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arctotis first — Arctotis mix: This was one of my most favourite summer flowers years ago.

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Remembering all the great plants I used to grow for fun and novelty

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May 24, 2021

I went to my local garden centre the other day, looking for my favourite variety of begonia, Belleconia. I was hoping to buy yellow ones to fill a window box

I grew Belleconia once, a few years ago, and loved their free-flowering, cascading habit.

Sadly, I couldn’t find any. The begonias on sale seemed to have more coarse leaves than beautiful flowers, not an attractive look.

And as I wandered around the garden centre, I couldn’t help thinking about all the wonderful plants I used to see on sale years ago.

I had so much fun growing the red cat-tail plant, Acalypha ‘Firetails’ and I could never plant enough African daisies, Arctotis, at one time. Just loved their exotic orange and red flowers.

Whatever happened to Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens’? Didn’t we all fall madly in love with that back in the 90s. I seem to remember it in every garden at the time.

For a short time, I was smitten with cape mallow (Anisodontea), a plant in the lavatera family with beautiful button-size pink flowers. I remember finding my first plant at a stall at Trout Lake market. I gave it a high profile spot in the garden for a few years. Just loved how prolifically it flowered, pumping out dozens of blooms in an endless sequence.

I never see the popcorn plant (Cassia didymobotrya now Senna, I believe) anymore. It was such a fun, novelty plant years ago. I got a kick out of growing it along with chocolate cosmos and the peanut butter plant (Melianthus) and all sorts of scented geraniums.

And speaking of geraniums, does anyone grow Appleblossom pelargoniums any more? They were wonderful to have and so different from the Martha Washingtons and all the other plain red pelargonias.

When I got home from the garden centre, I looked up some photos from the past and saw that I used to have a fabulous abutilon patio tree. Don’t see them on sale at garden centres any more.

Ah, I think back to the fun days with great fondness. I am still hoping to find some yellow Belleconia begonias. Will keep looking. I know a few little home-based nurseries that might have them.

swhysall@hotmail.com