Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Mystery

Folks, we have a genuine mystery on our hands. I've looked at the pictures of "dragonshead" flowers online and they are something completely different from what's growing in the yard. These guys work just like snapdragons--the flowers "snap" open. But they are tall and skinny, the foliage lighter and slightly grayish green. The pink ones have some slight variation in their pinkness within the flower itself. The actual flower is approximately 1/4" across. In the pictures the stalks have grown so tall that they are sort of laying over. The plant will send up new shoots from the ground. They begin to bloom at about 2' tall, but reach 5' easily. The foliage is smooth, sleek, even. No fuzz at all as on snapdragons. The leaves are flat, not curling at the edges. The lavendar self-sows freely, but the pink seems to be recessive--we started five years ago with three pink plants and a lavendar and now only lavendar remain. The nursery where they were purchased didn't know what they were called, but did say that the pink does not produce seeds. They are perennial.

So. That's what I know about the "mini-snaps." Not much, eh? Any ideas? (Do you like the bee? We became friends, but he's shy.)


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

For some reason I thought this was a wildflower that had volunteered itself in your yard. I still can't figure it out, and it's *really* bugging me. It seems like one I've looked up before. Oh well, it's perty anyway:o)

Beth Hollmann said...

Ooh ooh, Carrie, i think I found it!

Toadflax (Linaria Purpurea)

Google it - I'm pretty sure that's what it is. I hope it's not a "noxious weed" in your area!

Praying for you dear one -

Beth

Anonymous said...

I think it is a type of penstemon! I knew I'd seen it in a book before, but when I checked the online guide I usually go to, the penstemon I found was a variety that looked much different from this. Here's a link to a good picture showing the flowers and leaves together.
http://www.dyckarboretum.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantDetail&plant_id=64

I hope everything went well today! Still praying for you here!