Saturday, August 12, 2006

Plumbago auriculata

Common names: Cape Leadwort, Plumbago
Family: Plumbaginaeae
Origin: South Africa
I never got over the fact that these pretty flowers that I once had in my garden went by the name of "Plumbago" as I thought that it was such a technical sounding name and invariably made me think of plumbers.
For some years, this shrub with its ability to flower over and over again adorned the fence in my front garden and provided a feast for the eyes everytime we stepped out of the house. It was a hardy plant and needed constant cutting and tidying and probably a lot more care than what we gave it.
Strangely, this shrub is not that commonly seen, at least not in my neighbourhood where people seemed to favour hibiscus, the yellow allamanda and the bauhinia kokiana.

4 comments:

Mei said...

Hello Mabel,
This is such a lovely plant. It also has a lovely name called Forget me not ! I am so tempted to get a cutting from our condo's garden and grow it on in our roof garden. I haven't seen it in the few nurseries I have visited, do you know where I can get it? Thanks.
Cheers
Mei

Mableinsingapore said...

Hi Mei,
I haven't had these in my garden for years. For some reason they are not commonly seen. Sorry I do not know where to get them either. I am sure they will look lovely on your roof-top garden. Good luck in getting these plants. Will keep a look out for them when I visit the nurseries and let you know if I see them on sale.

Mable :-)

Mei said...

Thanks Mable, looks like I'll have to do the inevitable - take a walk in the condo's garden late at night :-)

Love your blog !! Keep those photos coming !

Cheers
Mei

Mableinsingapore said...

Thanks Mei, hope you get to enjoy those beautiful blooms in your garden like I did when I had those plants. Glad you like the photos.