Wednesday, May 5, 2010

I found some money!

 My lunaria, also called money plant, honesty plant, and a few other names I can't remember, has some seed pods, which resemble coins forming.  They will get a bit larger, turn a silvery color, and I will pick some to dry.  Some, I will leave to reseed.  It's a biennial, so the plants will die after the growing season.  I've not grown it before, so I'm hoping some new plants will come up from the seeds this summer so they can bloom next spring.

It still has lots of flowers on it, and the iris behind it is opening more blooms, too.  I read that lunaria is a nectar plant for butterflies, but I have only seen a couple cabbage whites so far around.  Oh, hey, I also read that money plant is in the Brassicacea family, so it's related to cabbage and mustard.


There are lots of "coins' forming, too.  What a robust plant!


 When I last posted about my lunaria, I  spelled it, "luneria".  When I did a search for some information to share about it, still spelling it wrong, I saw that my blog post appeared as a choice.  LOL  I'll have to go change the spelling.  One place I read said lunaria needs lots of moisture, and should not dry out.  I have some both at home, and across the street.  The ones across the street have drier conditions, but more shade.  They aren't as big, but the plants themselves were smaller when I planted them.  Oh, I have a smaller one in the same bed as this one, so the size difference is most likely not because of different conditions.  I read that they can be invasive if grown in conditions they like.  I'm thinking that they can probably be controlled by pulling out unwanted plants.  Here is a link to an article I thought was good, if you want to learn more about how to grow lunaria.

I love spring so much, but already, some plants have finished their bloom cycle.   That makes me feel sad, but I guess that has to be, in order for the time for the next group to have their time in the sun (or shade).  It's cool to see how some of you further south are in full color mode, and those further north are in the stage where they are so excited to see green sprouting from the earth.  I love gardening and blogging!  Now, I need to find time to love getting my house in order.

11 comments:

  1. Those little flowers are just beautiful.

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  2. planted around you is found in the wild or are cultivated as ornamental plants but only after it dries. looks great when coins are golden brown and rustling like silk.
    good thoughts.
    p.s. I apologize for translation

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  3. Sue, I grew lunaria from seed, which flowered last year. I hoping I will get more self-seeded flowers this year but I haven't looked! That part of the garden is soooo weedy that I haven't dare visit until I have a bit more time!

    Though I don't comment often I really enjoy your blog. Best wishes Sylvia (England)

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  4. I have seed pod (coins) on my white one, we should swap seeds!

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  5. Such fun to see what's going on in your "corner"! I, too, love gardening and blogging. I, too, need to find time to get my house in order :)

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  6. Love your post title for today. What a fun plant. I have not seen it in any gardens here. I would love to plant it. It will be a lot of fun to add in arrangements.

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  7. I love your post title, too. When I saw it on my blog roll I wondered if you'd dug up some old coins or something in the garden! This is equally fun, though. :)

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  8. I would love some seeds from the plant and maybe try that one around my pound.

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  9. I think the lunaria plants are so pretty in other folks gardens but for some reason I've never grown it- maybe I will! I like you last sentence!!

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  10. Congrats on your seed heads. I planted this for the first time last year and got a few babies from the seeds I let reseed. Cool plant huh? :)

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  11. Thanks for the nice comments. I'd be happy to send some "coins" to those who'd like some. I may even have some my neighbor gave me a couple years ago. I wonder if they are viable. Maybe I'll plant some and see if they come up. Darla, I'd try some white ones, too.

    Last night, and tonight, I gave a student rides to our school's "Aqualinks" synchronized swimming show that we are in one number of. We didn't stay for the whole thing, but we are going to tomorrow, including the pizza party. I'd kind of rather be in the garden, but am having fun with the show.

    I'll be around to visit you at your blogs when I get a chance.

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I welcome comments and questions from anyone, including those who do it anonymously. Some people find my posts by doing searches, and I like hearing from them. I guess spammers won't even read this message, but I will delete spam as soon as I see it.