Indicator plants

Leo A. Martin leo@possi.org
Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:31:33 PST
Hello All,

I grow annuals in many of my larger containers to let me know when it is
time to water. (The annuals begin to wilt.) I'm not the only one; Gene
Joseph and Jane Evans also do this at Living Stones Nursery/Plants for the
Southwest in Tucson.

For my larger winter bulb containers I like winter flowers like the
California and Mexican poppies, Eschscholzia californica and mexicana;
California bluebells, Phacelia campanularia or minor; various Linaria
species and hybrids (baby snapdragons) and the fragrant mignonette, Reseda
odorata.

I also like cool-weather vegetables such as radish; Chinese cabbage;
mizuna, a Japanese mustard; and a delicious red-leaved native, Chenopodium
berlandieri, which native Americans cultivated to eat.

The fragrance of mignonette is light and sweet but not overpowering. It
mixes well with our bulb fragrances.

What plants do those of you in other parts of the world use for this
purpose? Any interest in some of this type of seed going to the bulb
exchange?

Leo Martin
Phoenix Arizona USA




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