A monster weed - the teasel

Its funny how something so menacingly spiky can erupt in such pretty
purple flower, life is full of contrasts as they say

There has been something growing in my front garden for months.  At first I didn't spot it, but it had that exceptionally luscious quality that only weeds do and grew with impressive vim and vigour.  It also has the kind of maliciously spiky leaf that only a weed does.  All signs were pointing to this being a weed.  Everything except its absurdly prime position in the bed and a sense of belonging there.  I therefore let it grow there for a couple of months while deciding its fate.

After it  suddenly shot up three feet and began to resemble something from the day of triphids, the mother decided while weeding one day when I wasn't in to yank it out.  It was quite clearly a weed by this point.  Nothing you actually plant grows so well.  It was only on pulling it from the ground that she found the roots were still forming a pot shape, and there was a little white label sticking out from the root ball. This was a plant after all.  It just looks like a weed because it kind of is, its a great big teasel.

It doesn't disappoint on the flower side with several lovely big heads,
hopefully I can try turning them into decorations at christmas

Of course once I read the label I remembered that for some reason I decided to buy and plant a huge weed last year.  At this point it was not selling itself to me, tall, green and spiky, it was not a thing of beauty.  Maybe I was looking for a bit of statuesque architecture?  Whatever the case I had to hack back other plants to make room for it.  I should add that on discovering it was a plant the mother replanted it, hoping it would recover.  It did, although it showed its displeasure by developing a right angled bend in the thick stem before recovering to continue growing straight.

Then, slowly a teasel head popped out the top.  At this point the plant is about as tall as I am.  And then suddenly it was pretty.  Each spiky teasel bloomed with a lovely lilac purple petals, not all over, but in rings and patches.  It seems odd that something so tall and domineering could erupt in such a pretty delicate floral display.  But then plants are like that; surprising.  The flowers don't last long, but they are worth it.

This shows the three stages of flowering, you don't get a full head of flowers but there is enough

The teasel heads can be cut and sprayed to use as christmas decorations, so I have left them in situ for the moment and then I will try to do something fancy with them nearer the festive season.  I have also collected some seed from the flowers, no idea why as there is no way I have room for more than one of these monsters! But this one will be allowed to stay, even if it is a room hogger.

The cypriot plant - Lantana speciosa

The Lantana speciosa I bought at Hampton Court flower show

One of my purchases at Hampton Court was most definitely an impulse buy.  A pretty flower consisting of two colours; pink and yellow within the one flower head. I was immediately taken with it.

Lantana Speciosa randomly growing all over Cyprus.  This is my favourite colour, its so summery and fun

I took a picture on one stand and then when I saw it later for sale on another, bought it.  I had never seen or heard of this plant before.  I can now tell you anything you want to know about Lantana speciosa.  I know which colours it comes in, its growing habitat, how big it gets and its spread.  This plant grows absolutely everywhere in Cyprus.  I know this because I visited the island for a lovely ten day holiday last month, and I saw it a lot.  Its funny how that happens, once your aware of something you notice it everywhere.

I still like it as a plant, but had I known its status just above a cypriot weed I may not have bought it.  It grows next to the coastal path, it is involved in hedges in what was my hotel, it bordered the holes on the miniature golf course.  If its green, its this plant.

It comes in a variety of colours, the prettiest being the pink and yellow one I have and a really beautiful menagerie of colours that resembles fruit punch.  The flowers consist of a blue toned pink, coral, orange and yellow.  It also comes in firey red and orange, and solid white and yellow, and white and pink.  I don't know how it achieves such a split of colour, but it is one of the nicest bicolour flowers I have seen.  They are just such feminine combinations.

Clearly this plant likes it hot, and rather dry, neither of which the UK regularly is.  It will be interesting to see how it gets on back in my garden.