This, I think, is a photo of lavender cotton or Santolina chamaecyparissus, a plant worth mentioning in these dry days - even though we got quite a downpour last night. I sat outside enjoying the drops on my face and, more importantly, watching them hit all the crispy sticks that used to be flowers in my garden.
I was thinking that every time we go through a dry spell like this one, I vow to buy and plant accordingly in future. But like New Year's resolutions, these never quite carry through all those seductive plant sales in spring and fall or guide my choices in the 10 truckloads of catalogues that stuff the mailbox every month.
Lavender cotton is something to keep in mind for longer than a nanosecond. It's an old-fashioned herb, native to the Mediterranean, that has been used in American gardens since colonial days. I was first introduced to it over at the Physick Garden at Pennsylvania Hospital, which basically is a recreation of a typical medicinal garden from that era in our history. Apparently, it was used to keep away moths in linens and to purge parasites, poisons and putrefaction from human innards.
Let's think about these neat little flowers resting elegantly in the bureau drawer and not their other purposes. Honestly, colonial Americans knew more than I'd ever care to about the yucky messes our bodies get into. Did enough people suffer from putrefaction and poison to warrant experimentation with every flower in the front border? I guess so.
These days lavender cotton is wonderful because it's just so darned cute. I love its light, breezy name and its bright yellow button flowers with silvery foliage provide a terrific contrast to all the greens in a garden. Imagine them dried.
Come to find out, and this is the point of all this palaver, lavender cotton is also a good plant for drought. I think, having seen it a week or so ago in a garden that was as parched as mine, I can safely say this one truly is a smart choice for dry times. Just hope this message sticks after we've had a lot more rain.
With that small pearl, not entirely original but certainly heartfelt, I bid you adieu for the next week. I'll be on vacation, headed up north for some time on the beaches of Rhode Island. The sand-tolerant lavender cotton, which isn't a true lavender at all but really does like sand, would feel right at home.
