it is. Whenever we have celosia in the flower shop where I work, it sells out in nothing flat.
3. A friend gave me a potted little Gynura aurantiaca Purple Velvet Plant, and it glows just as it does in the photo above. I usually don't go for purple but this specimen, available from Georgia Vines, is irresistible.
4. Margaret Roach of A Way To Garden has a lot of great information about this delicately velvety beauty, the episcia Flame Violet. It's so sweet!
5. A few years ago Laure Joliet wrote a post for Apartment Therapy entitled Great Drought Tolerant Plant: Kangaroo Paw. I can vouch for the fact that people love this Australian beauty.
6. The most delicious of the fuzzy bunch are the quinces, just starting to appear at the markets here in California. Last winter I wrote about their intoxicating aroma, with a special shout-out to "their chartreuse brilliance, with hints of grey fuzz". Young quinces, like the one above photographed by Permies, are insanely fuzzy, growing more golden and less flocked as they mature.
7. & 8. Let the greys begin! Lamb's Ear and Dusty Miller are two of my favorite Ghostly Grey Plants For Autumn, as their neutral grey makes colors pop, while their fascinating texture and form add interest to bouquets.
9. Common Mullein is another grey beauty, though I've never seen it in person. Wikipedia can tell you all about it, but for some reason Finnish Wikipedia has the prettiest picture. What a looker!
(All images as credited above.)
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Lamb's ear is extremely easy to propagate, at least where I live (zone 6b). Cut off an outer part with roots, replant, water in - done.
I'm going to take a look into Lion's Ear and Kangaroo Paw.
I bought Celosia this week and am noticing that it sheds a bunch of black seeds (or spores) which makes cleanup a hassle!
Don't forget the varieties of Celosia that look like feather/flame plumes.
Leonotis thrives in my California wild garden with total neglect. Insects don't touch it and gophers don't bother it's roots. The rabbits don't nibble on it, either. I haven't had deer touch it, but I won't say they won't. Fabulous plant.
I have four Lion's Ear (Leonotis leonurus) in my garden, I actually thought the name was Lions' Tail, thats how they were labeled at home depot. Anyway, they grow relatively easy, low water, and get pretty big, my biggest one is 6ft tall and 6ft wide already after 2.5 years, i boguht it as a 2 gallon plant at homedepot for $10. only negative is they get big, bushy and they take on a very branchy appearance if you don't cut off the flowered areas after theyre done flowering. I neglected mine the first year and the bottoms are very branchy looking without many leaves, when I started trimming them every couple months, the tops are now lusher looking with more leaves and lots of smaller branches. So despite not needing any maitenance, i think this plant looks best trimmed up every couple months. Mine flower for a good 9 months out of the year here in Long Beach, CA.
I forgot to mention, bees and humming birds LOVE Leonotis leonurus
I love my Gynura! It's got ten times the personality of any other houseplant I've had and isn't seen around that much. It doesn't look like remotely like anything else I own and makes it's mid century retro pot work perfectly. It's not too big, too small, doesn't grow too fast but just enough to be appreciative of average care. Takes 'medium' houseplant conditions in general. It's a bit touchy about overwatering so don't do that. Love, love it.
Sage is mint-green somewhat grey-ish. Leaves are velvety and usefull (smell amazing, can be used in cooking and as a cold remedy)